Page 38 of Something Like Shelter

“Your broken house worked in your favor just this once.”

“Okay. I need to confess something,” I said, wincing.

“Sure.”

“I may have allowed my work to believe I am in a serious relationship with, well…”

“Adelaide’s father.”

“Yes.”

“Because you didn’t want any comments about being a single mother. Or to have your boss think you would somehow be less reliable than your counterparts because you don’t have someone at home to pick up the slack.”

“That’s exactly it. They already had some… thoughts about women at the company who got pregnant. And those were women with partners. And I needed to have my stability for my daughter. So I… came up with a story.”

Saying it out loud made the whole thing seem even more ridiculous.

I’d spent months maintaining a lie that had seemed so simple when I’d first told it. I had a partner. We were happy. We were excited about our baby. End of story.

Except now I was sitting beside a man I’d only just realized I was attracted to, preparing to introduce him to the people I’d been lying to.

And he was being remarkably calm about all of it.

“I know it sounds crazy,” I said.

“It sounds like you were scared.”

The simplicity of his answer caught me off guard.

I looked over at him.

“I was.”

“I get that. You gotta do what you gotta do to protect your livelihood. So, what do I need to know about my cover story?”

“I’ve never given details, honestly. I guess some part of me worried this kind of thing could happen. So, if you’re comfortable, you can just be yourself. If not, come up with another identity. But keep your first name.”

“I’m all right with using who I am if you are. Keeps things easier.”

“Perfect.”

“How long have we been seeing each other?”

“Well, obviously longer than it took to make Adelaide. But I figure being vague might be best so I don’t screw that up down the line. I mean, I don’t necessarily plan to lie forever. That wouldn’t be possible with how—”

“Hey, anytime you need a pretend spouse, I’m sure I have the time.”

“That’s sweet. Though, I don’t think you know what you’re signing yourself up for. Not to gossip, but my coworkers aren’t, well—”

“People who would look down on you for having a baby sound pretty awful. Feel free to gossip away about them. They wouldn’t hesitate about you.”

Oof.

That was harsh but also painfully true.

“They’re not very kind. Especially toward and about women. It’s definitely a boy’s club over there.”

“It must piss them off that your clients only want to work with you.”