Chapter 7

7

MABEL

“Why won’t you help Benny?”

I’m back on Marek’s couch in yoga pants and a silk blouse, preparing for another screening interview on Zoom. “In case you haven’t noticed, I have my own problems to worry about.”

He exhales a dramatic sigh. “Yeah, yeah.”

I jerk my head up and around to give him a sharp look. “That doesn’t sound very sympathetic.”

“Things are always complicated in your life.”

I frown. “I’m not sure that’s entirely fair.” I’ve had some light turbulence in my life, but not lately. Until now. Okay, he’s right.

“In high school you faked appendicitis to get out of school so well, you were actually in the OR before you confessed.”

I smile. I got in huge trouble for that, but I was kind of proud of myself.

“When we were juniors, at the end of the school year you got everyone to wear a balaclava and aviator sunglasses to school. All day. Every teacher cracked up coming into the classroom.”

“But I didn’t get in trouble for that,” I point out. “It was harmless. But hilarious,” I add with more pride. “I haven’t done stuff like that for a long time.”

“Yeah.”

When Marek says nothing for a moment, I look up at him. “What?”

“You haven’t done stuff like that for a long time,” he says slowly. “You’ve been… different.”

I swallow. He noticed that?

“You sort of lost your…”

I lift an eyebrow.

“Your spark,” he finishes. “Your individuality.”

I study his face, emotion simmering behind my breastbone. I’m tempted to spill my guts and tell him why that is. Tell him what a shit Julian is. But I’m still embarrassed about how I was bamboozled by good looks and charm and steadiness (I thought). “That’s how I felt, too,” I manage to say.

He nods as we share a moment of wordless communication. “I’ve got your back,” he says quietly.

Heat builds behind my eyelids. “Thank you.”

He clears his throat. “Anyway. Back to Benny. You don’t spend every minute of the day job hunting,” he continues. “And you’re staying in my condo…”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m just saying…” He drags a hand down his face. “I’m doing something for you. You could do something for me in return. This is important to Benny.”

I purse my lips.

Ben’s his best friend. Marek wants to help him. Goddammit, I like that.

Also, I could see how important it was to Ben. Being made captain of the team is a big deal. I could also see how hard it was for him to admit he’s not good at the schmoozing part of the job and ask for help. I thought it was a bit off the wall but then I saw how crestfallen he was when I said no, and I actually felt like crap. “I don’t think he needs help.”

Marek frowns. “He thinks he does.”

“I know, but he’s a smart guy. He’ll figure it out.”

“Then it should be easy for you. Just help my friend out. It’ll take your mind off your own problems. Benny thinks you’re broken-hearted or something.” He eyes me searchingly. “Are you?”

Whoa. My throat thickens. Is Ben worried about me, too? Am I broken-hearted? I think back to the moment when Julian gave me that ultimatum – that we were done if I didn’t go to his faculty party with him. What I felt in that moment was anger. Fury. Even… gah, hatred. I think my heart had been slowly breaking for months before that, every time he hurt me, manipulated me, or blamed me. So yeah, I was heartbroken. But now… I’m mad.

“I’m okay,” I finally reply. “It’s complicated.” Then I wince, remembering his earlier comment that my life is always complicated. “I’m… you know, shook. I just broke up with my boyfriend and quit my job and moved out of our home to another city.”

“I know.” His eyes narrow a bit. “Are you going to tell me why you did that?”

Emotion squeezes my larynx and I drop my gaze. “I don’t want to.”

“I see that,” he says dryly. He pauses, then adds, “Well, I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it.”

I blink at the rush of warmth in my chest, then nod.

And… he’s right. I do kind of owe him for letting me stay here. “Fine. I’ll help him.”

He grins. “Hey, that’s great! Thank you.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Uh…” He casts his eyes to the ceiling, thinking. “No. I don’t want him to know I, uh?—”

“Butted in?” I hoist an eyebrow.

“Okay, yeah. You can say you had second thoughts.”

Ben is out doing errands.

“I have an interview in fifteen minutes. Which is probably when he’ll be home.”

Then the door opens and closes and Ben walks in, carrying a couple of shopping bags and a dry-cleaning bag.

“Hey,” he says on seeing us.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” Marek bounds up. “I gotta finish packing.” He bolts out of the living room.

Ben drapes his dry-cleaning over the back of a chair and carries his other bags to the kitchen.

I stand and press my palms to my thighs as I stroll casually toward him. “So I was thinking about what you said last night. When you asked me to, uh, be your extrovert coach.”

His shoulders stiffen as he pulls things out of the shopping bags. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I decided I would like to help.” I give him a bright smile. “It’ll be fun.”

He sets a jar of Trader Joe’s peanut butter on the counter. “Fun.”

“Sure! I’ll do some research.” My mind leaps around. “I love doing research. And I’ll come up with a plan. A goal. A list of things to do to accomplish the goal.”

He gives me a look. “Oookay.”

“And a timeframe. Do we have a timeframe?”

“This sounds very organized.”

“I am very organized.” I may have been a little chaotic as a kid, but I’m an adult now, with a master’s degree and a successful career as a librarian. I lift my chin and flash a smile. “Ignore the messy clothes over there.” I wave a hand toward my suitcases in the corner.

“I have a meeting with the executive director of Keeping Kids Safe next week.”

I suck my bottom lip briefly, nodding. “Okay. You want to be prepared for that.”

He shrugs but looks hopeful.

Goddammit. Hopeful Ben is very, very appealing.

“What’s that name again? I’ll research them, too.” I grab a pen and paper and make a note of it. “So we’ll schedule our first coaching session for Monday afternoon.”

He slowly lowers and raises his chin in agreement. “I’ll put it on my calendar.”

Is he mocking me?

One corner of his mouth twitches.

Okay, teasing. He’s teasing me. I scrunch up my face. “You may think I’m an airhead, but I do actually have a brain and some skills.”

His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. “I don’t think that!”

I lift one shoulder. “Yeah, you do. Julian did. He was always telling me to do better.”

“What the fuck.” He stares at me. “I’ve never thought you were stupid, Mabel.”

I gaze back at him, something pinching in my chest. I know he’s never been impressed with me. He avoided me for months before he left for college. So him saying that feels… real. I resist the urge to babble a protest and remind him of all that, but I keep my mouth sealed shut and nod.

“We need to discuss pay,” he says. “I don’t know how much?—”

“No. You don’t need to pay me. I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart.” I lay my hand on my chest.

He gives me a look.

“And I’m actually excited about it! Oh. I have to go. I have an interview right now.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

I head back to my makeshift Zoom studio and get ready to blow the recruiter away.