Page 31 of Tart
“No, you were just stretched too thin, and that’s on both of us. Should we have seen this sooner and done something about it? Yes. The problem is, we were both so damn busy doing our jobs that we didn’t have time to stop and think about how to make life easier.”
“You must have found the time somewhere.”
She shook her head and looked to the ceiling. “No, I was forced to see the light, too. I, um, had a scare,” she said, looking around me to check the doorway.
I leaned forward and stared at her under my eyebrows. “A scare?”
Her eyes rolled to break contact with mine. “A pregnancy scare,” she clarified.
I hopped once in my seat and squealed. “What? And you didn’t tell me?”
She held her finger to her lips. “Shh, geez. I said it was a scare, not that I was. I’m not, for the record.”
My shoulders slumped back into the seat. “I don’t know how to feel now. I can’t wait for you and Brady to have a little one!”
“And we will, when the time is right, and things here are in a better place.”
“But, the scare forced you to see the light?”
Her head nodded up and down in such an exaggerated manner it would have been funny if it weren’t for the fact it wasn’t. “I lost it, Amber,” she said, lowering her voice. “I was a week late, hadn’t even taken a test yet, and he found me sobbing in the bathroom. It all crashed down on me, I guess. After the test came back negative, and I could breathe again, he forced me to talk to him about my reaction. He knew it didn’t have anything to do with the idea of being pregnant, but rather the idea of being pregnant right now. It was at that moment I knew the business was running us instead of the other way around.”
I rubbed my forehead and agreed with a nod. “I came to the same conclusion last night at about three a.m. while staring at the ceiling. That’s why I’m here now. I decided you were right, to a degree, last night. I can’t keep going like this. So, I made some decisions.”
She leaned forward on the desk with her hands folded. “Okay, one of them better include having your leg looked at again, or we’re done here.”
I forced my eyes not to roll and tipped my shoulder up. “I’ll call later and see when I can get in. In the meantime, I’m going to start sorting out this,” I said, motioning around at the mess around me. “I can’t—” My voice broke, and I rubbed my temple, trying to swallow back the tears. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I can’t work out front for a few days. I hurt too much.” A tear ran down my cheek until I wiped it away.
She was around the desk and hugging me before my hand fell to my side. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to make it worse, but I’m desperately worried.”
I nodded over her shoulder. “Me, too. That’s why I’ve avoided the doctor. I can’t any longer, though. I’m in bad shape. I don’t want to make things harder for you, but I’m scared, Hay-Hay. My knee looks atrocious today. Last night, I could still walk with only a cane, but this morning, I can’t do anything without the crutches.”
She leaned back and motioned for me to show her. “I had to wear a dress because I couldn’t even get pants on.” I pulled the dress up, and her eyes widened.
“Brady!” she yelled in a voice that told me how scared she was.
“Don’t bother him,” I hissed. “There is absolutely nothing he can do.”
He skidded to a stop at the door and didn’t get to ask what she needed before his eyes landed on my knee. “God almighty, Amber.” He took a step in the door. “You have to see a doctor.”
“I will,” I promised, my head nodding. “It wasn’t like this last night, so something has changed.”
Haylee looked up at Brady. “Would you get some ice for it? She can ice it while she’s sitting here. It won’t help the underlying problem, but it might make it feel better.”
He promised he would and left the office, while she hugged me again, rubbing my back and rocking me gently. “You took care of me last summer, so let us take care of you now. I wish I had understood what was going on, but now that I do, I’m not going to let this go on. I’m mad at Phyllis for not putting her foot down sooner.”
I laughed, but the sound was more sad than amused. “Don’t be mad at her. She tried. So did Dad. They can only do so much when I’m a grown-ass adult.”
She leaned back and smiled, but it was forced. “Don’t try to pretend that I don’t know the dynamics that go on there, Amber. They didn’t push you to do anything because their guilt doesn’t allow it. I wish they would see, even all these years later, that it wasn’t their fault. You can’t predict Mother Nature.”
I gave her the palms out. “You’re preaching to the choir. All I know is, I still have to find a way forward with my physical health and the business. I took the first step before I came in here.”
She tipped her head to the side. “How?”
Brady came back with a bag of ice wrapped in a bar towel. I accepted it from him with a smile and held it to my knee. I prayed it would numb the explosive ache that was overwhelming me quickly. I wasn’t sure how I’d even finish this conversation without throwing up. I needed to go home, but first, I had to finish addressing my business situation.
“I asked Taylor about working in the back full-time,” I said, picking up the conversation. “I promised her if she helped me get the new employees trained, that she could move to the back with no guilt.”
“Did she agree?”
