Page 75 of My Cosplay Escape
“Morning sickness should be called morning, noon, and night sickness. I offered to stay home, but she said the smell of any cooking would make her cry. She’s living off of saltine crackers and flat ginger ale.”
I hear the sizzle of a burger being flipped. “Sarah was just as sick, right?” Adam asks.
Absolute silence. “You know about that?” Brent says.
“She told me.”
“You’re the first. She didn’t even tell me. I found out by accident. The hospital called me by mistake. Serious breach of HIPAA.” Brent sighs. At least I think he sighs. There are a lot of sizzling sounds coming from the barbecue. “It’s just so sad. Unfair too. My sister is a shadow of who she used to be.”
“Who did she used to be?” Adam asks.
Yeah. Who was I, Brent?
“She had this spark, you know? I’m not saying she was always the life of the party, but with the right crowd, she transformed. She was into… Oh, what’s the word? Sorry, I’ve got father-to-be brain.”
Don’t say cosplay. Don’t say cosplay.
“No worries,” Adam says.
“She was into fandoms,” Brent says. “You know? You did not want to get into a fight with Sarah over anything you saw on a movie screen. I told her she could make a living being a consultant for all the superhero movies and stuff.”
“A producer,” Adam says. “I could see that.”
Brent barrels on. “She had the kind of presence that would get a crowd’s attention.”
“A natural leader?”
“Totally. But now. Jeez. There are days where she walks into a room, and it feels like the sun has permanently set. Jen just sobs for her. Jen didn’t want to tell anyone we’re expecting, but Sarah is tougher than she looks, Adam, right? Can you hand me that thermometer? The spices too.”
More sounds of sizzling meat to accompany my shock. Brent was paying attention this whole time. He understood better than I gave him credit for and…cares.
“I blame her ex. She was married for almost two years.”
“That long?” Adam says.
“They stayed together for a while after the miscarriage. Probably out of pride. No one wants to admit they got married for a reason as old-fashioned as an unexpected pregnancy. I thought she’d be happier now that it’s all behind her.”
“She said her ex is a total douche. Living in China.”
“I’ll punch the guy senseless if I ever see him again.”
“Get in line.”
Did Adam really just say that?
“So how did you two meet?”
Adam exhales. Loud and long. If he didn’t seem so flustered, I’d say it sounded like a sigh. “Let’s see…” More charming sounds of hesitation. “I was Sarah’s TA in econ for a little bit before I switched classes. Well, before I requested to switch classes.”
The zucchini vine behind the basil rustles as I catch the scaly samba movement of a lizard’s tail. I yelp involuntarily.
“You stinker,” Brent yells. “Have you been eavesdropping?”
Busted.
I grab a handful of purple basil. “Adam made the mistake of disparaging my hoodies.”
Brent shakes his head. “She didn’t tell you they were our dad’s?”
