Kai frowns. “Hardball. I like it. Now, let’s see... maybe... got it. I’m reading this book about antigravity.” He rolls his hand again.
“Oh, really? How is it?”
“It’s impossible to put down!”
At this, Aubrey laughs, not for the joke but for the way Kai’s eyebrows lift in anticipation, the tilt of his body toward her, the energy releasing from him that she can’t help but absorb. He smiles easily, as if smiling is easy.
“One more,” she says, feeling a lightness she hasn’t felt in a long time, even before Ethan’s death. She hadn’t needed a pro-con list to decide whether she wanted to date Ethan. Just look at him. And look at her. So of course she was always worried about saying something stupid or misunderstanding a joke orbeingthe joke without realizing it. There was a weight to living that way. She didn’t realize how much until now. She smiles at Kai. “Your absolute best.”
Kai nods slowly as if rotating through a database in his mind. “So, yeah,” he says like he’s in the middle of a casual conversation, “I ordered a chicken and an egg from Amazon.” Aubrey’s grin comes even before he finishes. He gives a playful shrug. “So, I’ll let you know.”
The tingling that precedes goose bumps whooshes through her, followed by a ripple in her belly, and her laugh releases from somewhere deep and true. She remembers the feeling she had when she first woke up in this topsy-turvy world two days ago. Not fully asleep, not fully awake, with this warm body besideher and a sense of comfort and contentment that she wanted to burrow into and never let go.
“And there it is,” he says. “A laugh. Looks good on you. You can repay me tomorrow by bringing me that succulent you promised. Otherwise, I might have to take back the octopus. We did have a deal.” He smiles broadly, and those dimples scoop farther in, and Aubrey resists the urge to trace them with her finger. The bartender approaches, and Kai orders a dark beer. When the bartender asks for his ID, Kai’s cheeks flush, and his eyes dart to Aubrey’s. To the thirty-two-year-old woman sleeping with a kid. Grad school or not, that’s what he is.
Aubrey’s phone dings with a new email.
Hey, Aub, sounds fun, but I’m watching baseball with the guys. Let’s make a plan soon???
—E
“That little shit,” Aubrey blurts out, fuming that he didn’t even mention the plans they have for this very moment.
Kai’s hand drops to the bar, not taking his ID back from the bartender.
“No,” Aubrey says. “Not you, sorry, not either of you.”
The guys. How many times had Aubrey gone along to watch the Red Sox with Ethan’s friends in their frat house of an apartment even though she hates baseball more than she hates cloves?
“Instantaneous” and “Aubrey” do not go together. But still, she turns to Kai. “Do you like baseball?”
“Not especially. But... oh, is there a match or something tonight that you want to watch? I’d give it a go.”
A baseball “match.” A total Aubreyism.
“How about gender-reveal parties?” she asks.
“Cakes that surprisingly burst with blue or pink sponge? Sounds cool. Supercool.”
Aubrey smiles. “Cool, for sure. This one’s tonight. For Ilena’s baby. Want to come with me?”
“Absolutely.” His eyes are bright with interest as if everything surrounding Aubrey is something to be explored and he just can’t wait. And then, the skin between his brow crinkles. “But I don’t have a gift.”
24
Ilena
Sunday Evening
Three DaysAfterthe Outing
“Be like you,” Ilena half sings, half hums as she perfects the angled pocket of her last napkin and sets it on top of the black dinner plate. She sways as she circles the stainless-steel table, slipping knives, forks, and spoons into the cloth pocket of her napkin folds. It’d look better against a table made of reclaimed wood and plates of white, all things she’d learned by helping her mother, things that ended after her father left.
“Duh, duh, duh, and the man in the moon.” Her finger taps her belly to the beat. It’s surreal to be in this body, an unmistakable and unceasing reminder that this is a different place, a different life, a different Ilena. When she spins around to get the wineglasses, she sees Felix watching her. “Oh, hey there... you.” She’s really got to search this Ilena’s texts and emails for a hint of any pet names.
“What was I thinking, even suggesting James host this? You are in your element.”
“So long as no one mushes cupcake under the sheets.” Shelaughs softly, mindful of causing an involuntary release of her bladder.
