Chapter Eleven

 

 

 

Stephanie

 

 

 

 

 

 

After watching two movies with my best friend, during which we’d somehow managed to drain two bottles of wine, I ended up sleeping in her bed next to her rather than in my own. It was a testament to how little I normally drank when I woke up with a small hangover the next morning. That was when we decided to go out to eat.

Alyssa was completely relentless after we saw Jared at the diner where we grabbed breakfast. After she kicked me- twice-, she immediately turned on the interrogation.

“You totally weren’t exaggerating when you said he was good looking. When are you two going to finally go out?” she asked with a huge grin on her face. I shook my head and cleared my throat.

“We can’t, Lyssa. He’s a client now.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes and tossed a sugar packet at me. “If that’s your only excuse, it’s a weak one. I bet your boss would tell you that, too.”

“That’s not the only thing. He has a newborn baby,” I replied quietly as I grabbed my jacket. Alyssa followed suit and we both climbed out of the booth. “He needs to be able to focus on Chris. Besides, he seemed to accept being just my friend a little too easily.”

“Just your friend,” Alyssa repeated as she linked her arm through mine. “Those friendly looks you two shared just about set my panties on fire.”

“Whatever,” I said with a scoff.

Alyssa laughed and lightly slapped my shoulder “It’s been too long for you. You’ve forgotten what attraction is.”

“I have not,” I muttered as I gently shoved her away. “It’s not like that.”

My vibrant friend stared at me for a minute before opening the passenger door of my SUV. “Sure. I’ll leave it be for now.”

The two of us hung out at home until it was time for me to head to my parents’ later that afternoon. I tried to get her to go with me but she waved me off, saying she had some work she needed to do.

Marco wasn’t there but everyone else was, including Austin’s fiancée, Rhea. Even though they weren’t married yet, I absolutely adored Rhea. She and Austin started dating during his freshman year of college, when she was a sophomore, and they’d ended up accidentally pregnant two years later. Rhea graduated a month after Lila was born and my brother would be doing the same that winter.

My brother was in the backyard with Dad and Tanner and the three of them were putting together the new soccer goal my mom had just bought for the grandkids. Eldon was in the family room watching TV and Mom was in the kitchen making dinner. She had shooed everyone out but Stella, who was helping out by standing on a chair and stirring something in a bowl.

“Look at her go,” I said happily as Lila crawled across my parents’ living room floor towards where Bri was waving a graham cracker as bribery. “You’re in trouble now.”

Rhea released an exaggerated sigh. “For real. Austin baby-proofed the apartment but it’s exhausting keeping her out of everything.”

“Just wait until she’s walking and can reach more,” Kate said next to me, rubbing her large belly. “Tanner learned to climb way too fast and Stella was just quick on her little feet. Maybe this guy will be mellow.”

“I doubt it,” Briana chimed in once Lila had taken the cracker and crawled back to her mother. “He’s going to want to keep up with his siblings.”

“How are things going with you, Steph? Are you seeing anyone?” Rhea asked, wiping Lila’s hands with a cloth. My mind flashed to Jared but I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

“I feel so out of the game after almost ten years with Troy.”

“Troy hasn’t had that problem,” Eldon chimed in as he appeared from the kitchen with a beer in his hand. “I saw him when I was out last night and judging by the way he and the brunette were dancing, he ended the night on a great note.”

“Eldon!” Kate admonished at the same time Rhea frowned and Briana muttered, “Oh, shut the fuck up.” I just shrugged, though. Despite Eldon’s best attempts, there wasn’t any pain that came along when I heard about Troy moving on. I just wanted him to be happy.

“Good for him.” I looked at Briana and smiled. “When we first broke up, he was worried that he didn’t have any game after all of these years. I’m pretty sure he just has to smile and a flock of girls will come running.”

Bri grinned in response. “I always said your boyfriend was superhot.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Eldon. I’m really happy to know he was out having fun last night.”

Eldon rolled his eyes and disappeared back into the kitchen. The second he was gone, Kate shook her head.

“I’m so sorry. He’s been in a really bad mood lately and is just acting like a dick.” Stella yelled from the kitchen that she needed to go potty and my sister hefted herself off of the ground, waving off those of us that said we’d go instead. “Be right back.”

“Lately?” Rhea muttered once Kate was gone. “He’s always been a dick. How does she not see it?”

“And why is she getting up to go take her daughter to the bathroom when Eldon should be helping?” Briana added, a look of disgust on her face. Before I could reply, Kate reappeared and took her place on the floor again.

