“Fine, I—” My phone buzzed angrily on the side table, and I glanced at it. Zara’s name appeared on the screen. “Shit, I’ve got to take this. One minute.”
I stood and walked back to my desk. Facing my framed diploma, I accepted the call. “Hey, Zara, what’s up?”
“Are you almost here?”
“Here? Where?”
“My house. To pick up Caitlyn? Don’t tell me you forgot it’s your weekend.”
“I didn’t, but it’s only…” I glanced at my watch. “Shit, is it really after six?”
“You’re still at the office, aren’t you.” How many times had I heard that not-a-question?
“Sorry. I lost?—”
“I know. You lost track of time. Listen, Eli and I have to go to an event for his work. It’s in the city. Why don’t we bring her to you?”
“That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“Just so you know, she’s got a low-grade fever. There’s a bug going around school. Normally, I’d keep her here, but?—”
“No, no, it’s fine.” The last time she was sick at my place, she had a stomach bug, and that was the worst. A little fever was nothing. If she felt up to it, we could mask up and go to the park. Maybe an easy hike. I could do this. I wanted more custody, and this was my way to prove I could handle it. “Thank you for bringing her. I’ll meet you at my place.”
“See you soon.”
I disconnected the call and started shoving things into my satchel. “I’m really sorry, Bridget. I’ve got to go. It’s my weekend with Caitlyn, and I almost forgot. I can call you later, and we can exchange ideas about the report?”
“Or,” she said, “we could meet up this weekend? I don’t want to get in the way of your time with your daughter, but we need to be ready with this on Monday.” She tapped her tablet.
She was right. And she’d offered to spend time with me outside work. Could she be open to rekindling what we had in Costa Rica? I paused to scan her face. “Really? That would be amazing. You could come home with me now, if you want. Though I’ll warn you, Zara says Caitlyn’s got a low fever.”
Bridget closed her laptop. “Between all my nieces and nephews, I’ve been exposed to every germ in the Bay Area. But are you sure? I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”
“Come with me,” I said. “I think she’ll love you.”Who wouldn’t?
Iwished I’d given a thought to what bringing Bridget, Zara, Eli, and Caitlyn together would be like. When we met up in my building’s lobby, it seemed to reveal itself in slow motion: Caitlyn’s confusion, the bitter turn of Zara’s lips, Eli’s knowing nod, and Bridget’s too-high voice.
Bridget held out her hand to Zara. “Hi, I’m Bridget, Cole’s colleague. I’m sure he’s told you all about how much he hates me.” Laughing nervously, she shook Eli’s hand next. Caitlyn clung to Zara’s side, looking pale and droopy.
“Interesting,” Zara said. “You always did like to bring your work home.”
“Zara,” Eli said. He was always so enragingly calm. “Caitlyn, say hi to your daddy’s work friend, Bridget.”
When Caitlyn offered a weak nod, Zara said, “She seemed to get worse on the ride over. She’ll probably just go to sleep.”
“Has she had any medicine?” Bridget asked.
“I gave her some Tylenol when she came home from school. So about three hours ago,” Zara said.
“So she can have another dose in an hour?” Bridget asked. They discussed a treatment plan like a pair of pediatricians. I thought I had Children’s Tylenol in my medicine cabinet, but it had been so long since we’d needed it that it was probably expired. However, I wouldn’t admit to Zara that I didn’t have a full doctor’s kit and an emergency go-bag like she did.
“Eli and I have to go, honey.” Zara peeled Caitlyn from her side, and I reached down and picked her up like I used to when she was five. That she didn’t resist the indignity of being held like a baby proved how bad she felt. “I’ll call to check up on you after the party, okay?”
“We’ll be fine,” I said with more confidence than I felt. What if Cait got worse, and we had to take her to the emergency room? My heart raced, but then I caught Bridget’s gaze. She looked unflappable, like she took care of kids with possibly life-threatening fevers all the time. Her calm expression boosted my confidence. We could do this together. “We’ll see you Sunday.”
With one last, assessing stare, Zara took Eli’s arm and walked out the front door.
My shoulder was hot where Caitlyn’s forehead pressed into it. I stared at Bridget.What now?
