I wait for Sharon to come on while listening to their mumbled conversation in the background.
“Sorry, sweetie. I had to shoo your dad out of here first. He’s been driving me insane with this new swimmer.”
“He mentioned he’s working with someone new. Did he take on a young one who knows everything better?”
He’s trained plenty of those over the years.
Sharon laughs. “No, the opposite actually, someone who isn’t new. They’re both at a point in their career where they have lots of experience and are set in their ways, so they’re butting heads a lot.”
“Yikes.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. My guess is that they’re both right at times but don’t want to admit it. Stubborn mules, I swear.”
I chuckle. “That definitely sounds like Dad.”
Sharon joins in and laughs. “He’s the biggest mule of them all sometimes.”
This probably shouldn’t crack me up this much, but my whole body is shaking. It feels good.
“Anyway,” Sharon says, “how have you been? How’s everything going, and when are you going to visit?”
Something behind my rib cage makes a weird tingling sensation, and I rub my hand over my chest. Then I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare myself to lie to her.
Just avoid pregnancy talk, or anything that relates to it, and you’ll be fine. It won’t be forever.
“I’m fine. Everything’s still pretty much the same.”
“Are you eating well and getting out of the apartment?”
I smile at her question. This woman is the sweetest.
“Yes, I eat well. Mostly. And I haven’t been getting outside a ton in this freezing weather, but hopefully it’ll get warmer soon.”
“See, even more of a reason to visit. You can get some sunshine and calm down your dad. He likes having you here. Makes him less stressed. Total win-win.”
Oh, she knows how to play this game.
I bite my tongue. “I’ll definitely think about it.”
“All right, all right.”
The doorbell buzzes, and I peek at the clock.
Literally saved by the bell.
“Sorry, Sharon, I have to go. That’s my food.”
“All right. Love you. Let us know when you come.”
So relentless.
“Will do. Love you.”
I push the red button on my phone and run to the door to grab my Chinese food from the delivery person.
Oh yes, Momma has a hot date with delicious food and the TV. Maybe that’ll help me forget about my messy life for a while.
As always, all of my worries will still be waiting for me tomorrow.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and figure out a way to find my baby daddy.