Quiet time was rare at Maple Grove, especially now that the family was growing and the Grove was getting more crowded, but that was a good thing. The excitement of a few nights ago that had brought Isabelle and Ryan to Rhy'Din and their subsequent whirlwind wedding had died down, leaving the inhabitants of the main house up to their usual daily routines, at least until the next time some family member or other brought their adventures to the Grove. With Emily and Benji tucked in for the night and Cosmo watching over his charges, it left their harried parents a little time for quiet before they, too, turned in for the night.
Thankfully, the news that twins were on their way had galvanized Humphrey into making the arrangements to enlarge the suite Jon and his family shared, and that meant that these days, Emily and Ben were a whole 'nother room away from their parents when they went to bed. The children had taken it surprisingly well, and the extra distance meant that Jon and Vicki had fair warning of their children's approach first thing in the morning, too. But for now, that quiet time when the children were in bed was treasured, especially since it wasn't going to last for much longer.
Vicki groaned as she sat down on the couch, leaning into Jon with a smile. "You need to have lunch with Mataya sometime soon," she warned him affectionately. "She's going to want to rant at you about me quitting when the maternity leave crops up."
"Are you sure you want to quit or just go part-time?" he asked. His P.A. had done the same thing recently, and he'd offered her as few hours as she wanted, just to keep her on board. As efficient as Sol was, he just wasn't Liv, and he knew Mataya felt the same way about Vicki. He slid his arms around his wife, his hands resting against her baby bump, which was growing at an alarming rate.
She sighed softly, letting him lay his hands on her bump. They'd be able to feel movement on the outside sooner this time around, given the cramped environment in there, though it wouldn't be for a month or so yet. "It seems greedy, to take payment for doing sod-all, which is what she offered me," the redhead admitted ruefully. "She suggested making me a consultant to the design department - essentially attending one meeting every two months to approve of designs and sign off on them. It just seems ....I don't know. Fraudulent. And she won't let me do it for free, either. I already asked."
"Really?" he asked, arching a brow down at her. He knew Mataya wouldn't want to let go of her, but he didn't know she had offered his wife a consultant position. "How much is she offering to pay you?" he asked, curiously. In his opinion, it was only fraudulent if she was getting paid more than she was worth, and he knew she was worth quite a bit. Ironically, it was the same argument she'd made for Olivia.
"Too much," Vicki sighed softly. "She wouldn't even let me try and negotiate her down. I get that she doesn't want me to leave, but I trust the team we've put together over the years, and they deserve a chance to show what they can do without having me lurking over their shoulders all the time. I just ....I'd like the opportunity to submit design ideas to them occasionally without them feeling as though they have to do it because it's me."
"Every few months isn't all the time, Vic," Jon pointed out, helpfully. "Okay, so what would you like to do?" he asked. Now that their family was growing again, he wanted her to decide how involved she wanted to be, if at all. It was her decision to make, after all, not his or Mataya's.
She was quiet for a long moment before she spoke. "You know what used to really piss me off when I was little?" she asked softly, moving on the answer her question without expecting him to guess at an answer. "The way that my dad wasn't home for me when I got out of school. Or if he was home after school, he wouldn't be there before school. I missed him, and I didn't know how to tell him that. I think, even if Mum had been alive and around all the time, I still would have resented him working so much." She looked up at Jon. "The truth is, love, I don't have to work. And yes, I know it's taken a long time to realize that. But I don't want our children to struggle with not having me around when they might need me. Yes, you're here most days, but when you're rehearsing and performing, it's hard work for you to handle the children as well, and sometimes I'm late home, which means you're in a rush. That isn't fair on any of us."
To his credit, Jon was a good listener. It wasn't a trait he'd always possessed, but these last few years he had changed, and whether she knew it or not, Vicki was a big part of that change. He rubbed her tummy gently while she got to the heart of her feelings, never judging, only listening and trying to understand. He couldn't deny that it was hard when he was juggling the kids and rehearsals and performances, but so far they'd managed to make it work - and yet, with twins on the way, it was going to get harder. "Are you sure you're gonna be happy just being a mommy?"
"I think I will be," she said thoughtfully. It helped that she'd talked this over with Elle before ever broaching it with Jon and then Mataya. "Truth is, I'm happiest when I have the time to just be mum and wife, when I'm not rushed by deadlines or stressed by whatever's gone wrong at the theater on a given day. It might not always be like that, but while they're small, I want to enjoy them. And I want to enjoy you, too. I feel like we don't get to spend a lot of time together these days."
Jon frowned, wondering if that was partly his fault. After all, his time was stretched between rehearsals and performances and classes, too, and while he liked staying busy, he needed time with his family. "Maybe I should cut back, too," he said, though he wasn't sure where that cutting back would be. He could give up teaching classes, but it was only a few hours on Saturday mornings and though nervous at first, he found himself really enjoying it.
"No, you shouldn't," she told him firmly, guessing where his mind had gone. "Jon, you get so much out of teaching. You enjoy it, you enjoy them, and you'd miss it if you gave it up. I won't miss working, that's where the difference lies. So long as I get a little time to myself every now and then, I really do think this will work out best for all of us."
"Well, I'm not doing any movies. I've already told Sol that I don't even want to look at scripts, unless something extraordinary comes along." He and Mataya had been talking about producing another Rhy'Din-based film, but there was no rush. "I just want you to be happy," he told her, touching an affectionate kiss to the top of her head. And whatever made her happy, made him happy.
She laughed softly, covering his hands with hers as they relaxed together on the couch. "Well, you've got the Seven Towers to look forward to patronizing when it's renovated," she pointed out with a grin. "Those kids are really enjoying their stay in The Eagle, so I hear. The staff might not be enjoying it so much, but for the kids, it must be like being on holiday for a couple of months."
