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“It does when you work for me.”
“But it just seems so weird . . . You know, with it being so soon.”
“I don’t know what you expect me to say, Dana. I don’t talk about my private life at work.” His voice was stern.
“But you do with Amelia,” she said.
“Amelia isn’t my employee.” He could feel his frustration building. “You are. Let this go.”
“But—”
“Dana,” he warned. “I do not want to take disciplinary action against you, but I will.”
She seemed to deflate, and she said, “Right, sorry.”
She then walked out. He let out a long breath, frustrated with her attempts to push him into an answer. He’d never seen her like this, and he didn’t want to again.
But the threat seemed to work. He was left alone for most of the day, which was needed, considering he had multiple meetings.
At five, Amelia knocked on his door.
“I’m so ready to get home,” she said, her voice tight. “I’m not focusing very well.”
“I’m done too. Sorry, I missed lunch again. I’ll take you out to dinner to make up for it.”
“That sounds perfect,” she replied.
They took the MARTA to a nearby restaurant, a nicer one that he hoped Amelia would like. Once there was food on the table, her mood got better.
When they got home, they had time to watch a little bit of TV before she fell asleep on his shoulder. He put her in bed and then tidied up the house.
He was folding a blanket when he knocked Amelia’s purse on the ground. He bent down to pick it up, only to see a pill bottle fall out, the name side facing him. The last thing he wanted to do was pry, but he’d never heard of it, and his heart sank. What if she’d been keeping a serious illness from him?
He looked it up and saw it was an ADHD medication.
For a moment, he was relieved. It made sense. She had trouble focusing and getting things done, but why would she not have told him about it?
He could have put his phone down then, but he didn’t. If Amelia was on something for it, then there had to be a reason. And maybe one day, she would need help with it. When he searched for ADHD, he found all the traditional symptoms—not being able to sit still, not being able to focus. But it was all geared for kids, not adults.
So he typed in a search for adults, and then a suggested search read ADHD in adult women.
That was what he clicked on.
And then he realized ADHD was more than he thought.
He read through everything, feeling like he had been hit by a train. ADHD came with a laundry list of things that could go wrong. Many of the symptoms were different in women. They tended to have poorer friendships, to be messier, and often treated it with self-medicated drugs. It encompassed everything, from their social life to their monetary life. It could easily get dangerous while driving and dangerous for addiction. It meant anything from vastly overeating to ignoring bodily needs.
He had no idea how much it affected a person’s everyday life.
Through his search, he found people debating the use of medication, especially those that were labeled controlled substances. Many of the comments on the forum called people using it weak or addicted.
Had this been what her ex had done?
He put the bottle back. Just how bad had Andrew hurt her? And was it tied to the reason she hadn’t told him?
For as many questions as he had, he also knew he didn’t want to push her into telling him until she was ready. She was already stressed with work, and he didn’t want to make it worse.
Hopefully, she would open up to him about it, and when she did, he would be there for her.
