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“Of course not. I’d have fired them and delivered the kids myself. But that’s not the point.”
Maggie laughed. She could imagine Mariana doing exactly that. She did not suffer fools gladly.
Perhaps it was a wonder she hadn’t tried to have this conversation with Maggie sooner.
“The point is, we’re not heading into another year where you’re pining over the best friend that’s clearly in love with you too.” She pursed her lips. “Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting you to be quite so reluctant, but that’s fine. If I need to convince you first, to give you the confidence to go for it, I can do that. What’s a few more days compared to the rest of your life?”
Maggie stifled a laugh. She’d need more than a couple of days to believe Katie would ever want her declaring her feelings, but she had to applaud Mariana’s confidence in herself.
Mariana began pulling her coat on. “Plus, it sounds like Rea gets it too, so now I have an accomplice.”
Maggie felt the color drain from her face. “Weren’t you just complaining about how you don’t even have a way to contact her?” She heard the quiver in her voice but she really hoped Mariana wouldn’t.
“Yes, because you and Katie haven’t had a gathering lately. But it’s not like she’s hard to find. She works at Saint Giles. It’s not like they limit who can and cannot walk into a hospital.”
Maggie stared at her, almost certain her entire stomach had dropped out of her body. “Mariana, please don’t… I—Oh, god. Please don’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly. I have two kids, a partner, and a job.”
Maggie relaxed a tiny amount. If Katie saw Mariana running around the hospital, having secret meetings with Rea, she wouldn’t be too oblivious to notice. Or ask. And then what would happen?
“I’ll just call.”
Maggie’s stomach coiled tighter again. That wasn’t much better. Sure, Katie didn’t often answer the phone, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t. And, what if it wasn’t Rea who answered the phone, and people ran around looking for her, announcing it was Mariana on the phone, and Katie heard that way?
Maggie was screwed.
Noticing that Maggie wasn’t moving to join her in leaving, Mariana paused. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell them who’s calling until I know it’s Rea.” She breathed a laugh. “You really have got it bad.”
Maggie nodded mechanically. It was probably the best she was getting. Or, perhaps she could… What? Secretly change the hospital phone number? That seemed unlikely. Hang around the hospital intercepting calls from Mariana? She could do that, but it might start getting suspicious pretty quickly. Still, it would be better than Katie finding out.
Or, she could realize it was the holiday season, and life was busy for everyone, but especially those with kids. Mariana had a million things going on, they’d even struggled to schedule their meet-up. The likelihood that she’d have time to sit around, calling the hospital in hopes of catching Rea seemed very slim.
Maggie took a deep breath, soothing herself, before she stood back up, preparing herself for the outside world.
Mariana grinned like she was winning. Maggie didn’t mention her revelation, she just prayed it would hold true.
“Good,” Mariana said, leading her from the café. “And now, I have two kids and a partner to shop for—one who wants something for gaming and something for crocheting. You’re going to have to help me make sure I get the right stuff.”
“Joaquín’s crocheting already? That’s quite the skill for a two-year-old.”
Mariana shot her a look. “Snarky fool again.” She shook her head. “No, William wants that. And they’ll be sad if I get them the wrong thing. So, you can help.”
“What makes you think I know anything about crocheting or gaming?”
“You’re creative,” she said, as if that answered any and all questions.
Maggie laughed. Maybe it really was that simple in Mariana’s world. Maybe Maggie’s life would be easier if she operated in the same way. As far as she could tell, it didn’t even occur to Mariana that telling Katie might not go well, that Katie didn’t have the time for a relationship, or the inclination to deal with that pressure. In her head, Maggie and Katie were going to be together, and they just needed to say it to make it true.
Maggie shuddered in the cold and sighed. Part of her really did wish it felt that simple for her too.
“Come on,” Mariana said, looping her arm through Maggie’s and leading them forward. “I’ll help you choose something for Katie, and I won’t even make any comments if you buy her what is essentially an engagement ring and try to pass it off as afriendship ring.”
Maggie laughed. “She doesn’t wear a lot of rings, you know, surgery, births…”
“And that’s the only reason you’re not doing that,” she replied flatly.
“I’m not that bad.”
