Jessica nods. “Yes. Rounding out with two boys and two girls. I like those odds.”
“No more after this one?”
“Oh no,” she says, laughing. “I’d like my body back now.”
“Is Myro happy to be done having kids?”
Jessica shrugs. “I think he’s happy either way. He likes the big family, but I think he misses having the ability to have privacy.”
I think about Ellory and Avory with their twins. “That’s probably why they have a nanny,” I muse.
She laughs again. “It’s absolutely why Avory and Ellory have a nanny.”
She nudges the berries closer to me, and I take another into my mouth. We’re quiet for several minutes.
“How are you, Malin?”
“Wicked boy,”Ryan answers.“It’ll take years to cleanse you now.”
His words make me shudder. “I’m fine.”
Her hand rests on mine, and I meet her eyes. Concern. Everyone is always so concerned when they look at me. I glance at where I imagine Ryan standing over my shoulder and see him sneer. No one is ever supposed to touch me. Not even innocent contact. I’m his alone.
Swallowing, I don’t pull my hand away, though my other is fisted in my lap.
“Are you?” she asks gently.
“I like Gracen’s company,” I say, hoping to change the subject. I hate when people ask me if I’m okay because they can’t see Ryan like I can, and it’s frustrating trying to explain him to them.
Jessica smiles. “He’s a good man.”
“Yes,” I agree. “He brings me peace.”
Ryan sneers.“He wants to defile you. He is a corrupt soul, and you let him touch you. You’re both going to hell.”
His words are loud enough that I miss the first part of Jessica’s response.
“…best about finding your person.”
I frown. Without the first half of that sentence, I have no idea what she’s saying.
“Does he know how you feel?”
“About what?”
She chuckles. “About him?”
“Oh, yes. I think I’ve told him that.” Perhaps not in those exact words, but more or less, right?
“I’m so glad that you’re getting to the point where you can find happiness with someone, Malin.”
She squeezes my hand and starts packing up her containers. They fit like a puzzle in her bag. I watch as she gets to her feet, struggling slightly, and then gently kisses the side of my head. Without another word, she leaves the break room.
Happiness with someone. Is that what I’m doing? Am I happy? I flinch away when Ryan sneers. I’m not sure I’d constitute this as happy. Ryan is giving me a headache, though.
With my new water bottle in hand, I leave the break room as well and head down the hall. I find myself standing outside Gracen’s office. His door is open because all doors are open. For a minute, I study him as he works.
He’s standing at his desk, one of his legs bent back so it’s balanced on the toe of his boot behind him. He leans over his keyboard, reading something on his screen. His hair is lighter than most of the Van Dorens around here, though not excessively so. His eyes are comparatively light.