“Mom got her for me.”

The rest of us dropped the subject and Briana told us a little about the wedding her best friend Shaylee was planning to her boyfriend, Drew. The two of them had met at a lakeside summer camp in Maine and were planning on getting married there in June, shortly before the camp started back up for the summer.

Shaylee had been a fixture in our lives for years. Her parents still lived just down the street and she and Bri had been wreaking havoc since they were in diapers. She was a great girl and another person I loved like a sibling. She was also a sibling I’d caught in bed with Austin when they were teenagers. They hadn’t done anything but I’m pretty sure virginities would have been lost if I hadn’t come home for lunch that day. Not one of us spoke of it again.

Dinner was just like any other Sunday evening and I made it home to an empty house a few hours later. I took the opportunity to sit with my laptop at the kitchen table and get caught up on my notes, finally heading to bed around midnight.

–––

I spent Monday morning in court and most of the afternoon in meeting after meeting. By the time I actually sat at my desk, it was already after four. I was just logging into my email when Robin appeared in front of me.

“I need you to attend the departmental meeting tomorrow in my place.”

The water I had been in the middle of swallowing went down the wrong tube and I ended up coughing like a maniac

“What?” I croaked, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “Why?”

She put one hand on her hip and gave me a stern look. “Because one day you’ll have my job and I need you to be comfortable with this stuff. It’s time, Gibson. Dress to impress. I’ll email you everything you’re going to need.”

I stared at the empty doorway long after she left. I was flattered with the responsibilities she kept handing down to me but the thought of having to present and answer questions posed by the big-wigs made me nervous.

Once I’d come to terms with what needed to be done, I scrolled through the forty emails I had and replied to the ones that needed it. Once those were done, I picked up the handset again and dialed the number in my planner. A man answered after three rings and I instantly smiled.

“Jared? It’s Stephanie Gibson.”

“Vanilla Latte, hey. I didn’t recognize the number.” He was talking softly and I imagined Chris in his arms as he slept.

“This is my office phone.” I cleared my throat. “Is now an okay time to talk?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. Give me a second to put him in his bassinet. I just got him to sleep.”

We both went quiet for a moment as the phone rustled and he whispered to the baby. After another moment, he spoke again at a normal tone.

“Okay. Sorry. Hi.”

“Hi. How’s it going? How’s life as a dad?”

Jared chuckled before letting out a sigh. “Exhausting is a good word for it. He’s amazing, though, Steph. I seriously don’t know if there’s a more perfect baby in the world.”

“If there is, I haven’t seen it,” I agreed with a quiet laugh. “It was weird not seeing him yesterday. I occupied myself by getting every scrap of laundry done.”

“At least you were productive. I’m still in my pajamas and can’t remember if I brushed my teeth today or not. On the bright side, I haven’t dropped my son so there’s that.”

I laughed out loud and shook my head. “Sounds like a typical new parent to me.” I paused for a second. “So, I still need to come see your digs. Any chance you can squeeze me in on Thursday?”

“I don’t know,” he said slowly and I could tell he was smiling. “I might be able to squeeze you in between a diaper change and a nap.”

“Deal. Eleven okay?”

“Yeah, eleven is perfect, Stephanie.” Jared let out a long sigh. “I’ll make sure neither of us is covered in spit up and I might even brush my teeth.”

“You’re a sweet talker, Hart. I’ll see you Thursday, okay?”

He chuckled quietly. “See you Thursday.”

When I hung up the phone, I stared at it for a moment and realized I was still smiling. One simple conversation had somehow become the best part of my day. The sad thing was, that wasn’t anything new. It had been like that for weeks.

After updating my calendar, it seemed like everything I touched turned to shit. In the last hour of the day, placements fell through, bad decisions were made in court, and I spilled coffee in my lap. Twice.

When I left the office around seven, I was in no mood to talk to anyone so I was happy to see an empty garage when I got home. I loved Alyssa but she was one of those people who constantly tried to make you smile and sometimes you just didn’t want to smile.

I ignored my laptop in favor of binging on This is Us and a pint of Half-Baked Ben & Jerry’s. I eventually made myself go to bed so I wouldn’t look like a walking zombie during my meeting the next day.

It was amazing how much better I felt after some sleep. I had some solutions for the problems I’d encountered the afternoon before and had an extra bout of positivity to take with me through the day. A nice warm shower seemed to finish cleansing process.

