Maybe Leandra is on the same wavelength, or maybe the curse is starting to like tele-transport my thoughts into her head or something, because the next words out of her mouth are literally the nicest ones in the world. “You aren’t going to miss anything, don’t worry. This is just an, oh hi, I’m pregnant, should I see a specialist or are you good with that? It’s way too early to hear the heartbeat yet or anything. You’ll make the next one, I’m sure.”
“Thank you. I thought you’d be upset with me. I’m not bailing. I promise.”
“I’m not mad. I own a business. I know what a shit show it can be sometimes. There was this one time, a client brought her kids and both of them threw up all over the store. Yes. Both. It was quite remarkable. I’m not sure if they were both sick or if one just got sympathy stomach or had a weak stomach when the other went off.”
“Ugh. That’s terrible.”
“My staff aren’t good with barf so I had to clean it up. Anyway, I’m just saying. I’ve had to cover double shifts over the years, stay late, deal with the madness of holidays and new orders, deal with drama and people quitting, and all of it. No one has bled yet, so I’m that much further ahead. I understand how horrible that would be. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done and let you know how it went.”
The doctor’s appointment was supposed to be our unspoken date. I know it’s Leandra’s day off, so I take a chance. “Do you want to get dinner later? Or come over? I could cook. I’m sure I won’t be at the greenhouse for more than a couple hours.”
“Uh- I would love that, but I’m actually going to Granny’s tonight. I could ask her if you could come, though, if you think you could deal with her. It’s just me and her. No brothers or cousins to contend with. It’s a girl’s thing.”
“If it’s a girl’s thing, I don’t want to wreck it. Just let me know when you’re free and we can go from there. Dinner, the arcade, ballroom dancing, the theatre, ice sculpture carving lessons, deep sea diving- whatever you want to do, I’m in. No wait. Some of those aren’t safe for pregnant women. I’m an imbecile.”
Leandra laughs softly. “Oh good lord, I knew you weren’t serious about some of those. Although, you did say ballroom dancing, so I might hold you to it.”
“I’d be honored.”
“I’d be honored if you would play me like your piano again.”
“What’s that?”
“Oh. Nothing.”
I swore she just said that she’d be honored if I’d play her like my piano again, but her voice came in small and muffled. Like she did it on purpose.
“Bye, Daniel. I’ll call you soon.”
After I hang up I realize that I have a huge grin on my face, and despite what other people would probably consider a disaster of a catastrophe of a crap chute- all the events of the past days and weeks, or a good portion of them, I consider myself very lucky.
Minus the cactus bit.
That was quite unlucky. That thing is a #cursedcactusfucker.
Thanks to it, I now have a new nickname that Wes is never going to let go of. He now has unflagging evidence that I am indeed also a #cursedcactusfucker.
Chapter 14
Leandra
I love being back at work. I know a lot of people hate the first day back after a day off or a few days off, but not me. When I have my days off, they’re usually spent doing work anyway, even if it’s from home. This is my business and not only does the boutique feel like a home away from home, I like being here. I know I went on that big rant with Daniel, but I also know that this is what I was meant to be doing. He was right too. If I want to write, I could always do that on the side. I don’t need to feel like what I do doesn’t matter because it’s clothes. I know it does. It matters to the independent designers whose clothing I carry in the store. To people like Luna who own their own business and have their product here. It matters to the artists whose art I have on the walls. I’m not going to go as far as to say that a nice dress can change someone’s life, but I guess maybe that matters too, in a way. If what I do helps people feel more confident, then that makes a difference to me.
I know that soon, a lot sooner than I think because I’m sure nine months will fly, I’ll have to figure things out. Okay, well before that I’ll need a plan in place. I don’t know if I want to get a nanny and work instead of taking mat leave, or maybe if Daniel would like to switch up his business plans and take paternity leave, or how we’re going to work it. I don’t want to be away from the boutique and I know I can’t leave it in someone else’s hands when I’ve always been owner, manager, employee, and everything in between. I can’t just train someone to fill what I’m not willing to hand over. This is my business. I built it from the ground up, even if I was financially set because of my money from Granny. She gave us all a trust when we were kids and let it grow, so I had more than enough to launch the business right out of high school.