Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin [51]
I pick up the phone to call Cate, to get a much-needed pep talk. But all Cate wants is what I have—at least that’s what she thinks she wants—and I don’t really want someone telling me how great I have it. I’m not even in the mood to talk to Rachel, who always knows the right thing to say, perhaps because, as much as she complains, I think at core she loves being a stay-at-home mother. I even consider calling Nick, just to clear the air and vent about April, but I know he won’t be available to talk. And besides, I can just hear his neat solution to the problem, something like Get your job back or Find new friends or Fire Carolyn.
As if it’s that simple or straightforward, I think. As if anything in life is ever that simple or straightforward.
14
Valerie
Nick returns to check on Charlie every hour on the hour, until his last visit of the day when he shows up wearing Levi’s and a gray turtleneck sweater, a black bag and wool coat slung over his shoulder, clearly on his way home.
“How’s everyone doing?” he asks in a soft voice, glancing from a sleeping Charlie, to Jason, then finally to Valerie.
“We’re fine,” she whispers as Jason interrupts and says, “Hey, Doc. I was just telling Val she needs to get out. Go get some fresh air. Don’t you agree?”
Nick shrugs, feigning helplessness, then says, “Yes. But she never listens to me.”
“Yes I do,” Valerie says in a tone that sounds more girly than she intended. She looks away, feeling transparent, exposed, as she pictures Nick’s house and that golden light in the upstairs bedroom window.
“Oh, yeah?” Nick asks with a coy smile. “So you get plenty of sleep? And you eat three meals a day? And you avoid reading worst-case scenarios on the Internet?”
She blushes, mumbling, “Fine. I’ll go. I’ll go.” Then she stands, puts on her coat, and grabs her purse from her rocking chair.
“Where’re you going?” Jason asks.
“Not sure,” she replies self-consciously, aware that Nick is listening and watching her. “I’ll probably just pick up some takeout. Do you want something? Mexican?” she asks her brother.
Jason makes a face. “Nah. Never thought I’d say this—but I’m sick of burritos.”
“Have you tried Antonio’s?” Nick asks them both.
Valerie shakes her head and says, “No. Is it nearby?”
“Yeah. Right across the street. On Cambridge. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall—but the food is amazing. Better than anything on the North End. Best chicken and broccoli I’ve ever had—including my mom’s,” Nick says, patting the front pocket of his jeans as if checking for his keys.
“Sounds good,” Jason says, pointing decisively at Nick. He turns to Valerie and says, “Could you pick me up a piece of lasagna?”
“Sure,” she says.
“But take your time,” he says. “Eat there. I’m not that hungry.”
“That’s a first,” Valerie banters, realizing that on the contrary, she, for once, is famished. She kisses Charlie, now snoring, on his good cheek, then walks out the door, feeling Nick trail several steps behind her.
“I’m on my way out, too,” he says once they are alone in the hall. “I’ll walk you over there?”
It is a tentative offer, and Valerie opens her mouth to refuse, not wanting to be any trouble. But at the last second, she changes her mind and says, “I’d like that.”
Moments later, they are leaving the hospital together, entering a night so sharp and cold that it becomes an instant subject of conversation.
“Ugh,” Valerie says, pulling her scarf around her face as they fall into a quicker stride. “It’s freezing out here.”
“Yeah. We didn’t get much of a fall this year,” he says.
“I know. I don’t remember the leaves changing at all,” Valerie says, thinking she wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it anyway.
They look both ways, waiting a few seconds for traffic to clear