#besties
BY THE TIME I’m walking up the stairs to my brownstone at the end of investor pitch day, it’s dark outside. The faint sounds of laughter from neighbors make me nostalgic for summer evenings spent on my patio with friends before Carmen and Jack moved in.
They were always there—Carmen drinking sangria with the adults while Jack played with the other kids who usually came over. It was a carefree time for all of us, and they’d often stay the night if it got late.
But then Jack started having vision problems, and after a seizure, Carmen found out he was actually losing his sight due to Batten disease. Nothing has been the same since.
I relock the front door behind me after walking in, and I drop my purse and car keys on a table. The sweet smell of Carmen’s apple cinnamon muffins makes my stomach growl. Jack loves having her homemade muffins for breakfast, and I do too.
“Hey,” I call into the living room, my heels clicking on the oak wood floors that run throughout the brownstone’s entire main level.
Carmen is curled up on the couch, her blond hair still damp from the shower. The dark circles under her eyes remind me of our college days, where we met when we were randomly assigned to be roommates in our dorm. Then, Carmen’s late nights were due to studying and the occasional night out.
These days, she doesn’t sleep well. Even though she and Jack have their own bedrooms, she sleeps with him so she can be there if anything happens. She wakes up in the night often just to check on him.
“Oh, hey.” She sits up and gives me a groggy look. “I must’ve gone to sleep.”
She gets up, brushes the hair back from her face and speed-walks across the room and up the stairs to Jack’s room. I know she won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until she checks on her sleeping son.
I kick off my heels by the couch and walk into the kitchen. It’s a modern and traditional mix of warm woods and cool stainless steel. I snag a muffin from the island and bite into it as I open the door to the fridge and scan its contents.
If not for Carmen, I’d have nothing in here but a bottle of wine and maybe some leftover takeout. She keeps the kitchen stocked with healthy food and cooks dinner every night, though I’ve offered to hire a meal delivery service.
Jack likes helping her with dinner, though, and she’s told me many times she needs to keep herself busy because it helps manage the anxiety she feels over his illness.
“Hey,” she says, her shoulders dropped into a relaxed position as she walks into the kitchen. “He’s good.”
“Good. Was it a good day?”
“Yeah.” She smiles. “We went to the park and the grocery store.”
“And made muffins. I couldn’t resist.”
“Eat up. I made a double batch. And there’s a plate of veggie lasagna in the fridge for you.”
“That sounds really good. I’m so hungry.”
Carmen slides onto a stool at the island, takes a muffin, and pauses before biting into it. “So, how did it go today? Did you kill it like I knew you would?”
I slide the plate of lasagna into the microwave and start it. “It was good. Better than I even hoped for. The reason I’m so late is because some investors bought in immediately.”
“Immediately?” Her face lights up with a smile. “Sienna, I’m so proud of you!”
“Thank you.” I lean a hip against the island and meet her gaze. “None of this would be happening without that night of brainstorming over margaritas, you know. I should be thanking you too.”
She waves a hand dismissively. “Stop it. Alpha Mail is all you. You’ve done such an amazing job with it.”
“The bigger it gets, the more challenging it will become.” The microwave beeps, and I take out my plate. “But I’m ready.”
“You should take a vacation. You deserve it.”
I sit down on the stool next to hers and look at her. “I can’t even take one day off right now, let alone a vacation. You and Jack should go somewhere, though.”
Carmen shakes her head adamantly. “No. Please don’t surprise me with a vacation or anything, Sienna. I need to be here, where I have Jack’s doctors nearby and I know the exact route to the emergency room. He could have a seizure at any time.”
Her unsteady voice guts me. Carmen lives every hour of every day for Jack.
“Is there anything I can do?” I offer.
She gives me a sad smile and shakes her head. I know she understands the helplessness I feel. I’d do anything to comfort and help my best friend, if only I could—just like she wishes she could do for Jack.
“Just being here and not having to worry about money is more than I’ll ever be able to repay you for,” she murmurs, her voice welling with emotion.
