Page 45 of Still The One

I lift the glass and swallow my pills, chasing them with half the bottle of water. ‘Then let’s not decide what it is right now. We’ve got time.’

‘Yeah. Time we have.’

‘Now give me a goodnight kiss,’ I tease to lift the mood and with a soft laugh from her, it does.

‘We’re going on a five-minute speed walk after this nap, so mentally prepare while you dream of me.’

I hold my ribs as I laugh. I swear, just the motion of taking the pain meds and muscle relaxers activate something in my brain to make me tipsy the moment I swallow them down.

‘Don’t hurt me, pretty lady,’ I say as she walks out, shaking her head. She likes it. I’m pretty sure she likes it. Time to let myself wander back into the depths of my heart to relive some moment, and hope it doesn’t shatter as quickly as it did today with the words ‘there is no us’ the next time I open my eyes again.

18

EVE CASSIDY

Foster’s brow is furrowed in confusion, his gaze fixed on me as I sit on the floor in front of the toilet. He just woke up from his morning nap.

‘You’re doing what again?’ he asks, staring at me from my bed.

‘I’m installing a bidet because I’d really rather not wipe your butt for you.’

He lets out what seems to be a sigh of relief, slapping his forehead with his good hand. ‘My God you’re smart.’

‘The smartest,’ I tease, working like a home repair man, pretending I know what I’m doing; but truth is, I’m relying heavily on these overly simplified, yet confusing, instructions.

A sharp, sudden knock on my front door startles me out of my concentration. I halt mid-thought, straining my ears to confirm if it was a real sound or just my mind playing tricks on me. I haven’t slept much lately and when I do, it’s constant memories of the ‘us’ I no longer want to be a part of.

The noise of urgent, persistent pounding reverberates through the door, growing louder and more frantic with eachstrike. It’s as though the person on the other side is in a hurry, desperate for someone to respond.

‘I think the fuzz is here,’ Foster says.

‘Then they’re here for you because I am a law-abiding citizen,’ I state confidently. ‘I’ve never even been pulled over,’ I add as I rise from the floor.

‘Never? Not even a warning?’

‘Not even a warning,’ I say proudly, now making my way toward the front door.

‘Wow, super-citizen!’

I laugh. ‘What color should my cape be?’ I ask, pulling open the door. Jess is pushing in. ‘I knew you were home,’ she says, like me being here is some kind of secret.

‘Of course I’m here, I live here.’

‘You should be at work.’

‘Can a workaholic woman never take a day off?’ I ask, confused why she’s broken her doctor’s orders for this.

‘I know you, Eve. You don’t take days off.’

I huff, offended she thinks she knows me better than I know myself. Did I intentionally lie to her and Kait and tell them that I helped Foster board a plane home days ago? Yes. Mostly because I wanted to avoid Jess ‘nesting’ and over-parenting me in anticipation of motherhood.

‘I have too, taken a day off. Once. For a gynecology appointment. And at one time I’d scheduled an entire two weeks off for a post-engagement vacay. I lost money on that.’

‘Aruba,’ Jess says with a sigh. ‘I was so jealous. It would have been the most romantic engagement holiday.’

‘Yes,’ I say flatly. ‘Please remind me of more… You’re supposed to be home on bed rest! You can’t go into labor in my apartment because it will make a total mess, and I am not prepared for another medical emergency.’ I step in front of her, blocking my bedroom door.

She stops, crossing her arms over her enormous belly and shooting me daggers. ‘I want to see it with my own two eyes,’ she says, glancing at the couch and then frowning. She takes a few steps and peers into my room, turning immediately to look at me with disappointment.

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