Page 110 of The Lost and the Found

“Oh, that’s exciting. Do you have any plans after?”

I shrugged. “Get a job, I suppose.”

She and I shared a smile. Then a wistful look came over her face. “I graduated last year.”

That took me by surprise, and I didn’t know why. She certainly looked young. She couldn’t be older than twenty-two, I suspected.

“Are you happy about that?”

She looked at me then. “Of course. But I miss school, you know?” I shook my head and she laughed. “Or, you will know, once you graduate. I think I just miss being busy with school. And having that sense of accomplishment every time I turned something in, or any time I got an A.”

I nodded then. I knew that. That sense that you were doing something right.

“What are you doing now?”

“Me? I’m a stay-at-home mom-to-be.”

“Hmmm,” I acknowledged with a nod. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. I knew Mason was making more than enough to support his family and then some. But there was something unsatisfied in her eyes, and I didn’t think it was my place to say anything.

“I got my degree in Directing and Theatrical Production.”

I wasn’t able to hide my surprise then, and she laughed.

“What does a degree in Directing and Theatrical Production entail? Like directing and stuff?” I couldn’t sound more clueless, but a theater degree wasn’t something I would even entertain. It sounded like a literature degree. Where there would be very limited job opportunities once you graduated.

She shook her head and smiled. “Not directing, though you could, but that wasn’t what I was interested in. I did that at the university way back when, but it wasn’t what I wanted, you know?” She waved her hands around, like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Then what is it?”

“Oh, you know, the behind-the-scenes stuff, like marketing and public relations for a production, and even producing the production itself. That kind of stuff.”

“So why aren’t you doing that?” I hoped I didn’t sound too forward.

“Because I married Mason two weeks after I graduated. And no, I don’t regret it. I love my husband very much. More than anyone else in this world. Except maybe this baby girl.” She patted her stomach and I smiled.

“But…” I said, sensing there was one in there.

“But then we found out I was pregnant late in the summer. And it hasn’t been the easiest pregnancy. I was bed-ridden for most of my second trimester. Mason was going crazy, worrying about me and the baby, and a job just wasn’t possible.”

“What about after you give birth?”

That wistful look came over her face again, and I knew she really wanted to go to work. “Do you think it would be possible, even with a baby?”

“Absolutely,” I said, confidently. If there was anything I was sure of, it was how truly resilient human beings were. We could endure a lot of things, and struggles were not permanent roadblocks.

“I wish I had your confidence.”

I put my juice down and grabbed her hand. “I don’t know you very well, but I know for a fact that your husband loves you very much.”

She smiled at that, because we both knew it was true.

“And if you tell him that you want to go back to work after the baby is born, I know he’ll support you. You’re not a single mom, Olivia. You’re very fortunate to be having a baby with someone capable of taking care of your family.”

“Thanks, Hayden.”

“Don’t mention it. And I wouldn’t be opposed to free tickets to any theater show you might produce in the future.”

She threw her head back and laughed, and I knew why Mason was so in love with her. Aside from being unbelievably beautiful, she was kind in every way. She was also a very easy person to connect with. I didn’t have a lot friends, perhaps even none now that Dave and I were no longer talking to each other, but I could see us becoming fast friends in the near future.

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