“You are ridiculous.” I rolled my eyes, utterly grateful for every over-the-top inch of her.
“Oh! I have my first baby appointment. Since you’re pretty much my work wife and my roomie, wanna come with me? It took forever for the free clinic to get me in, but—”
“Yes!”
“I haven’t even told you when it is yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be there.”
“We should make sure Father Bastien’s okay with you being gone that day, too.”
I waved a hand at the church, gothic steeple rising above the naked tree branches, spindly fingers imposing on the neighborhood shrouded at its feet. “I’ll probably have a new and amazing job by then anyway.”
“It’s next week.”
“Oh. Well, he’s going to have to get used to me being gone sooner or later, right?”
Lucy’s eyes fell. “When are you gonna tell him?”
“When I have a job.” My gaze drifted back to the cross poised at the top of St. Michael’s. “Is that wrong?”
Lucy slowed her steps, tilting her head to the milky clouds above. “He’s not gonna take it well.”
“He’ll be fine.”
In all honesty, I hadn’t thought about what Bastien would think.
I guess I’d been too busy planning my own escape route to think about the wreckage I might leave in my wake.
“Should I tell him I’m looking? Would it really help soften the blow?”
Lucy shrugged. “That’s something only you can answer.”
I scrunched up my face, deflecting her wisdom.
I didn’t have time to learn lessons in all of this.
If I stopped to think about Bastien now, I might never muster the courage to leave.
* * *
“Morning, ladies!” The heavy wooden doors of St. Michael’s swung wide as we walked up to the church a few minutes after getting off of the bus.
“I swear,” Lucy whistled under her breath, “he looks even better today than he did yesterday.”
“Tell me about it.”
Lucy’s grin deepened, stroking her absent belly through the coat, and then taking Bastien’s arm when he’d reached the icy steps and offered.
Such a gentleman.
I would miss them both more than I could say.
I rubbed at my heart, the pain of their absence already cutting like a knife.
“Just in time for Mass.” Bastien’s touch at my elbow sent a chill skittering through me.
A pang split my heartbeat. The desire to brush him away was strong, the desire to soak up just one more touch so much stronger.
