“I wish there was something I could do about the game and the germ thing, but there isn’t.”
“Oh, I know. I offered to have her on video chat, but Miri says it’s not the same. She wants to be there, among the fans, immersed in the atmosphere of watching the game and cheering along with everyone else.”
“How are you doing?”
Antonia stopped and looked at me for a second and then started walking again. “I have my mom here. She takes the brunt of my anger, tears, and grumpiness. Other than that, I try to remain positive for the kids and just bottle everything up.”
“Your boyfriend isn’t a sounding board for you?” I blurted out before I could stop the word vomit.
What in the hell is wrong with you?I needed my ass kicked for asking such an asinine question.
Antonia scoffed. “Brendan? No, never. And we broke up.”
I wanted to ask her to repeat herself because certainly, I’d heard her incorrectly. Jerome had been right. “Oh?”
She shrugged. “It was a long time coming. We were sort of in this limbo situation. Our relationship wasn’t moving forward, and when this shit with Miri started, he thought ultimatums were the best course of action.”
We came to the corner and waited for traffic to stop. Once it was clear, we crossed the street.
“Is this where the whole boarding school fiasco came into play?”
She nodded and beat me to the door of the Cozy Cup Café and opened it for Scout and me to go in.
We got in line, standing next to each other. “I’m buying today,” she said.
As much as I wanted to be a child and roll my eyes, I didn’t. “Fine, but I’m not happy about it.”
She laughed a little, and it was nice to hear.
“Anyway, yes. Brendan said the kids would go to boarding school so that they wouldn’t interrupt our lives. I said no. That was that.”
That was that, and now she was single.
And probably nowhere near ready to date.
We placed our orders, and I reluctantly let her pay. It wasn’t in my nature, and when I’d agreed, I didn’t think it would be the next weekend. Honestly, I thought last weekend was a one-and-done.
Antonia carried our coffees to the same table we’d sat at on our first visit. We even sat in the same seats, with Scout lying next to my chair.
“Samira, Edith, and Vera came to the hospital to see Miri this week,” Antonia said. “I’d forgotten I told Samira that Miri would host their book club meeting, so they brought it to her. They never made her feel like she was dying. They were so gracious. And a bit morbid because Miri said she was going to plan her own funeral, and Vera was on board.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“That must’ve been hard.”
“It’s all hard. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going right now.”
“How long until you have to go back to work?” I asked, taking a drink of my coffee.
Antonia pulled a sugar packet from the small ceramic holder. “I haven’t stopped working. The nurses set me up in a conference room for when I have virtual meetings, but other than that, I can do most of my work via email.”
“That must be nice.”
She lifted one shoulder. “I’m not going to be able to continue this way, but I’m not sure I have it in me to move the kids. Miri loves that money pit of hers. It’s their home. I don’t know if I can be the one to rip it away from them.”
I couldn’t even imagine the pressure she must have been under. She put the packet back and smiled at Samira as she approached with our food. “I’ll have the doughnuts ready for when you leave.”
“Thank you,” we said at the same time.
After a few bites, she looked at me and said, “So, I googled you while I was on the phone with my dad the other day.”
