Her response is immediate.
Leah
OMG, WHICH ONE CAME??? DETAILS OR I’LL SEND BABY PHOTOS UNTILYOU BREAK
Before I can respond, my phone buzzes again with a picture of one of her twins covered in what appears to be pureed carrots. It’s followed quickly by another.
Me
FINE. Tristan came. Brought chocolate. We... talked.
Leah
“Talked” talked or TALKED talked?
Me
The second one. At work. In the bathroom. I’m mortified.
Three dots appear, disappear, then reappear for a solid thirty seconds before her response finally comes through.
Leah
I’VE NEVER BEEN PROUDER TO CALL YOU MY FRIEND
I can’t help the small laugh that escapes me. Trust Leah to find the silver lining in my workplace indiscretion.
Me
I’m planning to have dinner with all of them. I need to sort this out.
Leah
Or sort out yourlingerie drawer.
Me
I’m blocking you now.
I set my phone down, a reluctant smile tugging at my lips despite everything. At least I can count on Leah to find the humor in this disaster.
The afternoon drags on, each minute feeling like an hour as I jump at every sound, convinced that someone will walk in and somehow know what happened in the bathroom. But gradually, as nothing catastrophic occurs, I start to relax. Maybe I can handle this after all. Maybe these claiming marks and whatever bizarre effect they’re having on me isn’t the end of the world.
I’ll have dinner with them. We’ll talk like rational adults. We’ll figure out what’s going on with these marks and this strange pull I feel. And then...
Well, I don’t know what happens then. But at least I’ll have some answers.
I pull out my phone and stare at it for a solid minute before finally tapping on Rett’s contact. I take a deep breath and type:
Me
Dinner. Tomorrow. 8 pm.
I text them the address of a restaurant I like, hesitate, then add:
Me
All four of you. We need to talk.
