Page 6 of The ABCs of You & Me

I have to go. The connections at the university are still important to me. I just don’t know how I’m going to do this and maintain composure when he walks by with her on his arm like we don’t have a history. Like he hadn’t swept into my life, upended it over the course of five years, and then kicked me out of his. I know I’ll weigh the pros and cons about going until the last minute, and I know I’ll show up and plaster a fake smile on my face. The worst part is, I know he knows it too.

My grumbling stomach reminds me that I’d had a smaller than usual lunch and after looking between the fridge and my lunch bag still sitting on the counter, I opt to eat the sandwich I’d made instead of making something else.

“This is fucking pathetic, ya know,” I mumble to myself as I sit at my kitchen table all alone with a glass of water and my sad day-old sandwich.

I’d had visions of the kind of life I would have when I found a full-time job in my field. A life that involved happy hours and flirting with men in suits. Instead, I’m mindlessly going through the motions of eating while scrolling through Instagram. Cass has posted a couple new reels for the rescue. The first one features old footage of my parents’ bull Jason running through the frame, followed by her boss Bennett and his wife Marley shouting and waving their arms. The second is a slideshow of Bennett and Marley on pack walks with their many, many rescue dogs. The final image however has me breathing in bread and meat and gasping for air. Three pairs of hiking boots sit on a log, the log where Bennett found an injured Marley and where he later proposed. Once I get the food dislodged from my airway, I call Marley.

“Hey, Soph!” Marley answers, a knowing tone in her voice.

“A baby!” I screech, unable to contain my excitement. I can hear Bennett’s deep laugh clear as day, glued to her side like always.

She laughs. “That’s what I’m told.”

“How, when…when?”

“Well I think the how is pretty self-explanatory. The first when, well…definitely after I got home from my last trip.” She sighs as if remembering it. “The second when I assume means the due date, and they told us August twenty-seventh. Which means I’ll be in the last part of the pregnancy during the hottest months. It’s going to be awesome,” she deadpans.

“Does this mean you’re done working for a bit?”

“Damn straight,” I hear Bennett proclaim. “The travel stuff, anyway.”

“Simon and I are working on a follow-up to our first book so I’ll focus on that for the foreseeable future,” she clarifies.

“And then?” I know I’m being nosy, but I don’t know how Marley is going to ever return to conflict photography at all if she’s got a kid at home. Meeting Bennett changed everything for her professionally, not that she’s ever complained, but I can’t see how this life continues as-is after a baby.

“Undecided. Thankfully there’s still lots of time.”

“Well, I think this is great. Do my parents know?”

“Your mom is the reason I took a test. They had us over for dinner, and the second I smelled her baked ziti I ran to the bathroom and threw up.”

“Oh no!”

“Oh no is right,” she whines. “Even the mention of the sauce is too much. Let’s move on.” I feel awful for her. It’s a running joke that my mom’s tomato sauce is actually what she’d come back to Bennett for five years ago.

“Wait, does this mean Bennett can’t have any, um, stuff either?”

“It is considered contraband and no longer allowed in the house or within smelling distance of Marley,” Bennett says, and I can’t help but think of the contraband I secured for Foster today.

“You started work today, didn’t you?” Marley asks, changing the subject.

“I did.”

“And?”

“So far I haven’t done much beyond forgetting my lunch, eating half of a coworker’s, and rearranging my broom closet-sized office.”

“Well, I’m glad someone shared their lunch with you at least.” Marley yawns.

“I’ll let you go. You sound tired.”

“It’s my new normal, sadly,” she says through another yawn.

“I’ll be up there in a few weeks for Easter break. I’ll pop round to see you at some point.”

“Well, we are having brunch at your parents’ place so we will definitely see you. However, you know you’re welcome here whenever, especially if you want to talk about things that aren’t safe for Karl or Nancy’s ears.”

“I definitely will. Night, you two.”

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