“I don’t want any repayment. I wouldn’t take it if you offered.” There’s an unintentional note of defensiveness in my tone.
Carmen gives me an apologetic look. “I know.” She sighs heavily. “I just can’t imagine where we’d be without you. Jack’s father is God knows where, and my own family can’t be troubled to drive a few hours for a visit.”
I take a bite of the lasagna and moan with satisfaction. “This is amazing.”
“Yeah? I put more pepper flakes in it this time. And I grated the mozzarella myself.”
She grins, a few of the weary lines disappearing from her face. When Carmen gets down, I always listen, but eventually, I find a way to distract her. Worrying about things she can’t change doesn’t help, and it just makes her feel even worse.
“There’s an open house at Coop’s station this weekend,” I say. “I was thinking we could go. Jack can put on a helmet and sit in one of the trucks.”
“Oh, he’d love that. His eyes just light up every time we see a fire truck go by.”
My brother will make sure Jack gets the red-carpet treatment. He’s the captain of his five-man crew, and the other guys jump at his commands. At least, they do when I’m around. Who knows if they’re really that compliant all the time. They’re afraid to even make eye contact with me because of all the ways Coop has threatened to kill them if they hit on me.
“How is Coop?” Carmen asks. “Is he still seeing that flight attendant?”
“No. Her voice annoyed him.”
She laughs and walks around the island to get a bottle of water from the fridge. “Wasn’t her voice the same as it was when he met her?”
I shrug. “I imagine he didn’t mind it much when she was screaming his name, but when it came time for actual conversation . . .”
“Ah. So he’s still playing the field?”
“More like every field in the league. You know how he is.”
This time, it’s Carmen who shrugs. “Hey, if you’re hot and single and don’t want to settle down, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Exactly. I don’t want to settle down either, but I’d rather just be alone.”
“I think some dashing executive will walk into your office one day and sweep you off your feet.”
I roll my eyes and set down my fork. “I don’t want to be swept. My feet are just fine on the ground, thank you very much.”
“But you won’t be able to resist.” Her eyes light up as she sets her bottle of water on the island and makes a sweeping gesture that looks like jazz hands. “He’ll say, ‘Sienna, I want to crunch your numbers, girl. Spread your sheets.’”
We’re both laughing, my long day and her sick child forgotten for just a few seconds. It feels good.
“I’m happy on my own,” I say when we’ve both quieted. “I truly am.”
“I know.” Carmen slides back onto the stool next to me. “You don’t need a man, that’s for sure. But don’t you ever want one?”
A few seconds of silence pass before I respond. “Not really. I don’t have time. And it’s just a bunch of nonsense anyway. Most of the men I went out with just wanted sex. They were all about lavish dates where they talked about themselves constantly and thought I’d be so impressed I fell into their bed that night.”
“Yeah, I don’t miss any of that.”
“But do you ever wish you had someone?” I ask her. “Someone totally unlike Jack’s father?”
She smiles weakly. “Sometimes I think it would be nice just to have a man who would hug me. You know, one of those hugs where you’re all wrapped up in big arms and a hard chest and it’s so warm you can’t help but relax?”
I nod. “A man who will hug you like that without getting hard and trying to have sex with you is a rare find indeed.”
“They’re out there.” Carmen squeezes my hand. “And I hope you find one of them someday. The only man in my life will be waking up by seven, so I’d better get to sleep.”
She stands, and I slide off of my stool and reach for her with a hug.
“My arms aren’t big and my chest isn’t hard, but I’ll hug you anytime,” I say.
She hugs me back and murmurs, “I love you.”
“Love you too. Sleep well.”
She walks out of the kitchen, and I relive the day in my mind, physically exhausted but still on cloud nine in my head. Alpha Mail can move to the next level now.
We’re fortunate that, for now, Jack’s illness is stable. But that could change at any time, and if it does, I want to be ready with the money for nursing care and anything else he needs. Jack is like a nephew to me, and given my brother’s love ’em and leave ’em style, he may be the only one I ever have. I want him to have everything he needs, and if I keep growing my business at the rate I’m going, he will.