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Because if I just witnessed what I thought I did, it meant that in one short month, I’d lost every single one of the three most important people in my life.
Mother. Boyfriend. Best friend.
And now I was truly alone.
The realization threatened to bring me to my knees.
I had to get out of there. I had to make it to my car.
But that’s when Robby—not even on the team—showed up again a few feet away.
He stopped walking when he saw me, and I did the same back to him.
“Oh, hey,” he said.
Could he see my face? Could he tell that I knew?
“Shift’s over,” I said, maxing out the syllables I could access. “Heading home.”
“Great. Yeah. I think we’re good here.”
I put my head back down to keep walking.
“Hey—” Robby said then, taking a few steps fast, like he was going to intercept me. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Nope,” I said.
“Just for a minute,” he said, surprised at my answer.
“You’re not even supposed to be here, Robby. Don’t make me report you to Glenn.”
“Thirty seconds.” Was he bargaining?
“I’m tired,” I said, shaking my head.
But now Robby jumped around to fully block me. “It’s kind of important.”
Was I going to have to fight him? For God’s sake, I just wanted to go home. “Not today,” I said, starting to gird my strength for whatever I needed to do to not have this conversation.
But that’s when Robby looked up right behind me, and then I felt a weight settling on my shoulder.
It was Jack Stapleton. Draping his arm around me, as I’d already given him permission to do.
“She’s pretty tired, Bobby,” Jack said, pulling me sideways against him in a squeeze.
“It’s Robby,” Robby said.
“I’m getting a vibe like she really just wants to go home right now,” Jack went on. “Maybe it’s from the words she’s saying.”
Robby, of course, couldn’t go against the client.
He looked at me, but I looked away.
“You’re not going to make her report you to Glenn, are you?” Jack turned to me. “Or if you’re too busy, I could do it.”
I felt more than saw Robby’s shoulders drop in defeat.
Jack gave it another second, as if to say “Are we done here?” And then, decisively, he steered me down the driveway toward my car, leaving Robby staring after us.
