Maria took my hand.“Why didn’t you tell me?”“I canceled on you four times.”“That’s not an answer.”“I didn’t want anyone thinking I couldn’t handle my baby.”“You’re not supposed to handle a baby alone.”
“I have Dan, and he’s amazing.”“I know.”I started crying harder.“He works all day, and then he comes home and takes her, and I feel guilty because he’s tired too. Then when he tells me to go rest, I lie there listening for her.”Maria rubbed my arm.“I walked into this store and felt like I forgot how to be a person.”
“You didn’t.”“Then some stranger looked at me like I was disgusting.”Maria’s face tightened.“He’s an idiot.”I looked down at the stains on my shirt.“I apologized to him.”
“He didn’t deserve it.”“I didn’t even do anything.”Maria squeezed my hand.“Let’s get out of this place.”She finished the shopping for me.I sat in her car wearing her black zip-up hoodie while she loaded my groceries into the trunk.
Then she got into the driver’s seat and picked up her phone.
“We’re not going home yet.”I frowned.“Why?”“First, let me call Dan.”She dialed his number, and he answered promptly.“Hi, Dan. It’s Maria.”
