Page 20 of The Fall

Cam

“Remember, the word ‘half’has a silentl!” I call as the boys get out of my car for school. “Have a good day!”

I exhale hard once they’re gone, smiling when Sam turns to wave at me. I wave back and blow him a kiss, then glance over my left shoulder and pull into the lane of cars exiting the drop-off line.

So far the only gripe I have about their third-grade teacher is that she gives spelling tests every Monday. That means frenzied Sunday nights studying after dinner for us. Well, mostly for me and Tate because Sam always aces the pretest and doesn’t need to study.

Now that the boys are gone, I face the music and push a button on my phone to call Tess. I told her I didn’t want to talk about the date with Rowan when I picked up the boys from her. I needed some time to think, which of course required ice cream and Netflix rom-coms. I texted her a few details yesterday and told her we could talk about it this morning on my drive to work. I’m feeling over it now, so I’m ready.

“First of all, thanks for making me wait so long to talk about this like I’m some work friend you barely know or something,” she says in answer over my car speakers.

“You’re right. This is entirely about you and your feelings.”

She bypasses my sarcasm. “I need you to tell mehowhe said the sexual compatibility thing. I can’t get his tone from you just texting me the words.”

“Listen. I don’t want to do the thing where we break down what he said and what he might or might not have meant. I know what I want, and Rowan’s not it. I’m done wallowing and ready to move on.”

There’s a pause before she says, “How emotionally healthy of you. It’s the self-help books, isn’t it? You don’t even need me anymore. Enjoy your next wine and cupcake night with a paperback next to you on the couch instead of your sister.”

We try to take turns being overly dramatic, so I just roll my eyes. “Well, I won’t have to fight with the book over the last of the wine left in the bottle.”

“I’m just super fucking disappointed in Rowan. You told him you didn’t want to have sex and he tried to anyway?”

“No, that’s not how it happened.”

“How did it happen?”

I sigh softly, not wanting to replay it. “I proactively told him that I don’t want to have sex outside of a relationship. I’d say he was...confused by that.”

“Was this over dinner?”

“No, it was when we were making out on the couch.”

“Oh.”

“What’s with the tone? You’re making it sound like it’s a totally different story than it would have been if I’d said it over dinner.”

I can tell she’s moved the phone away from her face as she says, “No, it’s in the microwave. Boni steals it off the counter if I leave it out.”

“You made bacon,” I say, remembering Dom’s dog snagging it from the plate every time when we lived there.

“I’m just saying if you guys were partially naked and he was all ready to go and then you said you didn’t want to do anything, I can see how that would confuse him.”

I groan as I pull up to a red light after the car in front of me makes me miss the yellow. “We weren’t naked and you’re doing what I said I don’t want to do. I’ve moved on. I hope Rowan and I can still be friends.”

There’s a moment of silence, and then, “Okay. I just...you guys have always had such great chemistry. Could this have been a misunderstanding?”

Now she’s pissing me off. “Tess. I’m no longer letting men talk me into things I don’t want. Don’t make me deal with it from my own sister.”

“Well, shit. I’m sorry.”

“I have to get my head into work mode. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, call me tonight.”

“Have a nice day being a trophy wife.”

She cackles. “Suck my tit. I’m volunteering at the women’s shelter today.”

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