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F O R T Y
- Finn -
Hearing the joy in Maeve’s voice was bittersweet. I knew how much choosing a donor meant to her, but every step she took in that direction felt like a step she was taking away from me. And now she’d chosen one?
It felt like the universe was punishing me for blowing her off this weekend.
My eyes drifted to the front of the small cafe. On the other side of the glass, Max was pacing and talking to his agent, waving a cigarette in the air every time he wanted to make a point before hugging himself against the cold again.
“I’m sorry I was MIA all weekend,” I said. “My brother came to town out of the blue.”
“Your actual brother? The one you haven’t seen in years?”
“I’ve seen him on TV a few times.”
“You know what I mean,” she said. “Is he alright?”
I sighed and glanced his way again, watching as he pinched the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could light another smoke. “Yes and no,” I said, scanning the tables around me to make sure everyone was minding their own business. “His marriage is in trouble, but he’s sober for the first time in a long time.”
“Mmm.”
“Claims he hasn’t had a drink since early October.”
“Good for him.”
“He’s doing the twelve-step program,” I said. “That’s why he came to visit. So he could apologize to me for…stuff.” I didn’t really want to get into the details, but I’d heard enough about her dad’s background as a gambling addict to know she’d understand.
“That’s a big deal.”
“Yeah. It’s not choosing a sperm donor or anything, but I guess on the scale of big deals, it’s pretty high up there.”
“How long will he be in town?”
“He’s leaving first thing tomorrow,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t ask to meet him. Last thing I needed was my wildcard brother telling her embarrassing stories about me when I’d already developed a complex from reading her elite donor profiles. “Which means I’ll be free to come to your brother’s thing, if you still want me there.”
“Really?”
“Unless you’ve decided you want to break the news to your family on your own, which I totally understand.”
“No,” she said quickly. “I’d much rather you were there to… I don’t know. Just have my back?”
“Sure.” Knowing I was the guy she wanted to lean on made my chest swell with pride. Almost made up for how difficult it was, all things considered.
“I actually think it’ll be a fitting occasion to make the announcement, since I’m about to have my own little shadow.”
I smiled, the image of a bossy little brunette appearing in my mind’s eye.
“I’m so nervous to tell them. I’ve been talking about it for so long they probably think I’m the girl who cried wolf, you know?”
“I sincerely doubt that,” I said, wishing she were there across from me. “I’m sure your family admires your integrity as much as I do.”
“What a nice thing to say.”
You make saying nice things easy.
“It’s funny…how well I feel I know you when we only met recently.”
“Does last year feel recent to you?” I joked. “I feel like I’ve done a lot of growing up since then.” Part of me was being facetious, but part of me meant it. I did feel I’d grown a lot. And much of that was down to Maeve. From her insights during our candid pillow talks to the effect her beauty had on my creativity, she’d changed me in subtle ways I could feel in my posture and in my heart.
