Page 18 of Catch and Cradle

“I think so,” I start to answer. “At least I—”

I pause when I hear Zach clear his throat from out of the frame.

DeeDee giggles. “I think Zach is upset I stole his phone. Here, we will do this.”

After a few seconds of shuffling around and me getting a view of their ceiling, she straightens the phone so I can see her and Zach sitting on the couch in his apartment.

“Aww, you guys look so cute! And happy. And together.”

Even I can hear the bitterness in my voice. Zach’s face creases with concern, and DeeDee leans a little closer to the camera.

“You are better off without that asshole, chérie.”

“Yeah,” Zach adds, “and my offer to punch him still stands.”

DeeDee and I cackle.

“Right. Yeah. You punching someone.” I laugh for another moment and then turn serious. “But thank you. I appreciate the sentiment.”

I may have drunkenly called Zach a couple nights after the breakup and ended up giving him and DeeDee a very slurred but detailed version of the whole story.

Minus the Becca part.

“Is that what your cathartic feelings release was about?” Zach asks.

“Kind of,” I answer. “Like...the term hasn’t even started, and I already feel overwhelmed. Feelings are hard. School is hard. If I didn’t have the chance to chase a ball around and hit people with a stick every day, I’d have lost it already.”

Zach chuckles. “You always tell me you’re not supposed to hit each other with the sticks, but then you say stuff like that.”

“I mean, that’s not what you’re supposed to do...”

The two of them laugh, and after they give me some reassurance, we move onto talking about DeeDee’s progress at haircutting school and Zach’s work in ecommerce. I keep checking the clock to make sure I’m not late and try very hard not to mentally refer to it as the ‘Becca countdown.’

That’s difficult to do when I still have this morning’s practice running on repeat in my head.

Is that all you’ve got, Hastings?

I wanted to show her exactly what I had. I wanted her to take it all from me. I wanted her to work me so hard I collapsed on the field, and then I wanted her to show me what I earned for being so good for her.

Not exactly the kind of thoughts I want to have while on the phone with my brother and his girlfriend, but I can’t get them to stop.

“Hey, you guys,” I blurt after I’ve announced I should probably start putting my contacts in. I hate wearing contacts so much I only put them on for the minimum amount of time required for practice and games. “How long do you consider the rebound zone to be? Like, how long after a relationship before any new person you’re with isn’t automatically a rebound? I’m just, uh, curious about what people’s opinions are.”

That did not come out as smooth as I hoped. They both give me knowing looks.

“Um, I guess it depends,” Zach says. “Are we speaking hypothetically here?”

“Yes. Purely hypothetical.”

DeeDee hunches forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Well, I don’t know what hypo...hypo whatever means, but people can be so judgey about rebounds. It’s not even their business, you know? Nobody knows what you feel except you, and sometimes you feel things at times that don’t seem right to other people.” She turns to look at Zach. “But if it is what you feel, it is the right time to feel it.”

I don’t know if I want to gag or swoon at their adorable love.

DeeDee looks back at me. “Unless it’s just, like, a sex rebound. Then you should bang. It. Out. What is it in English? Hit it and quit it?”

“Oh my god, DeeDee, don’t talk about hitting and quitting in front of my little sister.”

“Ah, voyons.” She shields her mouth from him with her hand and whispers, “Bang. It. Out.”