Page 254 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

My heart is slamming in my ears.

If those are in fact my panties,

then Andrew stole them.

The night of the hot tub.

And now keeps them under his pillow.

I don’t know if that’s horrifying or hot.

Or… horrifyingly hot.

Heat flares between my thighs,

deciding for me.

Maria waves her hand at Paola, and my attention narrows back on the two. “Paola, amore, this is nothing. One bump. Everything’s gonna be fine. Fidati di Maria tua.”

Paola tsks. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine,” she mocks Maria. “Jesus, wonder where that boy gets it from.”

Maria grins, seeing her son in her mind.

“My Andrew⁠—

“always the rock, never the water.”

She says it proud, as praise, as strength.

‘Cause water crashes.

Water damages.

Water floods.

While the rock takes every hit,

every wave

before it sinks,

and sinks.

I clear my throat, staying on task.

“So…. why aren’t you active?

“For the liver transplant?”

Maria waves her hand. “È colpa mia. I slipped. Five months ago.” A brittle laugh, her fingers twisting into the blanket. “Andrew beg and beg for an exception. Farli cambiare idea. Make me active again.” Her shoulders fall with a sigh. “They call back this morning. Regole son regole. No exceptions.”

“You slipped?” I ask, a fragile whisper.

She brushes it off. “He thinks it’s his job. Sempre. To make me better. Lui vuole sistemare tutto. And this time? He can’t. So he hurts.”

Paola nods. “And when Andrew can’t fix something, he turns it on himself. He don’t get angry at the world. He gets angry at him. Then he leaves. Like he’s doing us a favor.”

They think he moved out because he can’t save her. And if what they’re saying is true, if that’s the real reason he moved in with me, I wonder how long it’ll be before he realizes he can’t fix me, and leaves me too…