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Hope wet her lips. “I’m a facts freak. Love science. Don’t believe everything I see or hear until I have data. Speaking of, my daughters arrive earlier than most students and staff ninety-nine percent of the time, so writing them down for tardiness today won’t make a difference. Now, I’m late for class, and you can write that down.” She turned on her heels and walked away, the pound of her footsteps resounding in the empty halls, her heart echoing it in her chest.
She didn’t want to give Avery the satisfaction of the curses that rolled on her tongue, one spilling out as she muttered it quietly under her breath after there was some distance between them. “Bitch.”
“Don’t ever, under any circumstance, use bad words. Those give you away immediately. You can say them in your heart, but don’t tell your mom I said that.” Jordan’s advice to Hannah beat against her heart as she rushed to class. She remembered it all—his words, his kindness, the globe drawing he saved, everything. For the first time since last night, tears prickled the back of her eyes. She breathed in, forced them back, then opened the science class door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The vortex in the coffee that she was stirring was hypnotizing. Her thoughts spiraled along with it.
“Did you catch the news this morning?”
She hadn’t noticed Chris until he was standing right next to her.
“There’s a new scandal in Washington, and Jordan Delaney is involved. I thought you’d like to know,” he added when she didn’t answer his question. “You said his brother is marrying your friend.” He pressed his lips together.
This was how genuine sympathy looked like, so unlike Avery’s.
“Yeah, I saw it last night.”
“Oh. I caught it only this morning. I don’t usually … Pity. He seemed like such a nice guy when he was here. Do you think it’s true?”
“I honestly don’t know.” She stopped stirring and picked up the mug.
“Listen, I know things between us sort of … dissolved. I blame myself. It’s Mason and … But I was thinking …”
“Chris, I have to get to a meeting. Don’t worry about it. I think you and Linda need time to process everything. I gotta go. Good luck.”
Holding on to her coffee like it was a lifeline, she hurried away from there. She couldn’t deal with this right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Libby and Roni had used their group chat to write that they didn’t believe the news.
“It’s only the gossipy sites. If what they wrote was true, then half of America slept with the other half, and I swear I haven’t slept with anyone but Don.” That was Roni, injecting her sarcastic humor into the worst situations and always succeeding in making her smile. Even now.
The one from Libby said that Roni was right, asked again if she could come over, and culminated with, “How can I help?”
She read those when school was over and she treated the girls to tacos at the pink car, as Naomi and Hannah referred to the food truck on the Promenade. When they were busy eating and comparing notes about Elena of Avalor, their TV hero, she phrased a reply for Libby and Roni.
“Girls, sorry I haven’t replied. I don’t feel like talking, and I was at work all day and with the girls now. So, let’s sum it up like that: I don’t know what’s true or not, I’ll listen to him when he calls or comes, but either way, it’s not right for me. I shouldn’t have let it develop further this fast. I have responsibilities. And though it’s unpleasant, I’m fine. It’s not like we’ve been together, really. I slept with him once. We haven’t even had a chance to start something, so it’s better this way. The rest will resolve itself.”
A second later, the chat said that Roni was typing. A moment later, her text appeared. “Honey, if everything was that simple, as you bravely try to pretend, we wouldn’t get this long lecture. I appreciate the effort, though.”
“I hate to admit it, but Roni has a point. We’re here for you. Can we get together tonight? We could come over. We were there for your divorce; this couldn’t be worse.”
It couldn’t, but it was. Because, back then, the pain was different. It was over her kids, the breaking of their home, the sting of failure, the fear of a new and unfamiliar life. It wasn’t about Eric, because she hadn’t loved him anymore for some time at that point. And now … now her heart was breaking in a new and different way. Because she loved. It broke for her, for the man she fell in love with, and for the hope she had allowed to sprout and flourish.
Just when she was about to reply that she would get back to them, a message came in from Jordan.
“Landed in SF. Driving to RV. Pls talk to me when I get there.”
Her heart, her goddamn heart, went out to him. She thought of how he must feel to see his life smeared like that in online and TV tabloids, knowing his family could get hurt. His career, his reputation. And knowing him enough by now, she knew he was hurting about her, too.
“I will,” she typed.
“Thank you,” was all he typed back. And, for some reason, this … this simple answer broke her heart for him even more.
