“Night, Will.”
It was getting colder in the city, Halloween came and went without fanfare and Will and I saw less and less of each other. He was working a lot, trying to keep himself busy while he waited to hear from the record labels. Jenny and Tyler were back, but not really; they weren’t kidding about wanting to start a family right away. I’m, pretty sure they only got out of bed to go to work. Sheil started dating a fellow sitar player; I was really happy to see her moving on, but for me it still felt like a reminder that my father was gone forever. I kept at it with the café, even though the daily business of running it started to feel mundane. I hoped that I would find more studio work to keep me busy, so I started working on putting together my own demo tape to offer people looking for a pianist.
One morning at Kell’s I noticed Jenny looking a little pale. There was a line of patrons forming, but she and the old monster weren’t keeping up. Sheil popped in and started helping while Jenny leaned against the back counter, looking ill. I told her to go up to my apartment and rest. At lunch I went to see her and found her listening to Will’s demo.
“This freakin’ rocks!” she said, bobbing her head.
“Yeah, Will is going to be big.” I feigned enthusiasm. I knew it was selfish; I wanted to be genuinely happy for him, but the thought of him moving on was becoming a giant void in my heart; a void that I tried desperately to ignore. “You seem to be feeling better.” There was a long pause.
“You’re going to be an aunt, Mia,” she said with a huge smile.
“Oh my god!” I wrapped my arms around her for a long hug. “I’m so happy for you guys. “
Jenny and I spent the afternoon together at Kell’s, talking about babies and pregnancy. I realized I was extremely uninformed on the topic. I was an only child, no younger siblings, no nieces and nephews; I didn’t even have friends with kids. My only experience was the small amount of time I’d spent with Jacob and a few music lessons I’d given in Ann Arbor. Jenny told me she wanted Will and me to be the kid’s soul parents. I looked at her with amusement. “Is that like godparents?”
“I guess it would be like godparents if we were religious… it’s like backup parents, you know?”
“I’m totally honored, but don’t people usually pick a couple for stuff like that?”
“I think best friends will suffice.”
I had never thought of Will and me as best friends, but we were and everyone else knew it.
“We would love that, Jenny.”
I noticed an unkempt, grumpy-looking little fellow approach the counter with his iced cappuccino in hand. He set it on top of the refrigerator case.
“Can I get a paper cup for that?”
“I’m sorry, we don’t have paper cups here.”
“I’ve got to be somewhere and I’d like to take my three-dollar coffee with me,” he said, his voice rising.
“Like I said, I’m sorry, but we don’t stock paper cups here.” I was trying to tug at some environmental heartstrings he clearly didn’t have.
“You’re kidding? Well, you can expect a Yelp review from me.”
What an assclown. I had no patience for his crap. “If you want a three-dollar cappuccino in a paper cup, there’s a Starbucks around the corner—they’ll even write your name on it.” I gave him a condescending smile.
He pushed the glass over toward me, intentionally spilling the contents directly down my shirt. That’s when mama bear lost it. Jenny flew around the counter with a metal pitcher of steaming milk. “Get the hell out of here, you scary little psycho man!” She had rage in her eyes and I had no doubt she would have scarred that man’s crabby little face if he hadn’t turned and hurried out the door. When she noticed the shock on my face, she smiled and said, “What? It’s the hormones. Anyway, what kind of man does that? What a crank-ass.”
“Yes! I love it, Jenny, that’s my new favorite word.” We laughed and then I made an ill attempt at cleaning my white shirt.
“Go ahead and go home, Mia. Tyler will be here any minute; he can help me close up.”
“Thanks, girl.” I kissed her on the cheek. “Congratulations again. I’ll see you guys soon.”