Free The Plan by Kelly Bennett Seiler

into doing something I’m not ready to do one second before I’m ready to do it.”
    Nancy’s mouth was agape. Claire wanted to tell her to pick her jaw up off the ground. A ding of happiness sounded inside Claire’s head. She’d always wanted to make her mother-in-law speechless. Shewished Jack was around to see the look on her face. He’d always wanted Claire to stand up to his mother. He’d be so proud of her now.
    â€œSo, if you don’t mind,” Claire said, regaining her composure. “I’m going back upstairs. I’m sure Gia will see you out.”
    Claire turned and strode to the stairs. She hadn’t planned on looking back, but then, quickly, glanced over her shoulder. “It was good to see you, Bill.”
    â€œYou, too, Claire,” her father-in-law said sincerely.
    She knew she’d receive an email from him later today, apologizing for his wife’s behavior. Claire had received too many of those emails to count over the years. Though she didn’t respect the way the man never stood up to his wife—at least, not in front of her and Jack—she did appreciate the fact he tried to smooth things over later. He loved Claire. She knew that. And he never wanted her to be hurt. It was just unfortunate he couldn’t prevent the hurt from happening in the first place. But, as Jack used to say, “What cha gonna do?”
    Claire hurried up the stairs. She could hear Gia making it clear to Nancy and Bill it would be best if they’d leave—immediately. She wanted to jump back into bed and flip on her murder show. Or any other program that would take her mind off her current reality. But as she reached the top landing, her eyes wandered to the closed doors of her children’s rooms.
    She hadn’t been in those rooms since the day she’d hurried her kids out of them and into the car. She knew Gia had gone in them when she’d come to pick out the kids’ clothes for the funeral but, except for that one time, the rooms had remained untouched and silent.
    Since she and Gia had arrived home the day of the funeral, Claire had made a point of not even glancing at their doors. They contained such a multitude of memories. Claire wasn’t ready to open that Pandora’s box. At least, she hadn’t been.
    But maybe today, she could. Hadn’t she just stood up to her mother-in-law? Maybe today was a day for other firsts.
    Claire slowly made her way down the hallway and stopped at Luke’s door. “Do Not Enter,” the handwritten sign, secured with Scotch tape to the wood, screamed at her. Luke had carefully printed those words, with bursts of fire coming out of them, when he’d found his sisters chewing an entire pack of gum he’d bought with his own money.
    Claire almost heeded the warning and then changed her mind. She turned the knob, which was still sticky from dirty hands, and opened the door. It was dark inside. Luke’s room was always dark. Unlike his sisters’ room, with its whole wall of windows, Luke’s room had only one tiny glass opening in the back corner and his ceiling lamp never seemed bright enough. Claire had been meaning to get him a floor lamp to add some light, but had never gotten around to it.
    She flicked the switch to her left and the ceiling bulbs hummed as they lit. The room was as unkempt as she remembered. Legos all over the floor. The bed unmade. Star Wars posters, drawings, and souvenirs Luke had collected from every school event he’d ever attended hung from thumbtacks on the wall. She walked over to the hamper and removed the lid. Like Jack’s, it was full. She picked up the shirt that was crumpled on top. It smelled like Tide. That little bugger. Instead of putting away his clean clothes, as she’d no doubt asked of him, he’d put them all back in the hamper to be rewashed.
    That’s one way to avoid putting your clothes away.
    Such a trick would