I Was Told It Would Get Easier(60)

I shook my head, not that he could see me. “No, John, send it to Valentina. Even if I stay with you, I’m not taking the account.”

He was all charm. “Of course, just take a quick look-see.”

“No, John.”

“Fine, skim it while you’re away, and then we can talk it over next week.”

He wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so I said, “We’ll certainly talk it over next week, after you accept my formal resignation. Goodbye, John.”

I hung up and banged my head on the window. I checked my phone and saw a massive file downloading into my email. I guess being a steamroller had helped John get where he was, but it was deeply irritating to be the road. Mind you, it would be good to look over the account, in case I decided to jump ship.

“Problems at work?” Chris asked.

I shook my head. “The usual crap.”

He hesitated. “Did I accidentally overhear you quitting your job?”

I looked at him. “Yes, but please forget you heard it.”

“Does Emily know?”

I shook my head. “It was a strategic threat.” I explained briefly, omitting all personal details.

He looked at me. “No wonder you highly paid lawyers look so stressed. You’re fighting the good fight against injustice.”

I laughed. “Is that why I’m so tired all the time?”

He shook his head. “No, that’s because you have a teenager, and they come in while you’re sleeping and suck all the enthusiasm out of you. Like vampires.”

“That explains the sleeping all weekend. Poor things.”

Chris said, “Will’s younger brother James is twelve and hasn’t been seen before 2:00 p.m. on the weekends since last August.”

“Emily sleeps all morning then gets up, prowls around the kitchen complaining there’s nothing to eat, asks to Postmates a chai from Starbucks, gets annoyed when I say no, then spends the rest of the day complaining she’s hungry while looking at her phone.”

Chris laughed. “They’re really very rewarding, teenagers. They give a lot back.”

“They’re appreciative, that’s what makes it worth it.”

“Yeah, they notice all the little things you do for them.”

“And they’re super helpful around the house.”

“You never need to nag them.”

Suddenly, Will and Emily appeared, swaying in the aisle of the bus.

“I’m not sure you two hanging out is a good idea,” said Will. “I have a feeling you’re complaining about us.”

“Not at all,” lied his dad. “Can we help you with something?”

“Yes,” said Emily, looking at me. “We have free time this afternoon and we want to go to the aerodrome.”

We both goggled at them. “I’m sorry?” I asked. “Is that a club or something?”

Emily looked pointedly at me. “No, Mom, it’s an aerodrome.”

I frowned at her. “You said that already. What do you mean?”

She flicked a quick glance at Will, then spoke even more slowly. “It’s a place where there are planes, Mom, you know, like an airfield.”

“Oh . . . an actual aerodrome.”

Chris laughed. “Why do you want to do that?”

“There’s a museum there, it looks cool.”

I gazed at them. “You have the afternoon free and you want to go to an air museum?”

Emily was starting to blush. God, I am so slow.

“Yes, of course, that sounds awesome,” I said. “I’ll check in for us, and text you the room number. You guys can take off, so to speak, as soon as we get there.” I tried to nudge Chris, subtly, but he was way ahead of me and was pulling out his wallet.

“Here, in case.” He handed over two twenties.

“We had lunch,” protested Emily.

“Yeah, but maybe you’ll get coffee or something.”

“Or maybe there’s a gift shop.” I grinned at Will. “Emily loves museum gift shops.” I turned back to Emily. Possibly that had been too much information; she was now glaring at me.

“Well, thanks,” she said. “I’ll text you later.”

“Great,” I replied, trying to dampen my enthusiasm. God forbid they sense we’re happy they’re enjoying each other’s company; it will put them off immediately. “Don’t forget we’re having dinner with Helen.”

“Great,” muttered Emily.

“Great,” said Will.

“Great,” echoed Chris, and we watched as the two kids move slowly away, clearly convinced we’d lost our minds. I turned to Chris.

“Too enthusiastic?”

“Possibly,” he replied. “But I think they’ve already forgotten we exist, so never mind.”





EMILY


My mother is the most embarrassing mother on the planet. Emily loves museum gift shops. Oh my GOD. Why not tell Will I kept my Pokémon cards in color-coded binders? Or list my Girl Scout badges, all twenty-five of them? Why not tell him about me getting my period for the first time on a plane back from Grandpa’s and having her stand outside the airplane bathroom giving detailed instructions on how to use a pad while the flight attendants stood guard? All I could say was Mom, I know over and over again, but it didn’t shut her up. That wasn’t traumatic at all. I considered blowing the aircraft doors so I didn’t have to walk back to my seat.