Ten minutes later, Irene’s face fills the screen, wrapped in a shawl, glass of wine already in hand.
“Alright,” she says immediately. “Lay it on me.”
I explain everything. The cliffs. The kiss. The not-a-breakup breakup. The letter.
She listens, nodding, eyes sharp.
Then she smiles.
“You need to do the test.”
“The what test?”
“The what-if-he-gets-with-someone-else test.”
My stomach drops.
I picture it instantly. Leo laughing with another girl. Holding her waist. Kissing someone else under Christmas lights.
My hands clench so hard my nails bite into my palms.
“I want to scratch her eyes out,” I say flatly.
Irene grins. “There’s your answer.”
“He won’t wait forever,” she continues. “Even if he says he will. He’s eighteen. He’s going to college. And let’s be real, Jade, the man is a catch.”
Susan nods vigorously. “Unfortunately.”
“And now,” Irene adds, “he’s an internet sensation. Do you really want to let a man like that go?”
I stare at the floor.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “But he’s going to have to earn me back.”
“Of course,” Irene agrees. “But you can show up for him too. The way he’s been showing up for you.”
Susan sighs. “Please don’t leave him alone on Christmas with that woman.”
I snort. “You really don’t like his mom.”
“I do not,” she says firmly. “And the boy has no siblings, no pets, and no emotional support objects. It’s tragic.”
I smile despite the ache in my chest.
“Christmas Eve,” I say slowly. “I can do that. I can give him that.”
Susan claps her hands. “It’s settled then.”
I look up. “Settled?”
She grins. “Let his mother send the car.”
I lean back against the couch, heart racing again, but softer this time.
Not fear.
Possibility.
