What She Deserved, Part 3

This is a continuation of an original short story.

The next weekend came quickly. Celia came home from work on Friday and had two text messages. One was from Rob. Can we talk sometime this weekend? The other was from Annie. We need to talk.

“Did they plan this,” she wondered aloud.

“Who?” She’d forgotten that Becca was reading in the living room.

“I think some of my friends are teasing me. Do you know what teasing is?”

Becca nodded.

“On the other hand, if they don’t know, then it means something else.”

“Is it going to hurt?”

What a simple question. “I don’t know. I hope it doesn’t.” She decided to talk to Rob first. Let’s talk at my place tomorrow at 6. Then she told Annie, Come to my house tomorrow at 7. This limited the possibility of them running into each other. Hopefully they aren’t both mad at me. I can’t handle two angry people after a long day of customers. “We’re having visitors tomorrow night again. I’d like you to be in your room when they are here.”

“Okay, Mama.”

The next day passed quickly. 6 p.m. arrived. Celia wondered what he would say. Had Rob noticed the tension during their visit? Becca was playing in her room. The living area looked worse than usual. Plates from dinner were sitting on the stained coffee table. Celia hurriedly carried them to the sink. Two of the three couch cushions had holes in them. Celia turned them around so the nicer sides faced out.

The doorbell rang. She opened the door, fixing her face into a measured look.

“Hello, Rob,” Celia said. She noticed he was wearing a blue dress shirt and khakis. “Did you come from work?”

“No,” he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Can I come in?”

“Yes, we can sit on the couch.” She closed the door.

Rob perched on the edge of the couch. “I have something important to tell you. I like a lot of things about you. I like that you’re into art and your sense of humor. Frankly, I like you better than I like Annie.” He paused and scooted further back on the couch. “I’d like to date you, Celia. Exclusively.” His eyes met hers. “What do you think?”

Is this really happening? He’s choosing me over her? Wow. Celia took a deep breath. “I like you, too. The problem is, Annie’s been my only friend for a long time. We’re quite different, but I don’t know if I want to drive her away by dating you.” She couldn’t look at him.

Rob was visibly shaken by her reply. “I know that—”

“I’ll think about it. Give me a couple of days.”

“Are you going to tell Annie?”

Celia thought for a moment. “Well, she’s coming to talk to me about something tonight. It depends on what we talk about.”

Rob stood. “Thanks for listening to me. I’ll show myself out.” He left Celia sitting on the couch.

I wonder what she’ll say. We’ve never fought about men before. They’ve only been together a little over a month. I didn’t do anything to cause this. Will she accuse me of causing this? The minutes dragged on. Finally, the doorbell rang. Celia realized at that moment that she was still in her 7-Eleven uniform. She slowly opened the door, her hands trembling as she turned the knob.

“Hello,” Annie said, walking in wearing a green blouse, jeans, and pumps.

“Hi.” Celia turned to face her. “You wanted to talk about something?”

Annie stared at her, a defiant smirk on her face. “I think you know why I’m here.”

“Is it about Rob?”

Annie’s laugh was cold. “What else would it be about?”

“I hope you know I had no intention of—”

“Stealing him from me? Well, you played hard to get pretty convincingly, then.”

It was Celia’s turn to stare. I can’t believe she just accused me of that. “Why are you acting so cold about this? I’d never do something like that to you.”

“Like it or not, here we are. The question is: who’s going to win? You or me?”

“I don’t want to play games with you. You’ve known him longer than I have.”

Annie shrugged. “Longer by only a few days. Besides, you haven’t dated anyone since—”

“Because who wants to date someone with a daughter?” Celia realized she was shouting.

“I’m not denying that.” Annie paused. “Why would he pick you over me?” She paced in front of the couch. “Let’s see, I’m a college graduate, I have a well-paying job, I’d say I’m a fun individual . . .”

“Oh, great, way to rub the obvious things in my face.” Celia started to pace as well, matching Annie step for step. “Are you saying I’m not worthy of his affections?”

“I’m saying out of the two of us, you have more baggage.”

Celia stopped in her tracks. “Baggage? You were with me when that baggage was born! I cried on your shoulder when my parents moved away. If we’re talking about baggage, there’s plenty to bring up about you.”

Annie looked away dismissively. “Like what?”

Celia paused. Where should I start? “How about the fact that you introduced me to him and then slept with him before I knew I was pregnant? That you dated more guys in our school than I have fingers and toes to count on? That you walk around thinking you’re better than me every day of our lives, yet I still let you bring your date over to my house?”

Annie stopped pacing and turned to face her. “If I was trying to steal someone’s man, I’d definitely let him in when she wasn’t there.”

“He came in on his own! What was I supposed to do, let him be bored until you showed up? And why didn’t you tell me you wanted us to eat together?”

“I thought something could have been happening, so I wanted to see how you’d react to an unexpected occurrence. But that’s beside the point. Who do you care about more: him or me?”

Celia stepped away from her. “Right now? I don’t know. We’ve been through so much, but it could be a new part of my life with him.”

“Don’t forget about Becca.” She must have saved this for last. “How could this new relationship affect her? See, with me, he doesn’t have to worry about potentially being a father.”

It’s time to tell her. “He came over today.” Annie’s eyes narrowed. “He told me that he’d rather date me than you. I said I’d think it over.”

It was Annie’s turn to back away. “If you say no, what does that do to our friendship?”

“Annie, I appreciate your support over the years, but we don’t really have much in common anymore.”

Annie snorted. “About as much as you and Rob have in common. I do care about you, but if you’re going to enter into a relationship despite my feelings, then I’m done.”

“Well, okay,” Celia said. She looked at Annie. Part of her was surprised at the previous conversation, the other part was not. This has been a long time coming. “I don’t think I have anything else to say to you.”

“Just think before you make this decision,” Annie said. She headed towards the door.

Celia closed the door slowly and watched as the last friend from her past got in the car and drove away. That was a mess. She made some good points, I guess. Do I really deserve Rob? I think I deserve him just as much as she does. Can I rush into a relationship with my friend’s ex? Can I rush into a relationship as a mother?

She walked to Becca’s room and knocked on the door. “Hey, Becca, it’s Mama. Can I come in?”

***

The doorbell rang. Celia had changed from her 7-Eleven uniform into a polo and jeans. She walked to the door.

“Hi, honey.” Rob was there, in an orange dress shirt and khakis. “It’s good to see you.”

She gave him a hug. “Come on in. Did you have plans for tonight?”

“I thought we could get pints of ice cream from the store, mix them, and see which flavors taste best together.”

She laughed. “Sounds good to me.” She paused, then asked, “Should we invite Becca?”

Rob gave her a quizzical look. “Of course. She’s your daughter.”

As the three of them got in the car, Celia wondered, did I ever expect my life to be like this? No. But I do deserve good things.