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“I may still have our old stroller, the double one I used when the kids were young. I’ll see if I have it.”
“Why haven’t you bought one,” Drew piped up from his chair.
“They’re so expensive.”
Drew gave me an eyebrow raise like he was saying,we’ve had this conversation.
“Don’t buy anything yet,” his mother jumped in. “Let me check my things. Besides; I can ask around for you. I have plentyof friends who may have some things you need. Do you need anything else? Clothes? I have all our old baby clothes.”
“Oh… wow… well, I—”
“She doesn’t want that stuff, Sarah. It’s thirty years old,” Bob jumped in.
“Well, maybe we can ask around at church. What size do they wear now?”
“They’re in six-month clothes. They’re only four months though.”
“Greenwoods are always big boys. Big girls, too. It’s in our bones,” Sarah nodded with conviction. “I’ll ask around for you and see what we find. Our church is so nice, and there are lots of young moms there, maybe you can make some friends. Do you have any friends here, Maria?”
“Not really. I haven’t left the house except to get groceries.”
“Well, that’s why you look so pale,” she said. “We’ll find you a stroller and some friends and you’ll liven right up.”
I chose not to take that as an insult, and only smiled in response.
“So how about the Bulls game last night,” Bob said softly to Drew.
Drew nodded. “It was something.”
Neither of them spoke again.Do the men in this family never talk?
Sarah continued as if it were just the two of us. “There’s a music class in the park on Tuesdays, maybe you could take them to that. They’re too young to participate I’m sure, but you must let them listen to music when they’re young. It makes them smarter! Do you have a radio?”
“Well, actually—”
“I have an old radio with a cassette player. I’ll bring you some of my classical music cassettes. They’re great for little kids.”
“They seem to like rock music,” I said. “Drew sings Kansas and Grateful Dead to them. Sometimes Guns N’ Roses.”
“Oh dear,” Sarah sighed. “That’s not appropriate for little boys.”
I bit my tongue as she went on about what genres of music were appropriate for four-month-olds.I glanced at Drew, who gave me the subtlest eyebrow raise in history, and took another sip of beer. I fought a smile.
Why was it that one brief moment meant more to me than any word he’d said over the past few weeks?I wish he’d talk to me once in a while… but an eyebrow raise will have to work.
Sarah Greenwood reissued her invitation to visit their church multiple times before they left. “They’re all so nice. I know you’ll love it. You’ll find some friends.” They left us both with hugs and kisses on the cheek.
Drew was quiet while I put chicken in the oven and cut up broccoli for dinner. The boys were sleeping hard from the exciting afternoon they’d had, and I was thinking.
The idea of making friends seemed so… daunting. Sure I’d love to meet some people around here, have some connections… butfriends?
I thought back to college and the friends I’d made there. I’d tried to keep up with Anna and Bet after I’d moved, but they didn’t really return my calls. I couldn’t really blame them, since the entire last four months of our relationship I’d been needy and useless. But I hated that they wouldn’t even call me back.
Friends were great, but betrayal stung. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to put in the effort, especially when I wasn’t going to stay here forever.
But how long would I stay? A year? Two years? And then what? If I waited too long to leave, I’d be taking the boys away from their father. How much of him would they remember?Where would I go? What would I do? What was mylife really going to look like a year from now? Were friends even worth it?
I stopped thinking about it, shook my head, and dumped the pasta into the boiling water in front of me.
