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Rory reaches for the phone, making grabby hands like a toddler. “I want to say hi to Auntie Jules.”
I hand her the phone and they chat while I pay our bill. My mind is racing. This can’t be real, can it? I wrack my brain for anyone I may have pissed off lately who would play such an elaborate prank. There’s always been something shifty about the lady who lives across the street…
Starting my own marketing firm with only a couple hundred dollars to my name was a big risk. It was mostly Jules who convinced me to go for it. I’ve only been up and running for a year… and I’ve already got more clients than Jules and I can handle on our own… and now this?
I guess I’ve been struggling for so long, it’s hard to trust success. It’s like I’m waiting to wake up from a wonderful dream. Waiting for the sky to fall, but in the meantime, all I can do is hang on and hope for the best.
Once Rory’s in bed for the night, I flip into research mode. I dive so deep into the Dallas Cowboys twitter account that I scroll clear past the pandemic before I come up for air. I’m making notes as I go, studying the type of content they post, the patterns and schedules to how they dish out content.
Jules calls just as I’m switching over to Facebook. “Hey girl, I’m down the street. You up for a glass of wine to celebrate?”
“Sure,” I say, getting up to unlock the door for her. My labradoodle, Murphy, takes up residence by the front window, tail wagging because he recognized Julia’s voice on speaker, and knows there are treats in his future. “Door’s unlocked,” I say into the phone as I go to retrieve two wine glasses from the kitchen. I set them on the coffee table and get back to my laptop.
Jules bursts in, and is immediately accosted by Murphy. I swear he likes her more than me, which is probably my fault. I’m not home enough. I’m never home enough, but that’s all about to change now that I have my first high-profile client.
“Red or white?” Jules says holding a wine bottle in each hand. She’s dressed in a tight sparkly number. Clearly, she was on a date, and judging by the fact that she’s in my living room with wine, it didn’t go well. This is, I suspect, the real reason she’s here.
“Surprise me,” I say turning back to the Facebook feed.
Jules disappears to the kitchen and comes back with the bottle open and ready. She pours me a glass of Riesling and passes it off before flopping on the worn sectional beside me. “Are you… working? No, we’re celebrating, Iz. Put that away.” She grabs for the laptop but I snatch it out of reach.
“Just a few more minutes. I’m just absorbing. This is how I process.” I settle the laptop back on my lap. Jules shakes her head and starts telling me about the awful date she cut short to come here. I grin at the fact that I know her so well.
Still scrolling, I nod along and make noises of interest, “Mhm. Oh?
…but then, everything freezes. I can’t hear a word she’s saying over the whoosh of blood in my ears. My eyes fall on a post on the Dallas Cowboy’s Facebook feed. It was posted… just yesterday.
It reads:
Breaking News: NFL Trade Alert.
Dallas Cowboys score big with All Star acquisition! Joining this season’s star-studded roster, is none other than Nathan Sterling! This Super Bowl champion is a big win for Dallas.
Clear droplets spray across the screen as I spit my wine. I’m not sure what’s happening, maybe I’m blacking out. I can’t feel my face. My head feels like it’s made of helium and there’s black encroaching at the edges of my vision.
I vaguely register Jules’s voice. “Iz, breathe. You’re hyperventilating. Just in through your nose…” She moves to sit on the coffee table facing me, motioning a hand toward her chest and away in time with the deep breaths she’s telling me to take.
I suck in air. My head does start to clear but my pulse has yet to get on the same page.
Jules watches me, face etched in concern. “What was that all about? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
A ghost would be simpler.
“I’m not taking the contract,” I say.
Her eyes, which are a bit too large for her narrow face already, nearly pop out of her skull. “The hell you aren’t! This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to us. It might be the biggest thing that ever does happen. Why on earth would you turn it down?”
Aaaannnd… this is that moment, the one I’ve been dreading for years.
Isabella Rossi, welcome to your worst nightmare. Sit down, stay a while.
Jules is my best friend, and even she doesn’t know my whole story. I’ve never told anyone. Not a single living soul. Only my brother Evan knows… and he figured it out on his own, because he’s too smart for his own good.
The words are on the tip of my tongue, but they just won’t come out. Seven years of silence on the matter will do that. I scramble for whatever excuse will sound plausible and make her stop staring at me like she can hear my thoughts. “I just… Rory needs me. She’s having trouble at school. I can’t take on a high-pressure client like this right now.”
Jules shoots me a flat look, clearly not buying it. Her bangle earrings jingle as she shakes her head. “Iz, I’ve known you since junior high. I’ve always known that your story about the summer fling with Brian was a load of bullshit. I just figured it wasn’t my business and you’d tell me when you were ready. You get this look on your face… it’s the same look you had just now—just before you told me you’re turning down a contract you’ve always dreamed of. So, speaking as your best friend—spill.”
With a full-body sigh, I sink back against the couch cushions. Murphy settles his shaggy head in my lap; even he can tell I’m about ready to hide under my bed. It takes a moment for the words to make their way to my lips, but at last, they come. “Remember how I told you that Rory’s dad was just some guy I met right after high school?”
