Page 85 of Pity Party
Pulling up next to her, I say, “You can’t leave us. I won’t let you.”
She tips her head to the side in confusion before taking her helmet off. That’s when I see it’s not Beth. It’s Melissa. “Why are you running away from me?” I demand angrily.
“I’m not running from you,” she says calmly.
“Then what are you doing?”
She smiles easily. “I’m looking for the man I’m going to marry.” At that, she puts her helmet back on, and despite the lack of gas in her tank, takes off again. This time successfully leaving me in her dust.
By the time I wake up, I feel like I’ve run a marathon. My body aches, I’m exhausted, and all I want to do is crawl into a hole and avoid the world. My takeaway from the night is that I’m scared to death of everything—my feelings for Beth; Sammy’s emotional security; and finally, my own heart.
I should text Melissa and tell her I’ve changed my mind about her coming over today. I don’t know how to face her after escalating our friendship and then having nightmares all night long. But I don’t text her. Instead, I drink a pot of coffee before taking a couple of cyber meetings at work.
At one o’clock, I receive a text from Sammy stating it’s time to pick her up. I’m both looking forward to seeing her and terrified. I have no idea how she’s going to take the news about Beth already being in Chicago.
Once I get into the car, I connect my phone to Bluetooth and call Melissa. “Hello?” She sounds distracted.
“It’s Jamie,” I tell her.
“Oh, hey, hi. How are you doing?” I could be her plumber for all the more excited she seems.
“Not great,” I say. “I had nightmares all night about Beth.”
“I’m so sorry. Can you hang on a second?” She puts me on actual hold. When she comes back on the line, she asks, “What time are you going to tell Sammy?”
“I’m on my way to get her now. I was wondering if I could pick you up right afterwards.”
“So not over dinner?”
“We could still have dinner. I just need to tell her what’s going on before my head explodes.”
“Yeah, I guess I could be ready.” She doesn’t sound thrilled.
“Would you rather not be there when I tell her?” I’m starting to think I dreamed everything that happened between us last night.
“No, no. I’m happy to come. I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.” She hangs up before I can respond one way or the other.
When I get to Terra and Rob’s, Sammy comes running out the front door. She turns around and calls to her friends, “I’ll call you later.” I share a wave with Terra.
“Dad!” As soon as she gets into the car, she says, “You’ll never guess what happened last night.”
“You were abducted by aliens and taken to Mars …”
“This is nothing to joke about, Dad,” she says sternly.
“You watched a horror film and had nightmares all night?”
“I got my period!” she shouts so loudly I almost drive into a stop sign.
“Wow. Yay. I mean, you’re happy about this, right?” I know she’s been wondering when it would come, but it might be scary too.
“I’m thrilled. This means I’m going to be getting my boobs soon. Boys are sure to notice me now.”
“I know we’re close, honey, but shouldn’t there be some things we don’t talk about?”
“I’ve had to treat you like both my mom and dad because you’re all I have.”
Time to change the subject. “Should we stop and get you some supplies?” I ask, hoping to turn the conversation away from boobs and boys.