“It was great,” she answered, encouraged by his lack of attention. “I got some cleaning and organizing done. You know that closet under the stairs? It’s now an open cubby-library with benches and pillows and a shaggy rug that feels like you’re sitting on an alpaca.” She smiled to herself, proud of her Pinterest-worthy accomplishment.
“Hmm,” he commented with his eyebrows raised, but his gaze still focused on the view.
Elayna contemplated rushing off to get a drink. She could suddenly see it written in the lines on his face. He wanted something.
“So, I know you’ve done a lot for me, and I really appreciate it.” His dark eyes abandoned their fixation on the sea and settled on her with sincerity. “But Becca didn't sleep at all last night. The baby’s still sick, and on top of that, she’s developed a double ear infection. I can sleep like a rock, so I didn't even realize what a hard night it was for her until she broke down this morning. I feel like a bum the way I slept through it all without helping, and she’s been up every night for over a week…”
His voice trailed off, and he paused to take a breath. “I wanted to go home at lunch and surprise her, just take care of everything so she can sleep. But I have to get the last few pages ready for copy, and I haven’t even chosen the back image yet. Is there—”
A manager walked by, and he stopped suddenly, clearing his throat and rubbing his hand through his hair. He glanced back as the manager walked away without acknowledging them. When he looked back at Elayna, his face was pulled down into a near-pleading expression. “Do you think you could finish it up for me?”
Elayna nearly growled. This was different. She admired Todd in every way for being such a loving and devoted husband, how could she not help?
Her heart throbbed with the urge to say yes immediately. She tore her gaze from his and looked out the window, repeating the words of Dr. Jerkin in her head.
But it didn’t matter.
She leaned forward and whispered as quietly as she could,. “I’d be happy to,”
“Oh, thank you!” Todd bent down and squeezed her in a tight hug, then hurried back to his desk, practically skipping.
Elayna felt a rush of relief and imagined how happy Becca would be when Todd showed up to give her a much-needed break. She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to saying “no,” and if she’d listened to Dr. Jerkin, she’d be miserable and plagued with guilt instead.
She pulled out the small notebook and scribbled out a quick message.
Helping a friend in need is always worth it.
There.
She’d just have to explain to Dr. Jerkin, and she was sure he’d understand. He was a family man, after all, and he had to know the exceptions you make when a baby’s involved.
For the rest of the morning, she reviewed the publication for her new lens, checking the information to make sure everything was correct. The capacity of her creation still amazed her. For a tiny convex lens as small as a marble to be able to surpass what most telescopes were capable of, it still overwhelmed her. She was just grateful to have been able to stumble upon the technology. It had almost fallen into her hands, after a day spent entirely on experimenting with different component angles and combinations.
“How’s it look, Layn?”
Sasha perched one hip on Elayna’s desk. As her closest friend, she could get away with things like that.
“You gonna get outta here early?” Sasha leaned over the typed page Elayna was reviewing. “I mean, really, after something like this…” She tapped a dramatically long, orange fingernail on the paper. “Bossman Kyle is going to give you whatever you want. You’re putting us on the map, lady!” She squealed and bounced off the desk. Her tight brown curls flounced around her head, making her every move adorable.
Elayna laughed. “This place has always been on the map. It’s a giant, and I’m just a minnow who found something sparkly.”
“That reminds me, let’s go to that little fish and chips place down the street. They have a live band every night, and I bet by the time we get there it’ll be hoppin’. You want to?”
Elayna felt a pinch of sadness. She hadn’t been able to spend time with her best friend outside of work in far too long. But helping Todd was more important than eating fish. They could always get together another day.
“Sorry, I can’t.” She stacked the pages together and secured them with a paperclip. “I’ve still got a few things to do here. But can we go tomorrow?”
Sasha groaned dramatically and then shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we can.” She pointed a fingernail at Elayna. “But don’t back out again, girl.”
Elayna raised her hand. “I swear.”
The office usually cleared out by 3 p.m., making it an ideal place to work. As long as everyone got their assignments done, the managers let things run on autopilot.
Todd’s final pages were a bit of a mess, but in a couple hours, she’d have it all wrapped up and be heading home. Elayna reminded herself of the help she was providing. It wasn't a problem. She pictured Todd at home with his baby, playing games and feeding snacks. After loading a couple of pages in the printer, she took out her cell phone to give him a call.
As it rang, she wondered if he remembered to silence it and nearly hung up, worrying that she was disturbing the quiet at their place.
But when he answered, there was a loud conversation in the background and wind rushing through the speaker. “Hey, Layn,” he nearly shouted. “How’s it going?”
“Oh.” Elayna pulled the phone away from her ear a bit. “I thought you’d be whispering.”
He laughed heartily, and in the background, Becca laughed too. “No, it’s fine. The baby and Becca thankfully slept all morning, so we’re heading to a movie together. It’s been a long time, so this will be so fun! Thank you for taking over for me, I really appreciate you.”
Elayna was too stunned to speak.
“I gotta run, talk to you tomorrow.” He said. More wind rushed through the phone. “Bye!”
“Uh—”
The line disconnected, and Elayna was left piecing together what had just happened.
A movie together?
It was going to be fun?
Well, how nice for them to go have fun. Yeah, no problem. I’ll just sit here and take care of both of our careers, shall I?
She slapped her hand down on the printer and snatched the few papers out, shoving them into Kyle’s box. It sounded like the place was empty; even the managers had gone home. Everyone but Elayna.
Everyone but the chump.
The thought that Dr. Jerkin was irritatingly right began to gnaw at her. She pulled out the notebook and drew a line through her previous message, vowing not to make that mistake again. In fact, she was going to say no for the rest of the week. She was clearly seen as someone to unload on, someone who could be a happy dumping ground for leftover tasks.
Well, not anymore. She was going to worry about herself first, no matter how snobby that sounded. Fine then, she’d be a snob. At least she might develop a spine in the process.
Her face felt hot. She reached up and rested her cool hands on her cheeks, attempting to calm down, but the few breaths she took only seemed to fuel her anger.