She answers on the second ring. "Hey, girl, what's?—"
"Can you come over?" My voice cracks. "Please. I need—I can't?—"
"I'm on my way." No questions, no hesitation. "Twenty minutes. Just breathe, okay?"
She makes it in fifteen.
I let her in, and she takes one look at me before reaching for Maeve. "Give her here."
I hand the baby over gratefully, and we head upstairs where I collapse onto the couch as Naomi works her magic. She rocks Maeve with practiced ease, making soothing sounds, and somehow—impossibly—the crying gradually subsides into hiccupping whimpers.
"There we go, sweet girl." Naomi settles into the armchair, Maeve tucked against her chest. "You're okay. Everyone's okay."
But we're not okay. Nothing's okay.
Naomi waits until Maeve's completely settled before speaking. "What happened?"
Where do I even start? How do I explain the tangled mess of the past two weeks, the past eight years, the past eleven years of my life?
"Declan," I manage. "It's about Declan."
Her eyebrows rise. "The guy who's been hanging around?"
"He's—" I swallow hard. "He's my ex. From before I left Philly. We were together for two years, and I left because—" The words stick in my throat. I've never told anyone except Nia the real reason, but Naomi knows a little of this truth. "I can't have children. He's in the same kind of work as Nilos, and his uncle wanted him to marry someone who could give him heirs, who could—" My voice breaks. "I left so he could have that. So hecould have the life he was supposed to have without me holding him back."
Naomi's quiet for a long moment. "And he's been coming around because?"
"Because he said he wanted me. Said nothing changed, that he'd choose me." Tears are streaming down my face now. "And I almost believed him. I almost—" I can't finish. Can't admit how close I came to letting him back in.
"But?"
"But his wife showed up this morning." The words taste bitter. "Told me to back off because she's pregnant and they're expecting. And I had no idea, Naomi. He never said—he never mentioned?—"
"Wait." Naomi shifts Maeve to her other shoulder. "He's married?"
"Apparently. He tried to explain, said it's not real, that he only did it because his uncle asked him to and he thought I didn't want him. But how can I trust that? How can I—" My throat closes. "She's pregnant. With his baby. And I can't—I'll never?—"
Understanding crosses Naomi's face. She adjusts her hold on Maeve, who's finally falling asleep. "Come here."
I move to sit beside her, and she wraps her free arm around me, pulling me against her side. "I'm sorry. That's awful, and he should have told you."
"I left to protect myself," I whisper. "And he ended up with someone who can give him what I couldn't, like he was supposed to. But what was the point in him coming around just to break my heart?"
"Oh, Zo." She rubs a hand up and down my arm. "I don't know why he did that. Men are stupid. But it sounds like he never stopped loving you. Not that it excuses the lying."
"It doesn't matter if he'smarried." I shake my head, not sure how to pull myself together. "I don't know how to keep going like this."
"Because it hurts. But it won't always hurt this much." She presses a kiss to the top of my head. "And you're not alone, okay? You have me. You have Nilos—he'd help you bury a body if you asked, I'm not even kidding. You have people who love you and Maeve and will be here no matter what."
I nod against her shoulder, not trusting my voice.
We sit like that for a long time—her holding both me and Maeve, keeping us together when I feel like I'm breaking apart. Eventually Maeve wakes, hungry and fussy, and Naomi helps me prepare a bottle while I try to pull myself together.
"Do you want me to stay?" she asks.
"No." I take Maeve, settling her against me as she drinks. "You've done enough. Thank you for coming."
"Call me if you need anything." Naomi squeezes my shoulder. "Seriously. Any time. I mean it."
