Page 4 of Never Really Over

“Like what?” I ask her, trying to sound casual. I love Mason like a brother but he and I don’t have a lot in common. Where I’m country, he’s city. Where I spend hours outside, working on equipment or in the dirt, he’s walking people through their prospective new homes. I don’t have a problem with that, obviously. It takes all types of jobs to keep the world moving but it means that we don’t have a lot to talk about when we get together. He doesn’t understand the farming industry and made it clear from the start that it’s definitely not his thing.

“It’s nothing,” she says, clearly avoiding the answer.

I lean forward, elbows resting on my knees and poke her. “What?”

She sniffles and looks at me, eyes red and wet and I immediately stiffen. “You don’t want to hear this.”

“Nat. Swear to God, if you don’t tell me what’s wrong I’m calling Mason and finding out for myself.”

She shakes her head and adjusts Poppy, patting her back to help her burp. “It’s awkward,” she finally admits.

“Don’t care.”

She gets Poppy resituated on her other side and eventually meets my eyes. “Mason won’t have sex with me anymore.”

I’m suddenly still as a statue. That is not at all what I was prepared for her to tell me.

“I told you it’s awkward!” she cries. “You’re the one who said you didn’t care.”

“I’m still digesting that information.” I swallow down the crackers that taste like dust now.

“What do I do?”

“Oh, you’re still talking about this? With your brother?”

“I’m going to take a moment right now to remind you that we shared a wall growing up. Very thin walls, might I add? I had to shove cotton balls in my ears when I heard you lose your virginity. I also had to listen in horror as you jerked off so you can help me remind my husband that he’s attracted to me. You owe me.”

“How is that me owing you? I heard some things I can’t forget, too, you know?”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” she demands to know.

Well, I didn’t think she’d call me out on that. I don’t really remember hearing her do anything that scarred me for life. At least not like hearing her masturbate or have sex. The fact that this thought just went through my mind is incredibly disturbing, though, and that’s her fault.

“I’d like to change the subject.”

She huffs and rolls her eyes, setting Poppy on the floor after she’s done nursing. Natalie fixes her clothes so she’s covered and places the blanket over her lap. “Fine. I’ll give you a pass if you do me a favor.”

Poppy crawls over to the corner of the living room where I keep a stash of toys for her and pulls herself up to standing before starting to bang around on this little Fisher Price learning table that plays different sounds and songs and lots of activities. She absolutely loves it, even if it’s kind of annoying. Poppy spends enough time here, though, that it’s a lot more convenient for me to keep plenty of toys and even a portable crib here for when she needs it.

I’m scared to ask what the favor is, but the look on Natalie’s face breaks my heart so I give in. “What do you need?”

“Can you take Poppy for a night?”

That’s all? That’s nothing. “Of course. You know you don’t even have to ask.”

“I know but this is overnight.”

“And?” I shrug. It might be the first time she’s ever spent the night here, but it’s not like I’ve never been around for the nighttime routine, as Natalie calls it, and have laid her down for naps. Since my parents retired to Texas, and Mason’s parents aren’t “baby people”, his words, they lean on me for babysitting. Not that they’ve gone many places in Poppy’s short nine months of life.

“It’s going to be a lot,” she warns.

“Do you not think I can handle it?” I ask, somewhat offended.

“Of course I think you can handle it. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t.”

Poppy smacks the top of the table and it begins to quack. She giggles and does it again. Then again. Each time she makes it quack, she looks at Natalie and me with an expression that clearly reads, “Did you see that!” and it makes me smile. She’s so fucking cute. I can’t wait for them to have a couple more for me to spoil. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I’ve never been away from her overnight.”

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