Chapter 3

Megan set the parking brake, turned off the car, and looked up to see a tall figure at the door of the apartment building across the street. She immediately recognized her friend, and her stomach growled when she noticed what looked like a big bag of takeout. She helped Sophia with her seat belt and pulled the door handle. Opening the door and standing up, she called Tasha’s name. Sophia streaked across the street, yelling Tasha’s name at the top of her lungs. Tasha was awkwardly balancing the takeout food with one arm, the eight-year-old wrapped around her waist, as Megan walked up. Megan could feel the tears starting again, mixing with the evening drizzle that was shifting into Portland’s seasonally ubiquitous light rain.

“Thank you so much, Tasha! I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Megan, shush. It’s what friends do. And what the hell did you do to your hair? Blonde?”

“Always focusing on what’s important. That’s the same old Tasha.”

“Come on, let’s get you two inside, then we can get your bags or whatever. After that, we’ll get you dry, and we can eat.”

Tasha led them up a flight of stairs and down a hall. Opening up the door, she said, “We’re home now and this is…” Tasha looked for Nocturne, but the cat was nowhere to be seen. “Well, I guess that someone decided to be shy. Y’all will meet Nocturne soon enough, I suppose.”

“Who is, Nock… Noc–?” Sophia asked.

“Nocturne. She’s my cat. I hope that y’all aren’t allergic, are you?”

“Not as far as I know,” Megan responded.

“That’s good to hear. Let’s hope it stays that way, or this might be awkward. Sophia, let me show you where the forks and plates are, and you can get dinner set up on the table while me and your mom go back to the car, all right?”

“Okay, Aunt Tasha.”

“I’ll hang your coat up, and we”ll be right back.”

Once they were out in the hallway, Megan turned to Tasha and said, “Thank you again. Are you sure that this is all right? We’re not messing with any Friday night plans, are we?”

“Nah, I was just gonna Netflix and chill with Nocturne tonight.”

“No hot date? Look at you… I mean, maybe not in sweatpants, but... Oh… God… Oh, you were busy cleaning for us. I’m so sorry!”

“Megan… chill, okay? I jetted out of work early to tidy up a bit. Kevin’s mad… that’s my boss. He’s such an asshole. But screw him, you’re way more important to me.”

“I’m sorry, Tasha. I’m such a mess and you’re putting yourself out for us and I’ve been a bad friend the past few years.” Megan started crying again, and she hated herself for it. Then she felt Tasha’s arms embrace her, and one hand came up to gently stroke her hair.

“It’s okay, Megan. It takes two to tango, or in this case, not tango. I should have been better about calling you, too. Y’all are here now and that’s what’s important. You’ll get through this, I promise.”

“I don’t know if anything will ever be okay again. I trusted Brad. I thought we were in a good place. Well, maybe not a good place, but a decent place. Certainly not a place where he would be cheating on me. Did you know that he introduced me to that woman at his company picnic last summer? Oh, her husband, too. And now I’m here; we’re here. How do I explain this to Sophia? I don’t want her to hate her own father, even if I really hate him now. Is it something that I did? Was I not good enough for him?”

“Hey, slow down. You gotta breathe. Breathe in for four beats, then hold.”

Megan couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s exactly what I used to tell my students.”

“Oh, so you know then! Just breathe, and we’ll get through this. This isn’t on you. Brad is a cheating bastard and that’s his fault, not yours. We’ll talk it out. I can tell that you’re a good mom, and you’ll figure out the right thing to say to Sophia. And sweetie, we have to do something about this hair. Why the hell did you ever go blonde?”

“Stop it. I can’t have a good cry about my pain if you keep making me laugh.”

“I keep hearing that laughter is the best medicine or something like that. Now let’s get your bags and get you fed because your stomach is gonna wake up this whole building soon.”

Megan reached up to dry her eyes. That brief moment of human contact with someone, especially after today, made her feel a lot better. As they descended the stairs, Megan felt, for the first time since she’d walked into her former home that afternoon, that things could maybe be all right, eventually.

“I went blonde because I thought that Brad would like it. In retrospect, maybe brunette would have been a better choice.” With a slightly bitter laugh, she added, “Oof, that hurt to say, but it didn’t hurt as badly as I thought.”

“Well, that’s a good start, then. You can go back to red if you want, or if you want something different, I know someone who can help you go another direction.”

“Another direction? Like what? Strawberry blonde?”

“Nah… I’m thinking purple… or green… or maybe hot pink. Or if you go red, go like fire truck red.”

“Uhhhh, I don’t know, Tasha. That might be a bit much right now.”

“Yeah, but it could also be the right amount of ‘much’ right now. Just sayin’! Also, we’re going to need to move your car in the morning. I know some places nearby where you don’t need to pay for parking.”

As they got back to the apartment, the smell of warm Thai food invaded Megan’s nostrils. She felt like she hadn’t eaten in a week.

“I don’t know what you like these days, so I got a mix of stuff. Pad Thai, chicken and broccoli, there’s some vegetarian fried rice, and uh… the drunken noodles. I figure that the fried rice or the chicken and broccoli would be good for Sophia because they aren’t spicy.”

“Thanks, Aunt Tasha! I like it spicy, but not as spicy as Mom. Daddy doesn’t like spicy food, though.”

Tasha leaned in and whispered, “See, that should have been a sign. As soon as he choked on that chili I made our senior year, you shoulda run, girl.”

“Yeah, yeah. You always told me that I was the only white girl that you’d invite to a family barbecue.”

“You still are.” Tahsa’s expression was strained as if there were more that she wasn’t sharing.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“It’s okay. Long story. Let’s focus on getting you and your girl fed right now. Then you can sleep, or talk or whatever. I know that you’ve had a long day.”

“Sounds good! I hope that you like the Pad Thai because that drunken noodle is all mine.”

“Oh no, we are splitting that! And don’t give me those puppy dog eyes! Sophia, you know that your mom doesn’t play fair, right?”

“Can I try that drunken noodle?”

“Oh, sweetie, of course,” Megan and Tasha said at once.

“Jinx!” they both said, and for a brief moment they laughed, and it was like no time had passed at all.

The meal was amazing, although the only thing Megan really remembered about it was that it tasted good. Once Sophia was in bed, Megan and Tasha sat down on the couch and started talking. As exhausted as Megan was, it felt so good to reconnect with Tasha. Their conversation rambled from life to politics to food to movies and beyond. It was just like those long nights in college, talking across a dark room from their beds, just without the sounds of drunken vomiting outside. Eventually though, Megan must have drifted off. She vaguely sensed being guided to bed before oblivion overtook her.