“What does that mean?”
“It sounded like he was tel ing me that I could work there or be fired.”
“In Boston?”
“In Boston.”
They were both quiet for a couple of minutes. Isabel a wasn’t sure where the conversation was going to go next. They weren’t married. It wasn’t automatic that she had to go with him wherever he went. In fact, it was the opposite of automatic, whatever that was.
“So, are you thinking about it?” she asked.
“I guess so. I’m not sure I have a choice.”
“Right,” Isabel a said. “I guess you don’t.” Isabel a started to cry and Harrison watched her.
“Do you want to go with me?” Harrison asked. It was later, almost the middle of the night. Neither of them was sleeping.
“Go with you where?” Isabel a asked.
“Isabel a. To Boston.”
“Oh,” Isabel a said. “I don’t know. Do you want me to go with you?”
“Yeah, I do. I know it might be unfair to ask, but I do want you to come.”
“Okay,” Isabel a said.
“Okay, you’l go?” Harrison asked.
“No. Just okay.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure. What if you just stayed?”
“I can’t,” Harrison said.
“Wel , you could,” Isabel a said. “You could do anything you wanted to.”
“I’m not going to, though,” Harrison said. And then they both lay there until it was morning.
“Isabel a,” her mom said. “The important thing to do is to stay calm and make a rational decision.”
“You say that like it’s easy,” Isabel a said.
“I’m just saying that it’s no help to wal ow in your misery. People have ups and downs, but I’m tel ing you, when the worm turns, you wil be stronger for having gone through this.”
“You know,” Isabel a said, “I’ve never heard you use that expression before in my life until the last couple of weeks. Not ever.”
“Of course you have. Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who keeps talking about worms.”
“The baby is real y cute,” Isabel a said to Mary at the hospital. “Any closer to a name?”
“No,” Mary said. She squinted at the baby. “I real y thought I would go with Ava, but look at her. She’s too big to be an Ava, don’t you think?”
“Um, I think whatever you think,” Isabel a said.
“What I think, is that I never thought I would have a nine-pound baby, and it’s throwing me off. I pictured Ava being a tiny baby, and now it just doesn’t fit. If I don’t think of a name soon, I think Ken is going to kil me. He stil likes Ava.”
“Henry and Ava do sound good together,” Isabel a said. “Also, I think that Harrison is being transferred to Boston.”
“No!” Mary said. “I don’t believe it.” She immediately started crying.
“Mary? Are you okay?” Isabel a asked.
“Yeah,” Mary said. “It’s just the hormones. Start at the beginning.”
“Do you want to concentrate on naming the baby before Ken gets back?”
Mary sighed. “That could take days. Why don’t you go first?”
“That sucks,” Lauren said.
“I know,” Isabel a said.
“I was wondering why you wanted to meet me in a bar in the afternoon,” Lauren said. “Not that I mind.”
“It seemed like the only place to be,” Isabel a said. She took a sip of her grapefruit and vodka. “Plus, this has juice in it, so it’s completely appropriate to drink it during the day.”
“Total y,” Lauren said. “So, do you know what you’re going to do?”
“I have no idea.” Isabel a started crying. “Except apparently, I’m going to cry about it every day.”
