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“No,” I replied. “I barely slept at all, between crying, throwing up, looking up statistics about single moms, child support, and adoption, just so I know all my options. It was dawn before I finally fell asleep.”
“Dawn was like an hour ago,” Anna said.
“I’m aware,” I said, yawning.
“Do you wanna go get a nap?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “I need a distraction.”
Anna smiled at me. “What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I was hoping you might have an idea.”
Her eyes lit up. “Well…” she said. “What if we went into town? I wanted to show you something, since you kind of helped with it.”
“That sounds ominous,” I said, looking at her in suspicion, but grinning along with her since her excitement was so infectious. It was the first time in over twenty-four hours that I was able to smile without it being faked, and I noticed how sore my cheeks were instantly at the change in expression.
“Oh, it is,” she said with delight. “Come on. Eat up so we can go.”
We finished our breakfasts and went back to our suites to get our coats and other cold-weather gear, and then Anna drove us into town.
As we drove, my phone began to buzz and I saw James’s name and face pop up.
“You gonna get that?” Anna asked, looking over at me.
“No,” I said, putting the phone on silent and tucking it into my bag.
She parked us at a municipal lot in the center of the downtown area, close to where I’d gone to look for dresses with her.
“We’re not going shopping, are we?” I asked. Normally that would cheer me up in a heartbeat, considering we’d both worked for a fashion company back in San Francisco, but she’d been pretty clear that the mall was the only place in town to really go for clothes, and I didn’t think I could stomach going there with everything going on.
“No,” she said, grabbing my hand and tugging me along with her. “But we are going to a store.”
“Okay…” I said slowly, unsure what she meant by that and feeling a bit gun-shy about where she might be taking me.
We finally turned a corner, and the first thing I saw was a massive display window filled with cribs and baby clothes and toys. There were letters and numbers on the front indicating sales and promotions, and lots of women with children in tow or with baby bumps milling around.
“No,” I said, tugging back on Anna’s hand. “No, Anna, I can’t.”
“What?” she said, looking back at me in confusion. Then she turned around and followed my gaze. “Oh!” She gave a small laugh. “I’m sorry, Hales, I should have probably thought better about bringing you here without some kind of clue. No, we aren’t going there. We’re going… here!”
She pulled me in front of an empty storefront in the middle of the busy main road. It was empty except for a few naked mannequins standing around. The lights were out, and there was a “Sold” sign in the window.
“Uh, Anna Banana,” I said, using the cutesy nickname I’d given her in college and only used now when she was being a little ditzy. “I think they may be closed.”
“What?” she said, rifling through her purse for something. She pulled out a key, then looked at me. “Oh, no, Haley… This is mine.”
“What’s yours?” I asked.
“The shop!” she exclaimed, putting out her hands like she was presenting it to me.
“The shop?”
She sighed and took my hand again, dragging me to the door and unlocking it before pushing me inside.
“Welcome to my store,” she said with an air of forced bravado, though the way she looked at me told me that she was desperate for my approval.
“What do you mean it’s yours?” I asked, and she turned to me.
