She called me fifteen minutes later. Her voice sounded scratchy. “Abs?”
“Yeah, hon?”
“This is a mess.” Laura’s tone was flat.
“What’s wrong, babe?” I found a comfortable seat, clicking back into supportive sister mode and mentally pouring myself acup of tea. She was dealing with Nick, after all. This would take a while.
“This whole thing about buying a house,” Laura began.
“He’s still pushing that?”
“He wants me to take money out of my retirement account. He says we have to do it right away before the market goes up, and he only leased this place until September, so he wants us to find something so Hannah can stay in the same school that she’s starting.”
“Whoa, what? So she started school already, but you can’t keep renting the same place?”
“Soon. Georgia schools start really early. But I think Nick thinks that if we buy a house together, it’s a way for Hannah and me to have to stay. But I’m not ready to make that kind of a commitment. I mean, I haven’t even found a job here yet. I’m interviewing, but…”
“It’s too soon for you guys to buy a house together.”
I heard her sigh. “I know, but he makes a really good point about getting settled. That way Hannah could be in one school all the way through high school, you know? I mean, in New York, the kids keep changing schools, and they have to apply to middle schools and the magnet schools…”
“Laura. You’re not ready to buy a house with him yet. End of story. Nothing to stop you guys from renting another place in the same school district together.”
“I know, and that’s what I told him. But I understand why he keeps pushing it—he’s trying to make up for lost time.”
“But you aren’t ready for that, and he has to prove himself to you. And one month isn’t going to cut it.”
Laura went silent for a long moment. “Yeah. I just don’t know how to tell him ‘no’ without making him feel like I’m rejecting him. And I want him to know that I really want to work this out.”
“Tell him ‘I’m not ready.’ That’s it. That’s what you say.”
“I’ve missed talking to you.” Something rose inside me when she said it. A tidal wave of relief.
“I’ve missed talking to you, too,” I said.
“So how are things going with the improv group?”
“Okay.”
“You okay?” But after letting Laura pour her heart out, I suddenly didn’t want her to feel like the only reason I’d called was so that I could do the same. “I’m okay. Just lonely. How’s Hannah doing?”
Laura and I talked for a few minutes until she said she heard Nick’s car pulling up and had to go.
I could tell her about Paul another time. The important thing was that it felt like we were sisters again.
My phone rang again a few minutes later. A Newfoundland phone number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Abigail. It’s Mark. I was unexpectedly in the city tonight and I’m in your neighborhood. I wondered if I could stop by.”
“Oh, um…”
“Just to check in on you. Assuming you’re just sitting there by yourself on a Saturday night.” I wondered how pointed the remark was.
“I am just sitting here, but it’s okay. I wanted a quiet evening.”
“Let me come by. Just for a quick chat?”
