Page 19 of Let's Call a Truce
I conveniently left out the charged—and so damn tempting—moment in the hallway.
“Surrrrrre,” Dani said with an epic eye roll. “You two spend all your time complaining about each other, and it’s just an excuse to bring each other up. He didn’t take his eyes off you at Asia’s birthday party. And you two on the dance floor were downright pornographic. Not that I’m complaining. You’re both super hot. I bet the sexual tension in the office is off the charts.”
Asia laughed. “You have no idea. I would have told them to get a room dozens of times if I didn’t think they’d both bite my head off.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Gabriela cut me off with a whine. “All of this happened at your party? I can’t believe I missed it. Wedding planning has taken over my life.”
Gabriela was set to marry her high school sweetheart in a few weeks and was in full DIY mode. She’d given me an out for the crafting party even though I was a bridesmaid because (a) it was Asia’s birthday, (b) she had approximately three hundred other bridesmaids to help, and (c—most importantly) she knew anything I crafted would need to be redone anyway.
It was my turn to roll my eyes, turning back to the sisters. “You two think anytime attractive people fight, it’s because they want to screw.”
“So you admit he’s hot?” Asia watched me over the rim of her wineglass.
“I have eyes. But the devil always takes on a handsome face. It makes it easier to manipulate the souls he’s trying to steal.”
The sisters shared a knowing look that had me preparing my next round of defense. I started running through his biggest offenses in my head. His last-minute work requests. His constant teasing when I needed to focus. His silly little pranks, like the time he intentionally passed me the salt instead of sugar when I was making a coffee before rushing into a meeting. I still hadn’t forgiven Asia for suggesting matching salt and sugar containers in the break room to create acohesive space.
And then there was that smug, infuriating smirk I wanted to kiss off his face. Wait—slap off his face. Definitely slap.
“Okay, let’s give poor Juliana a break,” Gabriela said, always the peacemaker.
I pointed at the girls with my giant chef’s knife. “That’s why she’s my favorite.”
“Boo!” the sisters yelled in unison.
I threw a piece of chopped celery at them. “Gabi, how’s work?”
She shrugged. “Dramatic. I don’t know how such little people can cause such big issues.”
“Not mine, though, right?”Please don’t let it be mine.
“No, not yours,” she said with a gigantic smile. “Sophie’s anangel. Unless I try to separate her from her new best friend, and then the world’s ending for both of them.”
Thank god she wasn’t the problem. At home, she was a total wild card. Apparently, she used up all her patience for good behavior while at school, because her teachers sung her praises—with the obvious exception of when she punched out that kid. Her otherwise good behavior made the school believe her transgression was a fluke. Even the kid’s mom had to agree that he got what was coming to him after saying her dad died because she was so stinky.
“Mom.” Clara’s sleepy voice echoed in the hallway, and my heart squeezed in my chest.
“I’ll be right back,” I whispered to my friends. “What’s going on, sweetie?”
“Sophie’s crying in her sleep again. I couldn’t get her to stop.”
My ribs seemed to compress in on each other, squeezing my internal organs beyond their limits. Sophie’s night terrors were back. They were bad when Jason first died, but now they happened rarely enough that I thought she had grown out of them. Seeing her hurt, trapped in her nightmare with no escape, felt like someone had stabbed me in the gut.
And now Clara was taking on the burden of caring for her. I understood the perfectionist tendencies of an oldest daughter better than most, but I hated the role Clara was shoved into. She should be dreaming of her friends and the next soccer game, not soothing her sister because her mom couldn’t figure out how to help her cope.
“Okay, give me a minute to show my friends out. Can you snuggle her until I get there?”
“Sure, Mom.” She slipped back into the room while I slipped into the kitchen to tell my friends our girls’ night needed to be cut short. None of them had kids, but they never made mine seem like an inconvenience, unlike some people. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I rounded the corner into the smallkitchen. If they saw any weakness, they’d ask what was wrong, and I wouldn’t be strong enough to hold back my tears. Sophie needed her mom, not a blubbering mess of guilt, stress, and self-loathing.
“I’m sorry, guys, but we have to call it a night.”
“We get it. Go take care of our girls, and we’ll see you tomorrow at Clara’s soccer game. We’ll lock up on our way out.” Asia started gathering the glasses and cleaning up without me having to ask for help. One thing I loved best about my friends was how quickly they came to love my girls. Once they decided you were a part of their family, they were all in.
I slipped into the twin bed with Clara and Sophie, who had woken up while I said goodbye to my friends.
“Hi there, sweet pea. How’re we doing?”
“I’m okay, Mommy.” My heart clenched when she called me Mommy. She was seven years old and called me Mom because she was agrown-up.“But could you stay with me for a little while?”
