The Friends We Keep

They were sitting at the small table in Hayley’s kitchen. The day was warm and sunny, so she had the slider open. Later the breeze would pick up but right now it felt like summer. Exactly what Hayley needed.

There were times when she was so cold, she was afraid she would never be warm again. Telling herself that her condition had nothing to do with body temperature and everything to do with what had happened to her didn’t help. She’d taken to wearing socks to bed and adding an extra blanket, but she was chilled to the bone. She wondered how much of that had to do with the fact that she was still sleeping alone.

“Just to be clear,” Gabby said with a smile. “You’re complaining about being given too much time off. Huh. I wonder who else would be sympathetic about that?”

Hayley laughed. “Point taken. I’ll stop whining.”

“You’re not whining at all. We’ve all worried about you. Maybe you could look at Steven’s actions through that filter.”

“I’ll try. It’s just—I’m ready to be back at work. I need things to do.”

“You’ve been doing a lot here. The new paint looks great. And the yard is coming along.”

“Thanks.” Hayley had signed up for a half-day class at the local nursery. Based on that, she’d come up with some simple ways to perk up the front yard. Rob had done the heavy digging over the weekend and she’d spent the past couple of days planting.

“I’m feeling better,” she admitted. “Physically stronger.” Not so much in her heart, but no one wanted to hear about that. “So what’s new with you?”

Gabby made a face. “Nothing. Andrew and I are still fighting. Well, not fighting exactly, but not talking very much.”

Hayley rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “He’s still insisting you stay home with Makayla’s baby?”

“Yup.”

Hayley couldn’t believe it. That was too much to ask. It was one thing if Gabby’s great goal in life was to be a stay-at-home mom, but she’d been dying to get back to work for a couple of years now.

“You can’t get him to listen?”

“Apparently not. I’ve tried to reason with him and we’re not making any progress. The last time we discussed all this, he said he was disappointed in me.” Gabby turned away. “Those were his exact words. I don’t get it. Why don’t I matter?”

“You do matter, Gabby. You have to see that. He loves you. He’s trapped between you and his daughter. I know which side he should come down on, but he has to figure that out for himself.”

“He’s so damned stubborn.” Gabby sipped her tea. “Did I tell you Boyd’s gone?”

“What? No. Poor Makayla.”

Gabby told her how the boy had simply disappeared. Hayley listened intently, wincing when she heard about the text message.

“That’s crappy. Who does that?”

“A sixteen-year-old boy,” Gabby said. “I feel horrible for her. It’s just one more pile of shit on this road. Next up, we talk to Candace. Like that will go well.” She leaned back in the chair. “I’m a horrible person because I keep hoping that she’ll give up the baby for adoption.”

“That doesn’t make you horrible,” Hayley said automatically, even as she emotionally distanced herself from the conversation. She could talk about this, she told herself, as long as she didn’t think about it too much.

“It would solve a lot of problems. There are hundreds of wonderful couples who desperately want a—” She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, God. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I’m sorry. Talk about insensitive. For a second, I forgot.”

Hayley allowed herself a slight smile. “Amazingly enough, I don’t expect you to spend every second of every day thinking about me.”

“But I’m your friend. I should be thinking about you.”

“And you do. Gabby, it’s fine. I know the prevailing wisdom on adoption.”

“But you don’t want to go that route.”

“I can’t.”

“I thought your parents were good people.”

“They were,” Hayley said slowly. “It’s not about goodness. It’s about...”

“Morgan?” Gabby asked. “You know she’s having a cow with you gone, right? When I was there last week, she was completely insane. There’s not enough help and the place wasn’t set up at all. We had to open bags of cut-up vegetables ourselves and go find the spices.”

Hayley thought about the three messages her sister had left on her phone. “We’re not speaking. She got a little difficult the last time she was here and Rob threw her out.” Hayley wasn’t sure how she felt about how he’d reacted. She must approve because she hadn’t tried to get in touch with her sister since. She had to admit, a Morgan-free world was very peaceful.

“Tell me you’re not going back,” Gabby pleaded.

Not go back to Supper’s in the Bag? She’d never considered otherwise. She had to help—Morgan was her only family.

Yet as the question sat unanswered, raw truth formed. They no longer needed the money. Even more important, she’d never much liked the job and working for Morgan was a nightmare. Her sister was bossy and demanding and...