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“I’m sorry, Mandy. They are held up in traffic and are probably not going to make it. You’re stuck with yours truly for this evening.”
“Oh, great.” She dramatically tosses up her arms. “Not you.”
Her sarcasm pushes the chill button on my nerves, and we both laugh. She’s easy to get along with.
“I do have a confession to make, though.” She nibbles her bottom lip.
“Let the confession segment of the date begin.”
She shakes her head, smiling. Blushing. Cute. “I’m a preschool teacher, who lives in a shitty apartment because rent is disgustingly high downtown. This isn’t really my scene.”
My ears perk, and my leg stills. “What is your scene then?”
“I’m more of a beer-and-pizza kinda girl. How about you?”
“Ah, and it was going so well. I prefer burritos and beer. This is never going to work out.”
She throws her head back, cracking up. “I’m heartbroken.”
“Don’t be. Pizza and beer are good.” We catch each other’s glance. “I can definitely go for pizza and a beer.”
We pay our tab, link arms, and head to the pub down the block, chatting as we stroll the sidewalk. There isn’t one lull in our conversation. This is probably the best date I’ve been on in a while. She’s really laid back.
“Have you always lived in Chicago?” Mandy asks.
“No, actually. I’m from—”
My phone cuts me off mid-sentence. When I go to dismiss the call, Queeny’s name pops up on the screen.
I answer immediately. “Hey, Queeny, what are you doing on this fine evening?”
“Remi.”
Her choked panic causes my steps to falter as my chest constricts. I hear Isabel screaming for me in the background. My world pivots. I’ve never felt such terror before.
“I’ll be right there. Tell me everything.”
Turns out, Isabel isn’t feeling good and she’s fussy, which is no surprise. Mae sounded like she was at her wits’ end.
I explain to Mandy what’s going on when the call ends, and she offers to help calm the mom while I settle Isabel. The great girl she is, she completely understands and comes with me to take the train toward the house.
When we get off the train, we take a taxi to Mae’s. Normally, I’d walk, but my baby’s in distress and I don’t have time to waste. Yes, my baby. Fuck it. It certainly feels like she is. My heart is pounding out of my chest.
Storming into the house, I scan the area until my gaze locks on a sobbing Isabel and an exhausted Mae. Everything else fades away. They are all I see. As if my world is on fire and I’m the only one who can temper the blaze.
“Em-mie,” Isabel hiccups, and my heart lurches.
She holds her arms out to me, and I reach for her. “What’s the matter, Isa-bea?”
She doesn’t answer. She just rubs her nose all over my chest.
Mae bites the side of her thumb as her eyes fill up with tears. “Remi, thank you for coming. I’m sorry to bother you on your night off. I’m just…” She glances away.
Her usually perfect locks are a tangled mess as if she’s been tugging and twisting them for a while. She’s wringing at the back of her neck, trying and failing to ease her tension. An oversized sweatshirt hangs off her body like it’s being weighed down by gravity. Or maybe it’s just mirroring her mental state.
When she turns back to me, I can see the vulnerability in her eyes. My ever-confident Queen is stripped raw and needs someone to fix her fallen crown. I want to be the one to do it.
Before I can pull Queeny to my side, my date approaches. “H-hi, I’m Mandy. Remi’s, ah, friend.”
