Neurosis

Kieran patted the bed in an inviting gesture. I raised an eyebrow. As if to make sure I got the message, he dug up the copy of Penthouse magazine. I had to laugh. ‘I get it. I get it.’ I fell backwards into bed and lay spread eagle. ‘I’m too tired to move, honey. You’ll have to do most of the work.’ Kieran hopped into bed next to me. He unbuttoned my pyjama top with practised efficiency and his hands got busy. The rest of the night was in a blur. I vaguely recalled begging off after round two. Unsurprisingly, the sun was high in the sky when I woke up. I gave Kieran his good-morning kiss, made sure he took his meds, played with baby Ken. What was shaping up to be another good day was brought to an early end by a rolled-up newspaper hurled roughly onto the dining table. I looked up. ‘What’s this?’ ‘What’s this?’ Claire folded her arms and repeated in a shrill voice. ‘You should know.’ I frowned. ‘I really don’t.’ She glanced towards the nursery, where Kieran was playing monster trucks w