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“That’s normal, right?”
Maren and I have been keeping up with the week-by-week pregnancy guide Dr. Yelich gave to us at our first appointment. I recently read that during the second trimester, it’s normal to feel tight there because the uterus is expanding so much it puts stress on the surrounding ligaments.
“It is, yeah. Doesn’t really hurt. Just feels... weird.”
“Can I feel?”
She grabs my hand and puts it on her lower belly. “It’s hard. You feel that?”
“I do. You sure it doesn’t hurt?”
“I’m sure.”
“Whatever the case, let’s grab you a seat.”
I find one lined up along the wall beside the mats. Maren sits while I pull a bottle of water out of Katie’s diaper bag and crack it open before handing it to her. That’s when I feel a tap on my shoulder.
“Are you Tuck Monroe?”
“I am, yes.”
I turn around to find a blonde woman smiling up at me. “I’m Paige, the director here. We talked on the phone?”
“Paige! Yes. Thank you for coming to say hello. I’m excited for you to meet my girlfriend. I think y’all will have a lot to talk about.”
I introduce Paige to Maren, who, thank God, is smiling again.
“Maren may wanna kill me for doing this?—”
“I doubt that,” Maren says.
“—but I told Paige about your predicament with your job search. She said she’d be happy to chat with you about her path and how you might combine your passion for education with your love of cheer.”
Maren’s eyes go wide and a little glassy. She blinks, hard, and stands up to offer her hand to Paige. “Oh, wow. Wow, this is amazing.”
“Your boyfriend is amazing.” Paige glances at me. “He said he wanted to give your networking a bit of a jump start.”
“Of course he did.” Maren is very clearly trying not to cry. She covers her mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m pregnant and just, yeah, more emotional than usual.”
Paige smiles and runs a hand over Maren’s back. “I think my boyfriend doing something sweet like this would make me cry too, with or without the pregnancy. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thank you,” I reply. “I know Maren is going to crush whatever she sets her mind to. I just wanna help her figure that out.”
We end up talking with Paige for the duration of Katie’s class. Well, Paige and Maren talk, and I sit on the other side of my girlfriend and listen. Ask questions when I have them. Turns out they had the same coach (at different times, of course), and they both hold master’s degrees. Paige talks about her journey from psychology major to cheer coach and gym owner. Maren talks about her experience on the varsity squad at Carolina.
They exchange numbers as Katie’s class wraps up.
“Please call me anytime,” Paige says. “I love talking about this stuff.”
Maren nods. “I can’t tell you how helpful this has been. I was so set on teaching in an academic setting that I never thought to consider other options.”
“I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated from college. Which ended up working out. I was able to try a bunch of different things while meeting a bunch of different people. I think you can kinda screw yourself if you’re dead set on doing just one thing with your career, you know? Because you have no idea how that career is going to pan out. What if you actually don’t love doing it? What if there’s something else out there you’d love that you’re totallymissing out on? My advice is to keep an open mind. And talk to everyone you can.”
Maren grabs my hand as we walk over to collect Katie. “Thank you. So damn much, Tuck. That was incredible. She gave me a lot to think about, which is exactly what I need right now.”
“Options to ponder, yeah. I was hoping y’all would hit it off.”
Her throat works as she swallows, eyes wet. “You’re really good at this.”
