Page 83 of Songbird: Black Kite
“How awful for you,” I deadpanned as I climbed behind the wheel, and Bri snorted in my ear.
“You could be getting good dick, too, you know, if you just opened yourself up to the possibility.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen any time soon, babe.” I had tried dating a little a few years ago. Things went well enough, I guessed, until it came time to talk about the fact that I had a daughter. After the first two guys ran for the hills and the third tried to talk me into the fact that it wasn’t ‘too late to putitup for adoption’ I decided that dating was something I was done with.
Forever.
“It totally is an option. Daniel would be down for plowing your lady garden.”
“Jesus,” I coughed, choking on my own spit. “There’s a visual I absolutely did not need.”
“What? You know he’d be in there like a dirty shirt. The guy has been nipping at your heels for years now. Maybe it’s time you gave him a taste.”
“Sabrina, no. Absolutely not.”
“Why not?”
“You know why. We’ve talked about this. Repeatedly.”
“I mean, fine. So he’s your boss. So what? That doesn’t mean you can’t sleep together occasionally.”
“That’s exactly what it means,” I insisted, starting the car and placing the phone on speaker before heading for the house.
“I’ve slept with plenty of my bosses,” she continued, as though I hadn’t spoken.
“And how have those situations all worked out?” I waited while she paused, trying to think of one instance where her fucking her boss didn’t result in the end of her employment.
“But how much do you even like your job?” she asked instead.
“It’s not about whether I like my job—which I do, by the way. It’s about whether I like paying my bills and feeding my kid.”
“How is the little gremlin today anyway? Still surly?”
“You know it,” I sighed.
“That’s my girl. Fuck, I miss her like crazy. You, too, you know? When are you girls gonna come visit me again?”
Sabrina lived in St. Paul, three hours away, and missing her was like missing a limb. But there wasn’t a ton of work for an interior designer in Grand Rapids.
“Cooper is right in the middle of volleyball season,” I explained, knowing Sabrina would get it. Cooper was always an active kid, never wanting to sit still, and of all the sports she played, volleyball was her favorite.
“Fine,” she moaned dramatically. “Summer vacation is coming up. Why don’t you talk to your boss who you definitely don’t want to fuck and see if you can get some time off. Maybe we can make a week of it. Do some shopping, get our nails done.”
“Yeah?” I asked, mentally calculating what that kind of time off would cost me. “I’ll see if I can swing it. Even if I can’t make it, you and Cooper could still do it. She loves spending time with her Auntie Sabrina.”
“Of course, she does. I’m the best.”
She really was. Sabrina had been there for me when my life had been the absolute hardest, standing by my side for every significant moment in my life and in Cooper’s. Now that things were more settled, she’d finally gone out into the world to pursue her own dreams, and I was so damn proud of her I could hardly stand it.
Didn’t mean I didn’t miss her, though. Or that I wasn’t just the smallest bit jealous that she’d been able to escape this town like we’d always wanted to when I hadn’t.
As I crossed the bridge, the river sparkling in the afternoon sun, I glanced up in the mirror, seeing that same black SUV a few car lengths behind me.
“But don’t think I am not recognizing the fact that you smoothly took yourself out of the equation there, woman,” Sabrina continued, oblivious to the fact that I was watching the SUV in the mirror, trying to decide if I was being paranoid or if it was actually following me. “You deserve a break, too, Wren.”
“I know, and I’ll take one. Eventually. But the washing machine’s been acting up and Cooper has blown through another pair of tennis shoes, so it’s going to have to be a little longer until I take any time off, alright?”
Sabrina sighed, but eventually relented, understanding after all this time that I wasn’t going to bend.
