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The air between our two phones charged with her mischief then, and I figured it wouldn’t take her too long to get on my case about Agatha.
“So, tell me more about your friend. She’s very pretty. All-American beauty queen.” She likely meant what she was saying, but it was also serving as the warm-up stretch before the wind sprints. The spoonful of sugar to help her medicine go down.
So I made her work for any details I shared. “Thank you. She’s definitely a beauty.”
And I left it at that. If she wanted more, she’d have to ask.
“Where did you meet?” my sister asked immediately. I’d be shocked if she’d even heard my gratitude because she was busy deciding what to ask next.
“My boss, Elijah Banks, is married to her sister. We met at his wife’s birthday party.”
“And what does she do for a living?”
“She’s currently looking for something new. You guys hiring?” I teased, but if she said yes, I’d definitely steer Agatha in that direction.
“Hmm, not sure. If you’re serious, I can find out. What does she do?”
“She’s a journalist,” I answered flatly.
“Why are you making me pull every crumb of information from you like this? Based on the way you were so googly-eyed over the girl, I kind of figured I wouldn’t be able to shut you up about her,” she said with a forced laugh. It was her way of letting me know she wasn’t trying to start an argument.
“I was not googly-eyed,” I insisted. “I’m just exhausted, I guess.” I heard how lame that sounded. It wasn’t untrue, even if it wasn’t the actual reason I was hesitant to offer up too many details about my wife. “She got very sick in the parking lot before we left, and it’s been a bit dicey here since this morning.”
“Oh no, what’s wrong? Do you think it’s a bug or something? A couple of coworkers were out this week with a stomach thing. Must be going around.” Gray was genuinely concerned. She was one of the most compassionate and empathetic people I knew.
“Honestly, I think it was a combo of things. She was very nervous about meeting the family, plus something she ate this morning didn’t agree with her.” Okay, so it was a tiny fib. Just stretching the truth, really.
Before we got into the marriage conversation, or debate, depending on if my sibling was going to support me on the topic or not, I tried to end the conversation.
“I think I hear her stirring, Gray. I’m gonna get going. I appreciate the call. Love you, sister.”
But her disappointment came through in her tone. “Oh. Okay, I guess. We really need to have lunch, though. I feel like we haven’t talked in so long, and I also want you to know you can speak freely to me. I mean, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, of course I do.”
“Then why do I get the feeling you’re giving me the brush-off here? You know I’m very open-minded, Carmen. I’m not going to criticize or judge.”
The solemnity in her voice was comforting and made me really want to spill my guts to my little sister. Maybe I’d gain some clarity? Maybe it would just feel good to talk with someone about this crazy predicament I’d gotten myself into.
“I’m not brushing you off. Things are just…” Shit, how did I encapsulate the state of my affairs in one or two words? “I don’t know. Complicated, I guess?”
“Would talking about it help uncomplicate things?”
“That’s just it. I don’t think so. I think she and I need to find our way through this mess ourselves. We’re the ones who created the problem, you know? We’re the ones who have to come up with a solution.”
“Oh, no,” my sister said warily and then added, “Is she pregnant?”
Fuck it, I decided. I’d just tell her and hope for some useful input. Otherwise she’d keep speculating until she got it right. I didn’t want to waste either of our time denying nonsense.
“No, she’s not pregnant. Look, I’ll tell you, but please don’t share this with the folks. I don’t want them to get a bad impression of her or get off on the wrong foot. Okay?”
“I’m almost offended you think I would do that. But I’m going to give you a wider margin than normal because clearly you have a lot of balls in the air right now.”
“Man, that’s putting it mildly,” I muttered, but Gray heard me. “Do you remember I went to Las Vegas for a few days? Like a few weeks ago?”
“Yes, of course. Your boss got married, right?” she clarified.
“That’s right. Well, there was a big party afterward—a super loose interpretation of a reception. Everyone got wasted and had an amazing time.”
