Page 64 of Just a Plot Twist
“When I found out I was pregnant, I had every intention of coming back. I did not want the city manager curse thing to come for me, too. I always swore I wouldn’t let it!”
“I know,” I say. She and I have discussed this many times.
“But when we found out it was twins? The childcare costs for twins are staggering, Claire.”
She waves me away. We’ve talked about this for months, but I think she needs to process it a little more.
“In the end, I just couldn’t imagine being away from both of them all day, every day. I’m lucky I can stay home with them.” She presses on her abdomen and takes a slow, deep breath.
“You’ve felt good about it, but it’s still hard.”
She nods. “And I’m excited. It’s going to probably be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it will all work out. There is something that still haunts me at night, though.”
“The trailways project,” I supply.
“Yeah. It’s so new, I’m worried it will get lost in the shuffle. It’s not been on anyone’s radar except ours.” Inez gestures between us before laboring to stand.
“And if it doesn’t go well, the state will think twice about giving us funding for other things,” I add. She and I wrote grants, for heaven’s sake.
Ever tried to write a grant? It’s basically torture in a fifty-page document.
“Exactly,” Inez says. “It has to work. Beyond that, though, Longdale deserves this. If we don’t have some unifying systems in place for our trails…”
“…They’re going to all deteriorate into oblivion. Listen, you worry about your babies. I’ll worry about this, okay? This will be my baby now.”
Hope flits across Inez’s expression before it’s replaced by a cringe. “Sorry, my back hurts something fierce,” she says, massaging her back at her waist. She turns to sidestep out of my office but then rotates to face me. “And thanks, Claire. It gives me comfort to hear that.”
“We’ve got this.”
She lifts a finger in the air. “There’s so much to talk about. I should share the rest of the files with you. But don’t be discouraged by our lack of funds.” She begins to waddle out of the office like she has a full body sunburn. “A lot of it is on hold until we can get enough allocated. It’s not looking good and with me out the door soon, I…”
“Don’t worry,” I assure her. “I’ve told you I’ve got this. Your baby is my baby.” I reach out a hand and motion to her belly. “I mean. Your babies areyourbabies, I’m not—” I shake my head.
Is this how a city manager acts? No.
I have to pull it together.
I give Inez a quick hug and then a stare down. “Go try to rest. Find a position that might help your back, okay?”
“Looks like your grandparents’ complaints are coming sooner than you thought.” Inez points to my phone on the desk, where a video call request is buzzing through.
Oh no.
I am not ready for this.
Chapter 22
Benson
Thomas:How would you feel about representing the company at Peter Schiller’s birthday party on Thursday?
I stare at my dad’s text. Prior to a week or two ago, he’d never asked me how I “feel” about anything, and he’s already done that twice in the last few days.
I rotate in my office chair back and forth. I have so many questions. I’ve been planning my day, and it’s full of overseeing cloud migration and initiating system overhauls. I’m not doing much coding here at Foundations, but I kind of love it.
From what Sebastian and the others have told me, it was rough being raised by a type A workaholic. Apparently, he softened over the years, especially when his wife, Celine, got sick.
But my first few interactions with him were emotionally charged. We both said things we regretted. Now, though? He doesn’t miss a family event. And the look on his face at Henry and Quinn’s four-year-old daughter Navie’s tae kwon do competition a couple of weeks ago? He looked—and usually looks—at her like she could do no wrong.
