Somewhere Out There(92)

“Are you kidding?” Nick said. “I don’t think even my most seasoned employee can do what you just did. You’re clearly experienced, and I like your enthusiasm.” He held out his hand across the table, and Brooke gave it a good, strong shake. “When can you start?”

“Tonight?” Brooke said, with a happy laugh. “Actually, I need to give notice at my current job. I’d like to offer them two weeks, but I’m guessing that once they know I’m leaving, they’ll take me off the schedule.”

“I understand,” Nick said. “Why don’t you just give me a call when you have a firm date?”

“Perfect,” Brooke said, and was pleased when Nick informed her that the restaurant paid its employees two dollars more than minimum wage per hour, plus tips. A few minutes later, she was in her car, thinking about how much she was looking forward to serving a more upscale clientele—customers who ordered cocktails and champagne to start their meals and a bottle of wine with each course. She felt a little bad that she hadn’t told Nick she was pregnant, but her desire to make more money and provide better health insurance coverage for herself and her baby overrode any guilt she might feel. If all went well, she could work right up until the day she delivered, and by that time—according to the job posting—she would be entitled to six weeks of maternity leave. It would be unpaid, but if she budgeted correctly until that point, she and her child would be just fine. When she went back to work, she’d have to find a trustworthy daycare, but she tried not to worry about that right now. With the money she’d be making, she’d be able to afford to pay someone well. She’d never be like her own mother and leave her baby alone.

Brooke was so excited about her new job, she shot a quick text to her sister, asking whether it was okay to stop by. It only took a few minutes for Natalie to respond. “Yes!” her text said. “Come over!” Having someone in her life with whom she could share her good news might have been a small thing, but to Brooke, it felt like everything.

Twenty minutes later, she parked in front of Natalie’s house. Brooke knocked, and a second later, Hailey answered the door. “Hi, Aunt Brooke!” she said with a big smile. The little girl gave her a hug, and Brooke felt herself begin to tear up. She thought of herself around Hailey’s age, having to return to Hillcrest from Jessica and Scott’s house. She remembered the sting of Scott’s hand. She remembered crying on Gina’s shoulder, wishing with all her might that her own mother would come back.

“Hey,” Natalie said as she came up behind Hailey in the entryway. “Come on in.”

“Henry and I are playing restaurant!” Hailey announced. “You can play, too, Aunt Brooke, if you want.”

“Oh,” Brooke said, unsure how to rebuff a child’s invitation.

“Brooke and Mommy need a little grown-up time,” Natalie said, saving her. “You go on and play with your brother.”

“But he burns everything,” Hailey said. Still, she did as her mother had asked, skipping off through the living room and turning down the hall.

Brooke followed Natalie into the kitchen, which barely resembled the crazy mess of a room that it had been the last time Brooke was there. Everything was clean, and looked to be in its proper place. A stockpot simmered on the stove, filling the air with the scent of what Brooke guessed was some kind of stew. Brooke sat on one of the barstools next to the island, and Natalie poured them each a glass of water from the Brita pitcher on the counter.

“How’d the interview go?” she asked, pushing the glass toward Brooke.

“It was great. I got the job!”

“That’s fantastic!” Natalie said with a huge smile. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks. It’s such a nice place. I think I’m going to be really happy there.”

“When do you start?”

Brooke told her about having to give notice at the bar, realizing that for the first time since their initial brunch, she didn’t have a sinking, nervous feeling in her stomach. She felt like she belonged here, in Natalie’s kitchen, sharing excitement over the things happening in each other’s lives.

“The results of the amnio came back, too. Everything’s fine.”

“Oh, good! Did you find out the sex?”

Brooke shook her head. “I didn’t want to find it out alone.” She paused. “Do you want to maybe come to my next appointment, and we can find out then?”

“Absolutely.”

“Mommy!” Hailey’s high-pitched voice, calling out from another room, cut into the moment. “I need you! Pleeease?”

Natalie smiled. “She probably wants me to pretend to be another sous chef because she already kicked Henry out of the kitchen.” She made a funny face, and Brooke laughed. “Be right back.”

Brooke waited in the kitchen for Natalie to return. She thought about the dark bar where she’d spent so many hours the past five years. It was where she’d met Ryan, where she realized she might be pregnant with his child. But now, she felt more than ready to move on to bigger and better things. Meeting her sister and landing a new job might only be the beginning of a brand-new life.

She reached for her glass, but instead of grabbing it, she accidentally knocked it over, spilling water all over the granite-topped island. “Shit,” she muttered, hopping down from the barstool and stepping over to the sink, where there was a roll of paper towels. She pulled off a handful and quickly returned to the island, mopping up the liquid. Some of it had spread to a stack of papers that sat on the corner of the island, so she reached to lift them from the counter. When she’d finished drying everything off, she set the stack of papers back down, glad that only the edges were damp, and then noticed that there was a manila folder in the middle of the stack. The tab was labeled with her name, written in blue ink.