I tucked my mint green blouse into my black pencil skirt an hour later and looked at myself in the dresser mirror. I had tied my hair into a bun on back of my head and made sure to have a light hand with my make-up. I wanted to be taken seriously.

Alyssa was in the kitchen when I walked out and she let out a low whistle when she caught sight of me.

“Damn. When did you get so old?”

I chuckled and slipped my feet into a pair of black heels. “Bitch. Do I look okay?”

“You really look beautiful, Steph.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “You’re going to knock ‘em dead.”

The meeting was first thing that morning and on a completely different floor than I was used to being on, so I didn’t even have a chance to go by my desk when I got there.

The conference room had about eight people that I’d never met and one person I had. The Director of Child Safety, Ted Blackwell, had been one of the people who interviewed me for supervisor all those months before and he greeted me warmly.

“Stephanie. It’s good to see you again,” he said as he shook my hand. “I have to say, it’s been great watching the positive changes you’ve brought to your division.”

“Thank you,” I replied quietly, feeling my cheeks heat at the compliment. He just smiled again and directed me to where I’d be sitting.

I was nervous but less so than I figured I would be. I spent almost three hours in there with them and was encouraged by how impressed they looked when I had presented my part and answered the necessary questions.

“Great job, Ms. Gibson,” Markell Renton, the deputy-director, said as he shook my hand. “It’s obvious that you’re a real asset to us here and we appreciate all of your hard work.”

“Thank you, sir.” I smiled at him and shook the other hands before heading out of the conference room.

“How did it go?” Keon asked when I walked into our suite. I looked at him and Denise before shrugging my shoulders.

“I feel like it went okay.”

Denise let out a laugh from her desk. “I bet you knocked it out of the park.”

“Let’s hope so because I’m too lazy to look for a new job.” I glanced around and took note of who was at their desks and who was out in the field already. “Did I miss anything?”

“Not so far, but it’s not even lunch time yet,” Rachel replied with a small smile.

I nodded in agreement as I headed back to my office. I sat down in my comfy chair and looked at the day’s calendar. I spent the next hour doing clerical work before grabbing my bag from my desk. I waved to my employees before taking the elevator down to the ground floor.

Robin was walking into the building as I was coming out and she smiled when we came to a stop in front of each other.

“Court?”

“Yeah.” I nodded and adjusted the strap of my bag. “I have back-to-backs until five so I was just going to go home afterwards.”

“Sounds good. I hear you did really well in the meeting.”

I let out a long breath and shrugged slightly. “I feel good about it.”

“So do I,” she replied with a grin. “I’m proud of you, Gibson.”

With that, my boss turned away and headed for the elevators. I watched her for a moment before snapping out of it and going to my car.

In direct contrast to the day before, the court hearings I attended that afternoon all went in the direction I needed them to. By the time I made it home that evening, I felt fantastic.

Briana and I went out to grab something to eat and I listened to her tell me about her day. She was an elementary school teacher, specializing in special education, and I loved watching my baby sister speak passionately about helping children.

“Hey,” she said suddenly after she had just finished complaining about a new system the school district had implemented for writing up reports. “I almost forgot. Marco has a co-worker that we want to set you up with.”

I rolled my eyes and fumbled the piece of chicken I had picked up with my chopsticks. I really should have asked for a fork. “I’m not interested.”

“Oh, come on!” My sister’s blue eyes stared me down as she went for her best stern look that resembled our mother a little too much. “You’ve been out on two dates since you and Troy split and you let Alyssa set you up on those. You need to get out there and I have better judgement than she does. This guy is awesome. He has the same sense of humor as us and he’s hot.”

An image of Jared flashed through my mind but I tried to push it back. I refused to believe that the reason I was turning down Briana’s request was because I was hung up on a man I couldn’t have.

“Let me think about it, okay?”

A victorious look crossed her face and I could tell she was trying not to seem smug. “Okay.”

Hanging out with my youngest sister was always a great ending to my day and we stayed at the restaurant until after eight. I went home to an empty house and got myself ready and into bed by ten. The weight of the day hit me hard and I had no trouble falling asleep. I don’t know how long I’d actually been out before my phone ringing on my nightstand pulled me from my slumber.

I reached over groggily and grabbed the noisy contraption, glancing at the display as I did. When I saw the name and how late it was, I was instantly on alert. I sat up quickly and brought the phone to my ear.

“Jared? Is everything okay?”