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“Hi, baby!” Brea’s voice was high-pitched and eager. “I wanted to tell you I left work early to go to Oriana’s. I might be home late.”
“Thanks for letting me know, honey. Does Oriana have news yet?”
“I think she does.” Brea did a little happy dance in front of the pay phone, and several people on the sidewalk gave her weird, curious looks.
“Ah, baby. I’m so happy for you. It’s actually working out!”
Brea closed her eyes, her head swirling. “You have work later, right?”
“I’ll be home around one, I think,” Kenny replied, speaking of his job at a local restaurant, where he slaved behind a stovetop and routinely came home with oil burns on his arms. Brea frequently felt guilty for dragging the both of them from Martha’s Vineyard, especially when things hadn’t worked out for her. But now, with Oriana’s call, she felt on the brink of something.
“Maybe we can finally start looking for a new place,” Brea suggested, unable to contain her enthusiasm.
Kenny laughed gently. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This crummy apartment suits us just fine, for now.”
Brea winced, remembering the gorgeous little house they’d shared in Martha’s Vineyard, where they’d been able to walk just ten minutes to get to the beach. But she’d promised the minute her career found its footing in New York City, she and Kenny would return to Martha’s Vineyard to marry and start their family. They’d both seen how chaotic Oriana’s life with two babies in the city was, and they’d decided to wait a bit longer, especially because they didn’t have the money to raise them comfortably.
“I love you, Kenny,” Brea said, her voice catching. She thought she would remember this moment as the last time she viewed herself a struggling young woman trying to find her way and make ends meet. Very soon, she would be on her way up in the world. She just knew it.
“I love you, too.”
Brea reached Oriana’s apartment building ten minutes later. There, Oriana buzzed her up, and Brea leaped into the elevator, always overwhelmed with how much nicer Oriana’s apartment building was. But Oriana was a real talent in the art dealing world. Last year, she’d nabbed an apprenticeship with the great Larry Gagosian, which set her up for a whirlwind of art dealings, contacts with exclusive parties, and a window into the art world that most others considered “out of reach.” Although Brea ached with jealousy, Oriana had promised to give her a leg-up in the industry the minute she could.
And now that Oriana’s apprenticeship was finished, it was time.
Oriana’s door was cracked just a bit, and Oriana’s children’s cries came through the hallway. Alexa was just a baby, and Joel was two, which meant their house wasn’t popular with the neighbors— and Oriana hardly got any sleep. Still, when Oriana opened the door wider to greet Brea, she smiled beautifully and propped little Alexa against her chest, a portrait of motherly health.
“Hi, Brea! I’m so glad you could come on such short notice.”
For a moment, Brea was petrified that Oriana had asked her over to help her with childcare rather than help her career, especially when Joel started sobbing upon Brea’s entry, and Brea picked him up and calmed him down.
“He loves you to bits,” Oriana said as she stepped into the kitchen to make a bottle for Alexa.
“Where’s Reese?” Brea asked.
“He’s on his way back from the store. I couldn’t believe it, but we ran out of diapers. When he gets back, we’re going out. Okay?”
Brea breathed a sigh of relief. Although she adored children, she wasn’t used to their cries and had no idea how Oriana juggled everything at once. She supposed the higher paycheck did wonders.
“How’s Reese’s new job going?” Brea asked.
“He likes it,” Oriana said as she sat to feed Alexa. “He’s a computer whizz in all things. I swear, I don’t know how his brain works half the time.”
Brea smiled. She’d watched Oriana fall in love in high school alongside her and Kenny. The four of them had been forever friends, the sort with permanent Friday-night double-date plans. Kenny and Reese were almost like brothers in that way, frequently helping one another out. Still, Kenny didn’t have Reese’s computer skills and had gone to cooking school, which, for now, had landed him this messy job. It would get better soon. It had to.
“And how’s Kenny’s job?”
“He hates it,” Brea said with a shrug.
“Oh no. I can’t imagine how hard it is to work in a kitchen,” Oriana said. “But hey. I think today might change everything for you guys.”
“I can hardly wait.”
Reese returned home ten minutes later with bags under his eyes from little sleep, but he smiled at his children and Brea, his long-time friend.
“I retrieved the diapers!” he called.
“God bless my husband,” Oriana said as she walked Alexa back to the nursery to put her in her crib.
