The Friends We Keep

She was a complete and total mess. Without Rob, she had trouble getting through her day.

Somehow, with all the stress of trying to get pregnant and her miscarriages, she’d forgotten that without her husband, nothing mattered. She’d become so focused on where she was in her cycle, with her drugs, with her ovaries, that she’d lost track of the man she loved. She didn’t know when everything had changed, but it had. She would guess it had happened slowly, over time, but the end result was the same. He was gone and she didn’t know how to get him back.

She never would have thought it would come to this. When she and Rob had first met, she’d been in her second year of college. She’d been working close to full-time and only taking a couple of classes a semester. She’d planned on being a business major—maybe marketing. She’d gone to a party with a friend and had met Rob.

It had been one of those things. She’d taken one look at him and had known he was the one. Maybe it had been how he’d smiled at her, or that he was such a sweet guy. Whatever combination of chemistry and conversation, she’d fallen hard.

She’d been careful to play it as cool as she could. When he’d asked for her number, she’d given it to him without shrieking with excitement. When he’d asked her out, she’d pretended to check her calendar to see if she was free.

They’d gone out the next night and the next. By their fifth date they were lovers, by their eighth, they’d admitted to being in love. By the end of month two, they were engaged.

Hayley had dropped out of college. She couldn’t work enough to support herself, go to college and be in love with Rob. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day. So college had been sacrificed so she could work full-time. Six months after the wedding, she’d been promoted to John Eiland’s personal assistant. With that responsibility had come a nice raise.

She and Rob had started saving for a house right away. They’d had a plan. Three years of marriage, then kids. She’d gotten pregnant the first month they’d tried. They’d both been thrilled and happy. Then she’d lost the baby.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Hayley smiled at the teen who brought her the latte. She took a sip, then returned her attention to her book. But instead of words, she saw the empty room at their house. The one they’d been so sure would be a nursery.

They’d been so happy once, she thought wistfully. Back before they’d realized how hard it was going to be for them to have a child of their own. When they hadn’t known there were problems, that she couldn’t seem to carry a fetus to term. That her eggs weren’t easily harvested—meaning a surrogate wasn’t an option.

“Hayley.”

She’d been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed Rob approach. Now she looked up and saw him standing next to her small table.

“Hi. Are you getting a coffee?”

“I’m good.”

He sat down across from her.

He looked the same as he always did. The same haircut, the same glasses. Maybe he looked a little tired—she thought there were shadows under his eyes, but maybe that was just the light in the shop. He didn’t seem happy to see her, but he wasn’t mad, either. At least not that she could tell.

“What are you reading?” he asked.

She raised the book so he could see the front cover, mostly because she had no idea what she’d thrown in her bag.

She hadn’t seen him in nearly two weeks and now that he was here, she didn’t know what to say. “I miss you” was the obvious choice, but was it the right one?

“How are you?” she asked instead.

“Busy at work. How about you?”

“The same.” She picked up her latte, then put it down. “I thought we should talk.”

“I agree.”

He was still wearing his wedding ring. That was something. Because she’d been afraid he would take it off. That being married to her didn’t mean anything to him anymore.

“Where are you staying?” she asked.

“I’m renting a room. A couple of college kids and me.” He smiled briefly. “I think I cramp their style, but the check clears so they put up with it.”

“You could come back,” she whispered. “I miss you. Us. We could see a counselor or something. If that would help.”

His gaze was steady as he listened to her. When she was done, he leaned toward her. “I love you, Hayley. More than you know. I miss you, too. I want to come home. It’s where I belong.”

Some of her tension eased. “That’s wonderful. So come home.”

“Have you talked to the doctor?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you scheduled your surgery?”

“No. Of course not. I can’t do that.” She leaned toward him. “Rob, please understand. I have to do this. I have to try. A baby is everything to me. You’ve always known that.”

“I have.”

“Then you know how wonderful it will be when we have a family of our own. You want that, too.”