Tuesday morning started like any other. June made scrambled eggs and toast. Melissa read the paper. Lila ate her breakfast and asked if they could go to the library later.
But Melissa seemed distracted, her eyes scanning the newsprint without really seeing it. A small crease had formed between her brows—the one that appeared when she was worried about something she didn’t want to discuss.
“Everything okay?” June asked, sliding a plate of eggs in front of her.
“Fine.” Melissa folded the paper, set it aside. “Just work. The bill is hitting some resistance.”
“The infrastructure bill?”
“Mm.” Melissa picked up her fork but didn’t eat. “There are people who would like to see it fail. They’re getting creative about it.”
June wanted to ask more—about the bill, about the resistance, about the people who were making Melissa’s life difficult—but she could see the walls going up, blankness settling over Melissa’s features.
“Well,” June said lightly, “if it helps, I’m making lasagna for dinner.”
The corner of Melissa’s mouth twitched. “That does help.”
“Good. Now eat your eggs before they get cold.”
Melissa ate her eggs. June tried not to think about the warm feeling that bloomed in her chest when Melissa actually listened to her.
The day passed slowly. June took Lila to the library, then to the park, then home for lunch and quiet time. She meal-prepped for the week, organized the pantry, caught up on texts from Tyler and her mom. Normal things. Summer nanny things.
But underneath the routine, she was aware of a kind of waiting. An anticipation she couldn’t name. Like something was building toward a point she couldn’t see yet.
Melissa texted around four:
Late night. Don’t wait up.
I’ll save you a plate.
No response, which was normal. Melissa wasn’t much of a texter. But June found herself checking her phone anyway, more often than she should have.
Stop it, she told herself.She’s your boss. She’s—
But the litany of reasons was getting harder to remember. Harder to believe.
The doorbell rang just after five, while June was helping Lila with a puzzle at the kitchen table.
She opened the door to find Melissa’s friend Rachel on the porch, still in scrubs, looking hopeful.
“Hi. Is Melissa home? I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d—” Rachel stopped, taking in June’s flour-dusted apron. “But she’s not here, is she?”
“Still at work. She texted that she’d be late.”
“Of course she did.” Rachel sighed. “That woman is going to work herself into an early grave.”
June didn’t disagree. “Would you like to come in? I just made coffee.”
Rachel hesitated, then smiled. “You know what? I’d love that.”
June led her to the kitchen, where Lila looked up from her puzzle with delight. “Dr. Rachel! Are you here to check my ears again?”
“Not today, kiddo. Just visiting.” Rachel slid into a chair beside her. “Wow, that’s a cool puzzle.”
“It’s the solar system. June got it for me at the library sale.” Lila held up a piece. “This is Jupiter. It has sixty-seven moons.”
“Seventy-nine, actually,” June said, setting a mug in front of Rachel. “They keep finding more.”
