“What the hell. Why not?”
George walked inside to the kitchen for another pair of ciders, her bare feet avoiding the squeaky boards out of habit, but the rest of her floating on an unfamiliar cloud of happiness.
She opened the bottles and stepped back out, handing one to Jessie—her new friend.
“You wanna know what she said about you, George?”
“I don’t know. Do I?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Go on, then.”
“She said you’re a…vampire.”
“Wh—”
“Just kidding.” Jessie lost her smile and caught George’s eye, held it. “She said you saved her life. Ive was there for her too, I know, but she says you’re like this rock, and she couldn’t have done it without you.” George lost a bit of her breath on a dry huff of air. “She said you’re the kindest, most selfless person she’s ever met and—”
Jessie stopped herself, and George waited before prompting. “And?”
“And she’s worried.”
That hit George in the gut. A hard weight in her middle that tried to fold her in half. “W-worried?”
“She wants you to be happy and doesn’t think you are.”
Something occurred to George. “Is that why you came to get me at the party?”
“No! Jesus, George. You’re delightful. It’s been awesome hanging out with you.” She looked around. “But this place…man.”
“What about it?”
“It’s…” Jessie opened her arms to encompass the house behind them, the dark garden beyond the screen door. “I guess… Don’t take this the wrong way, but I figured some old lady lived here, you know? The chickens and all the furniture and the garden and the cats and… Geez, how do you even have time to do all this with your job?”
George shrugged, feeling the truth of it—the weight of her existence. Add to it the baby she was going to make and—
Overwhelming. It was overwhelming.
Jessie leaned forward but turned to look at the snoring boy beside her. “I don’t get out much, either, you know. Nine-year-olds aren’t exactly conducive to active socializing.”
“Yeah. So what’s my excuse?”
Jessie lowered her brows at her and leaned even farther. “Uma said you switched to dermatology halfway through med school. She also mentioned why.”
George gulped. She didn’t realize Uma knew. How did she know about Tom?
“Pediatric oncology? I can’t believe you were even considering that.”
“Oh.” George gulped, unsure if she was more relieved or disappointed. “I couldn’t take all the babies dying. After seeing my husband go that way.”
“And yet you’re offering your services free to people in need. You can’t help but do good.”
George shrugged at that. “My parents were old. They had old-fashioned values or something.”
“Yeah. Not mine.” Jessie smiled. “That’s probably how I ended up in my job—I was brought up kicking and fighting, so I figured I’d continue my rampage by fighting for the underdog.”
“You’re the first probation officer I’ve ever met, Officer Shifflett. Do you carry a badge and gun and all that?”