"That's not a job, Vic," he replied with a chuckle. It really wasn't. He only considered the work he did to earn a paycheck a job, and so, volunteering didn't count.
Thankfully, the news that twins were on their way had galvanized Humphrey into making the arrangements to enlarge the suite Jon and his family shared, and that meant that these days, Emily and Ben were a whole 'nother room away from their parents when they went to bed. The children had taken it surprisingly well, and the extra distance meant that Jon and Vicki had fair warning of their children's approach first thing in the morning, too. But for now, that quiet time when the children were in bed was treasured, especially since it wasn't going to last for much longer.
Vicki groaned as she sat down on the couch, leaning into Jon with a smile. "You need to have lunch with Mataya sometime soon," she warned him affectionately. "She's going to want to rant at you about me quitting when the maternity leave crops up."
"Are you sure you want to quit or just go part-time?" he asked. His P.A. had done the same thing recently, and he'd offered her as few hours as she wanted, just to keep her on board. As efficient as Sol was, he just wasn't Liv, and he knew Mataya felt the same way about Vicki. He slid his arms around his wife, his hands resting against her baby bump, which was growing at an alarming rate.
She sighed softly, letting him lay his hands on her bump. They'd be able to feel movement on the outside sooner this time around, given the cramped environment in there, though it wouldn't be for a month or so yet. "It seems greedy, to take payment for doing sod-all, which is what she offered me," the redhead admitted ruefully. "She suggested making me a consultant to the design department - essentially attending one meeting every two months to approve of designs and sign off on them. It just seems ....I don't know. Fraudulent. And she won't let me do it for free, either. I already asked."
"Really?" he asked, arching a brow down at her. He knew Mataya wouldn't want to let go of her, but he didn't know she had offered his wife a consultant position. "How much is she offering to pay you?" he asked, curiously. In his opinion, it was only fraudulent if she was getting paid more than she was worth, and he knew she was worth quite a bit. Ironically, it was the same argument she'd made for Olivia.
"Too much," Vicki sighed softly. "She wouldn't even let me try and negotiate her down. I get that she doesn't want me to leave, but I trust the team we've put together over the years, and they deserve a chance to show what they can do without having me lurking over their shoulders all the time. I just ....I'd like the opportunity to submit design ideas to them occasionally without them feeling as though they have to do it because it's me."
"Every few months isn't all the time, Vic," Jon pointed out, helpfully. "Okay, so what would you like to do?" he asked. Now that their family was growing again, he wanted her to decide how involved she wanted to be, if at all. It was her decision to make, after all, not his or Mataya's.
She was quiet for a long moment before she spoke. "You know what used to really piss me off when I was little?" she asked softly, moving on the answer her question without expecting him to guess at an answer. "The way that my dad wasn't home for me when I got out of school. Or if he was home after school, he wouldn't be there before school. I missed him, and I didn't know how to tell him that. I think, even if Mum had been alive and around all the time, I still would have resented him working so much." She looked up at Jon. "The truth is, love, I don't have to work. And yes, I know it's taken a long time to realize that. But I don't want our children to struggle with not having me around when they might need me. Yes, you're here most days, but when you're rehearsing and performing, it's hard work for you to handle the children as well, and sometimes I'm late home, which means you're in a rush. That isn't fair on any of us."
To his credit, Jon was a good listener. It wasn't a trait he'd always possessed, but these last few years he had changed, and whether she knew it or not, Vicki was a big part of that change. He rubbed her tummy gently while she got to the heart of her feelings, never judging, only listening and trying to understand. He couldn't deny that it was hard when he was juggling the kids and rehearsals and performances, but so far they'd managed to make it work - and yet, with twins on the way, it was going to get harder. "Are you sure you're gonna be happy just being a mommy?"
"I think I will be," she said thoughtfully. It helped that she'd talked this over with Elle before ever broaching it with Jon and then Mataya. "Truth is, I'm happiest when I have the time to just be mum and wife, when I'm not rushed by deadlines or stressed by whatever's gone wrong at the theater on a given day. It might not always be like that, but while they're small, I want to enjoy them. And I want to enjoy you, too. I feel like we don't get to spend a lot of time together these days."
Jon frowned, wondering if that was partly his fault. After all, his time was stretched between rehearsals and performances and classes, too, and while he liked staying busy, he needed time with his family. "Maybe I should cut back, too," he said, though he wasn't sure where that cutting back would be. He could give up teaching classes, but it was only a few hours on Saturday mornings and though nervous at first, he found himself really enjoying it.
"No, you shouldn't," she told him firmly, guessing where his mind had gone. "Jon, you get so much out of teaching. You enjoy it, you enjoy them, and you'd miss it if you gave it up. I won't miss working, that's where the difference lies. So long as I get a little time to myself every now and then, I really do think this will work out best for all of us."
"Well, I'm not doing any movies. I've already told Sol that I don't even want to look at scripts, unless something extraordinary comes along." He and Mataya had been talking about producing another Rhy'Din-based film, but there was no rush. "I just want you to be happy," he told her, touching an affectionate kiss to the top of her head. And whatever made her happy, made him happy.
She laughed softly, covering his hands with hers as they relaxed together on the couch. "Well, you've got the Seven Towers to look forward to patronizing when it's renovated," she pointed out with a grin. "Those kids are really enjoying their stay in The Eagle, so I hear. The staff might not be enjoying it so much, but for the kids, it must be like being on holiday for a couple of months."
"That's not a job, Vic," he replied with a chuckle. It really wasn't. He only considered the work he did to earn a paycheck a job, and so, volunteering didn't count.