Chapter Twelve

THE AUDIT WAS done, right when I’d told George it would be, two weeks after our meeting. And not only was the audit done, it was turned in.

I’d forgotten freedom felt like this. The whole time I was going over the sales audit with David, I couldn’t stop smiling. He seemed really happy too, though I didn’t envy him having to present all of it to MagiCorp and field their questions. I was glad it was him, and that he was excited to do it, and I was glad the audit was done and had I thought that word too much already? Done done done done done! I sat at my desk feeling light as air, as bright as a star, as at peace as a flower in the breeze.

Apparently, the accomplishment was making me poetic.

Ann: Do you want to drink celebratory wine when I come over for dinner tonight?

I smiled when Rachael immediately texted back.

Rachael: You finished? YOU FINISHED! Yes! Some red will go great with the pasta I’m making!

Ann: It’s a date ;)

My remaining Outlook flags in their neat little red row couldn’t grab my attention now, because I was free, and I was having dinner at Rachael’s house tonight, and for at least one glorious day, I didn’t feel like I wasn’t cutting it at this job.

This had been enough.

“Wow, Ann. What’s got you smiling?” Chelsea leaned over the top of my cubicle, resting her head on her arm so her curls fell in front of her face.

“I’ve finished fixing the MagiCorp sales figures,” I said, and she perked her head back up and beamed back at me. “I don’t think I could be happier.”

She laughed. “Yeah, until old Georgie assigns you the next big project!”

“Well, all this has been a way to prove what I’m capable of. Just like David giving that presentation will really test his ability in his new lead position.”

Chelsea nodded. “Good. Make him work for what he’s got.”

“Lord knows I have.”

“And this will look great when you apply to the new position,” she said, and I gave her a coy smile. “Damn girl, you are going to kill it when you interview.”

“You bet I am.”

“Good. First David, then you, then it’ll be my turn.”

I smiled at her, happy to hear this change in her tone, and after a pause, she elaborated.

“You’d never guess—Georgie told me at my last one-on-one that I was making great headway on my milestones.”

“Hell, yeah!” I cheered. Maybe I really had made a difference.

I floated on my high for the rest of my email-filled day, and maybe if someone noticed the chipper tone in my emails, it influenced their day as well. It wouldn’t have been right for me to keep all this awesomeness within me, anyhow.

I was outright giddy when the clock struck four thirty, and I hightailed it out of there, stopping only to run into the grocery store and grab a bottle of red. Franny must have felt my excitement when I arrived home, given how many times she tried to jump up on me, even though she was usually better behaved than that.

But I made her wait as I threw off work clothes, put on my tank top with the lacy back and black shorts, and took my hair out of its bun to cascade all air-dried wavy around my shoulders.

“Does this look good?” I asked her, and she bounced on her toes and barked. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

She lost it further when I got her leash.

“Girl, contain yourself before you break something!” I laughed, latching the leash and leading her out. “Let’s go collect some items then head to Rachael’s.”

 

I SWIRLED A glass of wine, sitting back on Rachael’s couch, feeling full and oh, so content. Rachael had opened the blinds, and the evening sun streaked through as we watched Connor throw a stick around the backyard with Franny.

Rachael sat right next to me, her hip pressed up to mine. I wrapped my other arm around her shoulders so she would lean her head on me. She did, and we simultaneously let out a sigh.

“Thank you for the amazing dinner,” I said, and Rachael wiggled closer to me, her glass mostly empty in her lap. Whether the joyful fluttering in my chest was the warmth of the alcohol-buzz or the pleasure of having her so close, it didn’t matter.

“Thank you for the entertainment,” she said, gesturing outside. Connor and Franny were happily chasing each other around, colliding in a big ball of fur and boy, their joy obvious through the sun-streaked windows.

I tipped up my glass, finishing the wine with a gulp before putting the glass on a side table. Rachael let out a gurgle, following suit before climbing on top of me to place her glass next to mine. Her elbow dug into my gut, and I yelped, my stomach spasming.

Rachael squealed, her glass knocking mine off the table, and it hit the floor with a tinkling crack.

“Shit.” I laughed, stealing a glance at the bright shards. “Yeah, it broke.”

Rachael finally put her glass down properly and then collapsed on top of me with a snorted giggle. “If that doesn’t sum up my life—a beautiful evening ending in broken glass—I don’t know what does.”

I quirked a smile at her and shook my head. “It’s still a beautiful evening.”

Rachael hummed with approval and leaned forward to deliver a deep, fulfilling kiss before pulling away with a laugh and prancing across the kitchen. When she returned with a dustpan, I whisked it out of her hands and cleaned up the glass myself.

“Thank you,” she said, collapsing onto the couch. “It is still a beautiful evening. Because Connor is happy and fed, and no one is upset or stressed. When was the last time it was like this?”

I shrugged, dumping the dustpan’s contents in the trash before settling back at Rachael’s side.

“Does it matter when the last time was? We have it now.”

She sighed. “I can’t guarantee when parenting is going to frazzle me out next.”

“Well, the next time you fly off the proverbial handle because parenting is hard, I can be there to help you.”

“Not all the time.”

“Not all the time right now, but if we adjusted our living arrangements…” I said in a singsong.

After a moment, she cocked her head. “Are you asking to move in some day?”

“If you cook like this every night, just give me a move-in date.”

She smacked me playfully and then nestled into my arms. “When’s your lease up?”

“The spring.”

She nodded approvingly, and I held her close. For some time, we sat in the peace of the evening, enjoying the warmth of each other’s company, each other’s touch, Connor’s laughter and screeches of excitement reaching us from outside.

“It’s funny how you never know how things are going to go,” Rachael said, her voice light and wispy. “But you still gotta hope for the best. Anything can end up stumbling into your path.”

“I didn’t stumble.”

“With the way you were throwing your nets?”

I snickered. “Fine, fine.”

“At least you’ve gotten better.” Rachael chuckled, and our conversation waned with the contentedness of us holding each other’s gaze, enjoying the relative peace.

“I look forward to where this path will take us,” I whispered, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek.

“I do too.” And she tilted her head up, at just the right angle for me to lean down and give her a kiss.

The kiss turned long but stayed sweet, the softness of her lips against mine a welcome, wonderful feeling.

Almost from a distance, I thought I heard the swinging of a door.

“Eeeeew, kissing!” Connor yelled, and we gasped and separated, Franny taking that as an invitation to jump onto our laps with her grassy, dirty paws and dog-sweat smell.

“Oh my god!” Rachael screeched, before bursting into laughter. Connor climbed into her lap, and she gave him a big bear hug as I eased Franny off my lap, rubbing her head as she wagged her tail at my feet.

“All of us?” Rachael asked, and despite the gap in our conversation, I followed well enough. Where this path will take us… Her and her son, me and my dog. Bringing responsibilities neither of us had anticipated. But they were new life experiences that I was excited about…and I was relieved to be excited about them.

I smiled down at Franny’s doggy grin and caught Connor making a silly face at me, his cheeks puffed out and his eyes crossed, so I stuck my tongue out at him.

Finally, I met Rachael’s soft gaze.

“Yeah. All of us.”