Page 21 of The Christmas Cover Rule
She drops from my lap, placing a hand above her eyes when she looks up at Lily and says goodbye.
I catch the way Lily’s suspicious eyes regard me before pressing her sunglasses back up her nose. She’s been the hardest one to get through to—aside from Isabelle’s husband, whose face has been buried in his phone the whole time. Lilianna continues to have her guard up around me. At first, I thought maybe she wasn’t buying this relationship, and she saw it for what it was. But at least from my end, every time Stella and I are together, every touch and every glance has been genuine.
“Lily’s a lawyer, yeah?”
Stella nods and swims over to the side of the pool. “Estate planning.”
“And Isabelle?”
“She works for a pharmaceutical company,” she says, resting her forearms on the warm ledge of the pool.
Isabelle has been very receptive to Stella and me. All three sisters have very diverse personalities, and Isabelle’s seems to be a little more gentle of the three, but she’s still watching, and I respect that.
“Are you judging me?”
My head snaps to Stella’s. I’ve been one of the top lawyers at my firm for almost a decade now. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised easily, but that question leaves me reeling.
“Why would I be judging you?”
“Because both of my sisters are married with impressive jobs and have their lives totally together, and I’m?—”
“Stop.”
I prop her sunglasses on top of her head so I can see directly into her eyes. “I’m not going to let you compare your life to theirs.”
Her eyes soften, and maybe it’s just the water reflecting, but there is a slight sheen to them as well, and at the sight, her words from the other day filter through my thoughts.I just wanted to feel normal for once.
“They’ve just always had everything so together. They went to college, made careers within a year, met their now husbands, and Lily has two beautiful girls…” she trails off. “I’ve just spent a lot of time listening to my parents gush over how proud they are of them. Meanwhile, I’m a high school art teacher who went two years without a boyfriend, and then when I finally settled on one, we had a mediocre at best six-month relationship before, well, you know the end.”
I try not to harp on the word ‘settle’, but a selfish part of me is glad that she feels this way about her ex.
“Do you like your job?”
She looks at me, stunned, like either she’s offended I would ask or I’m ridiculous for thinking that part was important. “I love it.”
“Then you’re successful.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re a big, fancy, hotshot lawyer, too.”
“And here I am trying to convince a man to hire my firm while also hiding that this run-in was all part of an elaborate scheme and not written in the cosmos. I might argue that you’re doing better than some of us, Stell.”
She tilts her head and looks at me now. Really looks at me like she’s trying to understand what’s going on behind my closed doors, and because I love getting to see beyond hers andcan no longer ignore the feelings that have been building for her… I tell her.
“I might be a hotshot lawyer, but I didn’t choose this life. My parents were lawyers my entire life. I never saw them. Even now, both my parents are in their sixties—professors at Stanford Law, and I’m here in the Dominican Republic during Christmas instead of home with them.” I make sure the sarcasm is heavy on the word home.
“So you followed in their footsteps. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”
“There’s not. But for the rest of my life, I’ll never know if I got into school, or even at my current firm, based on merit or based on my last name. I envy you for being fearless enough to go against the grain and do what you wanted. Living a life you sought out, that you wanted and made happen, is always going to be better than doing it because you’re doing something someone else expects of you.”
I can see her contemplating the words I’m saying. Her lips twist, and her teeth gnaw on the corner. I’ve said my piece, but we’re here on vacation, so I switch gears. “Besides, for all you know, they might not even have sex anymore.”
Stella slips, taking in a mouthful of water before she starts choking and spraying water everywhere. An elderly couple close enough to be offended by Stella’s choking but too far to hear what I said, shoot us a dirty look.
“Sorry.” I wave a hand in their direction. “It’s her first time in a pool.”
She slaps my chest and I bark a laugh, trapping her hand against me.
“All I’m saying is, they’re not perfect. Maybe in their relationship or to each other they are, but just because they have a job thatyoudeem more successful doesn’t mean they’re better than you.”
