was the most stand-up guy I knew. He loved my best friend so fiercely that in the beginning of their relationship he’d been able to overlook how close she and I were and how often I needed her. Sometimes, I’d show up at their door at one in the morning after a rough day at work or a terrible date or breakup, and Miriam would let me in, and we’d lie in her bed eating mint fudge ice cream while Robert was banished to the sofa.
There was no room in their lives for that kind of thing anymore though. I couldn’t show up unannounced in the dead of night now that there were children in the picture, regardless of how lonely I was or how much I missed my friend.
It was probably for the best. I was a grown-ass woman.
Our breakfast arrived piping hot. I’d ordered a half portion of eggs benedict. It was my usual order. There was something about the hollandaise sauce here that suckered me in every single Thursday. Miriam always ordered a skillet with potatoes, peppers, onions, and sausage. She dug in while baby Adeline continued to nurse.
I wondered dimly how odd it would be to eat while a little human ate from my body.
Odd. Too odd.
“I landed the matchmaking client yesterday,” I said between bites.
“You did? Kathryn, that’s fantastic! Congratulations! I know how hard you worked for that client. Does Jon know?”
“Yes, he was there.”
“Does this mean partner is yours?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I sighed. “Jon has been suspiciously quiet about the whole thing lately. I can’t tell if he’s waiting for me to bring it up and he’s testing me to see how much I want this, or if he just doesn’t want to deal with it as we get close to the holidays. He was busy hosting that huge Thanksgiving dinner at his house last week and all, so I can give him some breathing room.”
“We should celebrate your victory with the matchmaking client. Seriously. This is a big deal.”
I grinned. “I think so too.”
“Come over on Saturday night. I’ll make your favorite. I know you can’t turn down my lasagna.”
I wished I had a good reason to say no. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to celebrate with my best friend. It was that she and I had different definitions of celebrating now that our lives were so different. Where I would prefer to go to a lounge in a sharp outfit, she wanted to stay home. We would hardly celebrate on Saturday. Robert would do most of the cooking while Miriam chased Bobby around and tried to get him in his pajamas so she could put him down after dinner. If I was lucky, I’d get half an hour at the dinner table with my best friend.
“Saturday sounds great,” I said.
“I’ll make sure I pump in the afternoon so I can have a glass of wine or two with you.” Miriam winked. “It’s been such a long time since I had a drink. Robert is starting his three days off that day, so he’ll be able to get up with the kids in the morning.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too.” Miriam grinned.
Halfway through breakfast, Adeline started to squirm. Miriam adjusted her baby so she was leaning over her shoulder and burped her. I marveled at how effortless motherhood seemed to my friend now. Everything had been so different when Bobby was a baby. Miriam had been so unsure, so frightened, and so frantic. It made sense that she was more relaxed with her second child, and I smiled as Adeline hiccupped and burped and let out a contented squeal. Miriam set the little girl down in her stroller, where she stared up at the pink mobile above her head until her eyes got heavy.
I paid the bill, much to Miriam’s protest, and got to my feet. It would take her some time to get the baby ready to leave and she still had some coffee left. I, on the other hand, needed to hail a cab and get home so I could get ready for work.
“This was lovely as always,” I said, leaning over and giving her a hug. “I’ve got to run. I’ll see you on Saturday night? What time? Seven?”
“Earlier is better if you can swing it so the kids can eat on time.”
“Right, of course, six then?”
Miriam nodded. “Six is perfect.”
I waved goodbye and made my way out onto the sidewalk, where I hailed a cab and got