“I finished college and needed a job. I applied, OWM offered, and the rest is history.”
“Are you enjoying the work?”
“It’s not bad. I ran into Dennis a few weeks ago. He’s interning. I was so stunned when I saw him there under his mother’s maiden name. He and I didn’t speak after…you know.”
I’m not surprised. Dennis’s father was Dad’s partner.
“But we talked, and…it was really awkward.” She gives me a wry smile. “But you know, he’s a victim, just like us, and he lost his mom, too, afterward. The stress and embarrassment basically killed her, and he was always really close to his parents.”
True. I absorb all that information, feeling another wave of regret and sorrow at how things unraveled around us kids because of my father’s fraud. “Your parents are doing okay, I hope?”
“Yeah. I mean, it was rough after…well, everything. And they’re going to have to delay their retirement, but they’re still hanging in there.” She shifts, uncrossing and crossing her legs. “How about you? I’m surprised you’re married. I always assumed you’d be the last to marry of the three of us.”
By “three of us” she means me, her and Dennis. We used to hang out a lot together. Traci and I…well, we were best friends. Dennis hung around because he wanted to be with me.
“Yeah… But things don’t always work out the way we expect.”
“Amen.” She leans closer. “Does Elliot treat you well? I’ve heard about him, you know. He seems like he’s, you know…”
“Pretty terrible?” I have to laugh. “He’s good to me and Nonny.”
She sits back. “Oh, good. His reputation’s awful, but you can’t trust everything you read these days.”
“Exactly.”
“You guys going to start a family soon?”
I shake my head. “Probably not. I want to do some stuff before I make such a big commitment.”
“Are you worried about…well…losing it?”
The softly spoken question startles me so much that I flinch and almost knock my coffee over. “What?”
“I didn’t realize the significance back then, but I noticed you were bleeding for an unusually long time. Almost three weeks, and you missed all those swimming practices…and were really moody.”
I can’t speak past my suddenly parched throat. I couldn’t use tampons—my Google search warned against it—and since I wanted no complications that could land me in a hospital, I followed every suggestion I found online. But I hadn’t realized my mood was different as well.
“I just thought you were really sick or something at the time, but my older sister miscarried last year, and…I suddenly realized. She bled for about two weeks.”
I sip my cold drink. “Well. It was a long time ago, and it has nothing to do with my decision. Elliot also prefers to wait.” Neither of us wants to have children to muck things up. A clean and simple divorce after one year. That’s the goal.
“I’m glad to hear it. I felt bad about not being there for you. I was so annoyed that you were skipping practice when you could’ve used tampons and gone on with it just like the rest of us.”
“I couldn’t say anything.” My face heats. “It was a disaster I didn’t know how to handle or share.”
“I still wish you’d told me. I could’ve helped.”
“Thanks, Traci. If I ever need anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Good. You and I are besties after all.”
An idea forms in my head. Maybe… “Speaking of needing something, do you know anyone who’s hiring?”
She frowns. “No, but I haven’t asked around either. Why?”
“I need a job.”
“Oh?” Her well-plucked eyebrows rise. “Isn’t Elliot providing for you? Isn’t he, like”—she lowers her voice—“really rich?”