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The other two kids got up pretty soon after that, and I threw together a fast breakfast of bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches. Ben took his with ketchup, and Katie liked hers without the bacon since she said it was too “sour” for her.
“Sour?” I said, checking the package to make sure it was still within the expiration date.
“Yeah,” she said, handing her bacon to Ben, who scarfed it down. “Like popcorn or chips. It’s sour.”
“Oh!” I said, realizing what she meant. “You mean it’s salty. Is that right?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking genuinely confused.
“Well, sour would be like a lemon, or like a sour candy.”
“I thought sour and salty were the same,” she said. “Sour candy has salt on it.”
“Actually,” Leann said before I could respond. “It’s a kind of sugar that’s really sour. Salt doesn’t really go on candy.”
“Except chocolate and caramel,” I said, and all three kids looked at me in surprise. “You’ve never had salted caramel or chocolate? Well, I’ll get some at the store today for us to try.”
I got a little choked up at the notion, considering I was already formulating something in my mind that would make the candy sampling something really special to me.
There was no way I could keep working here,livinghere, if James was really leaving me to deal with this on my own. If he wasn’t the person I thought he was, I couldn’t look at him day in and day out and just be okay with him abandoning me when I actually needed him.
I was going to have to quit my job, and without even the Olympics to look forward to, my future was looking pretty bleak. I still hadn’t told Anna I was pregnant, and I was worried about how mad she’d be at me for lying, but all things considered, that was the least of my worries.
I took the kids to school, then went to Brother Bears to find Anna. Kevin answered the door in a robe, and I was about to leave when Anna called to me from around him.
“Haley?” she said, coming to his side, tying up her robe. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. Again. “Just… wanted to stop in.”
Kevin gave me a look like he didn't believe me, but Anna didn’t even hesitate before saying, “Get your ass in here and tell me what’s wrong.”
I hesitated, debating running and running and not stopping until I hit Fisherman’s Wharf, but if I knew my best friend, she’d be right on my heels, chasing me down until I told her the truth.
“I… I lied,” I said, meeting her gaze so she’d know exactly what I’d been untruthful about, and her eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
“Shit,” she said.
“What?” Kevin said, looking back and forth between us. “What’s shit?”
“Come inside,” Anna said, grabbing my hand and pulling me past Kevin and into their living room. She sat me on the couch and knelt down in front of me. “What do you need?”
“I don’t know,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Okay,” she said, reaching up to put a hand on my cheek. “That’s okay. Do you want some tea? Coffee? Cocoa?”
“I don’t know,” I repeated. Even the smallest decisions felt monumental now, and I had such bad anxiety over choosing the wrong thing that the idea of choosing the wrong damn hot beverage left me crippled.
“It’s okay,” Anna said. “Let’s start with some water. Kevin, can you…?”
He nodded, realizing that Anna and I needed a moment, and left the room to go to the kitchen and get some water.
“You’re pregnant,” she said the second we were alone.
“Yes,” I said, tears spilling over and streaming down my cheeks. “And I told James and now he’s avoiding me, and I can’t do this alone, and now I won’t be able to compete in the Olympics, and I need to quit my job because I can’t face him, and… and…” I began to sob in earnest, and Anna moved to sit beside me on the couch so she could put an arm around me.
“You’re gonna be okay,” she said. “If nothing else, you have me. And Kevin. We’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” Kevin walked in at that exact moment, and Anna looked at him and said, “Won’t we?”
He looked like a deer caught in headlights as he looked between us, a glass of water in his hand. “Uh…” He had noidea what we were talking about, but he seemed to understand that the correct answer was, “Yes,” which was exactly how he responded.
