Once Keegan was out the door and reset the lock, Leena was back in my office. "Zooey, can you go out in the living room and find Miss Willa? She's going to read you a story for a few minutes."
Zooey didn't respond. She reached the toes of her feet to the ground and slid off the kiddie chair. Leena held the door open for her, watching as she made her way into the living room.
Leena closed the door. "August, I have to tell you I'm quite surprised by what just happened."
I had never gotten so much as a detention in school. I followed the rules. I did as superiors told me. I worked hard to get to where I was in my career.
"I promise it will never happen again. I left my spare key in my top drawer."
"It seems your boyfriend has some issues he should tend to."
Leena never cherry-coated anything. It comes with the territory of this job. She doesn't care if she's overstepping a line in conversation, specifically with her staff. Children are a bit different, of course, but even still, she focuses on being truthful and direct.
"He does have an issue, and we're getting him help. He's in therapy and AA. I'm doing the best—"
"It's not enough," she said. "Don't let this man affect your career or your life."
"Yes, ma'am." Despite my credentials, and the fact that up until that moment, my track record was flawless, Leena is at least twenty years my senior, and I have always shown her the utmost respect.
"Consider this a warning, August."
I wanted to cry.
My reputation had a smear. It truly wasn't my fault, but Keegan was branded on my life, tarnishing what I had built.
May was dressed and ready within a matter of minutes. Tuck was also dressed and in the galley kitchen preparing coffee. He had on a pair of black-framed glasses now. It seems May kind of hit the jackpot. "Baby, are you going right to work after you drop August off, or are you coming back here?"
"I have a nine o'clock," she tells him.
"You should probably go straight to work then. I'll meet you for lunch," Tuck says, smiling sweetly at her.
"You're the best," she tells him, jogging into the kitchen and giving him a quick kiss.
"One sec." Tuck reaches up for a to-go coffee cup and fills it up, topping it off with a splash of milk and a touch of sugar. It's just the way May likes her coffee.
"Good luck with that vendor. You'll get the deal. I know it."
My stomach heaves. I don't know if it's from jealousy or the burning after effect of whiskey. I seem to be confusing pains in my stomach a lot this past week. I can't be jealous of May. We both made our decisions in life, and she made a good one.
"Tuck, I'm sorry for this introduction, and I'm happy you two found each other. It was nice to meet you," I tell him.
"Yeah, um—sorry for the wake-up call."
"Don't mention it."
Really, please don't mention it again.
"Have a good day, ladies."
Mortification rolls back in as I climb into May's Mini-Cooper. "I never thought I'd be this kind of person, embarrassing my little sister."
"We all make mistakes," she tells me. "But you're not doing this again, so it's no big deal." She's pulling that parental statement of authority, telling me it's not going to happen again, to make sure it really doesn't.
We're halfway to Main Street when the gurgle in my stomach returns with a vengeance. "May, can you pull over real quick."
"Are you serious? We're almost there."
"Please, I'm begging you to pull over." I close my eyes, ignoring the unsettling sensation, listening for the rocks to kick up behind her tires as she comes to a stop on the side of the road. When the brakes lurch me the inch forward, I know I've run out of time. I open the door and toss myself into the dirt, expelling the remnants left in my body from last night.
