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“I bet.”
“She isn’t answering her phone.”
“I wouldn’t if I was her.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“You keep calling.” She takes a breath and lets it out, nice and slow. “You don’t give up. Because you don’t ever give up on someone you love. You never gave up on me.”
“Of course not.”
“And I never gave up on you. It was just the ‘us’ part that got tricky.”
“I don’t think we gave up on us,” I say.
“You don’t?”
“I think we just let it go.”
We’re both quiet for a long moment as a cool, soothing sense of peace fills me.
“Thank you for saying that,” she says, and I can hear the sad smile in her voice. “Now, you need to get your girl. Get your head out of your ass and get back up. As shitty as you’re feeling, she’s got to be feeling ten times worse. At least.”
“I know.”
All night I think about what Dee said. And Megan. I’ve had it pretty fucking easy this whole pregnancy.
It’s not my body.
She has been making choices for her baby as a mother would, and I’ve been counting weeks and memorizing risk factors. She’s been storing baby gear in her tiny bedroom and no one has used my second bathroom in weeks.
I spend the rest of the night googling things that sends the auto-fill function on my computer spiraling. Things I’ve never searched before, sadly. I make a list, schedule a few appointments, and then I call Freddy. I tell him what I need him to do. He doesn’t ask questions, just tells me to text him the time and the place.
Something doesn’t feel right, and I can’t put my finger on it. My gut is telling me something is off, and if Megan won’t tell me, then I have to keep trying.
I can’t remember Bee’s number. Although, why would I be able to? It’s not like hers was one I wanted committed to memory. I’m not sure Ainsley would respond if I texted. But then I remember that Midge gave me her number, just in case. And I randomly remember it out of habit. As I’m finishing up my stir fry, her message arrives.
MIDGE:Dear Derek, If you use sweet Bee’s number for nefarious purposes, I’ll have you castrated by a piranha with gum disease. XO, Midge
With a shudder, I dial the number. Bee picks up on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Bee?”
“Yes.”
“This is Derek.”
“I know.”
“Oh?” I say, a little surprised since no one else seems to see my number come up these days.
“You think I don’t know your voice?”
“We haven’t actually spoken before.”
“So?”
