4. Elizabeth
Four
Elizabeth
“Beth,” Lisa huffs into the phone. “I told you not to buzz. Just come up.” I’m meeting her at her office for lunch and always feel out of place when I go someplace professional.
I haven’t been part of the business world since Jake was born.
By the time he was born, after all the years of infertility and struggle, I was already planning to stay home with him.
That choice seemed like an even bigger blessing when I was so sick for so long, and then an even greater blessing when Jake turned out to be…I sigh. My son’s mind works very differently from the mainstream culture and it’s taken a lot of work and a lot of time to help him be successful.
I walk up the stairs to Lisa’s office and tap gingerly on the glass door to her company’s suite.
She’s on the phone and waves me in side.
Lisa is ten years younger than me, but we met when Jake and her oldest son, Dhruv, were in preschool.
Lisa went on to have two more children in rapid succession, despite the challenges of her oldest having autism like Jake.
I pretty much think she’s a superhero who sort of lets me tag along beside her.
I smile and sit in the chair opposite her desk.
Lisa stayed home with her kids when they were younger but rejoined the work world about five years ago.
I’ve sorely missed our long swaths of time together during the week.
This lunch feels like even more of a treat since Jake and Dhruv are at daycamp together and I’m not anxious about getting a call about Jake’s behavior.
The boys both do better when they have each other around.
“Let me just grab my sunglasses,” Lisa says, tossing down her phone. “Let’s sit outside somewhere.” I nod and follow as she points to different staff members, letting them know where various projects stand and what she’s expecting when she gets back from lunch.
“Project management suits you so well,” I tell her, knowing that she runs her household with the same efficiency. All her kids’ schedules are color-coded and she’s got reminders in her phone for everything from med refills to auto payments to their housekeeper.
“I love keeping these geeks in line,” she says.
We walk across the way to a new restaurant serving Korean street food.
I don’t have to remind Lisa that Todd never approved of strong, garlicky foods.
Just eating this meal is an act of rebellion, of independence.
I smile, enjoying the company and the adventure.
“Talk to me about the silver fox across the street,” she says, slurping a bubble tea and pointing a finger at me. “Skip nothing.”
I shrug, munching the pickled veggies on our table. “We went to high school together. Burns, Brady…he always turned up in my classes. Things got hot and heavy senior year, but we were both headed off to college.”
Lisa squints at me. I roll my eyes. “Neither of us felt like we wanted anything long distance. I honestly haven’t thought about him for 30 years.
” What I don’t tell her is now that I’ve seen him again, seen how he’s grown into a sexier, salt-and-pepper version of teenaged Kellen… I can’t stop thinking about him.
“Did he swipe your V-card, Elizabeth Burns?” She leans closer as the server brings our food and flushes uncomfortably. I wait until we’re alone again.
“He did not,” I tell her. I shrug again.
“I had done some experimenting before we got together.” My insides flutter, remembering the way Kellen and I had been together, though.
All desperation and wild passion. “What he lacked in finesse, he made up for in enthusiasm.” I hadn’t meant to share that last bit out loud, but Lisa throws her head back and laughs.
“Yes!” She shouts. “I love this for you. What’s his deal? Wife and kids and such?”
“I’m actually not sure,” I say, telling her about the incident in the driveway. “He and his nephew were very kind to Jake, showing him things about the car.”
“God, it’s hot when people are nice to my kid,” Lisa says. “I mean, people should be nice by default, but let’s face it. The world is full of assholes.”
I nod, digging in to my rice and beef dish.
Bibimbop, it’s called. The flavors are amazing.
Bold and crisp. The vegetables are so bright against the rice.
Jake has a very limited diet and strong smells upset him, so when we eat at home it’s usually much more bland.
I bite right into a pickled spring onion and savor the strong taste as Lisa talks about the various assholes she’s encountered this week.
“Hey,” she says. “Speaking of assholes, when is Todd going to start his custody?”
I frown. That’s been a sore spot throughout this process.
Neither Jake nor Todd, frankly, wants to spend much time together.
“Todd seems to think he’ll earn brownie points at work by having weekend time?
I don’t even know. He’s supposed to pick Jake up after camp Friday.
Jake hasn’t even seen Todd’s new place yet. ”
“What are you going to do with an entire weekend to yourself?” Lisa leans forward on her elbows. Her weekends are filled with swim meets, frantic errands, and yard work. I know she’s rooting for me to have some free time to tell her about.
“Honestly, I’ll probably read a book and hold my breath, waiting for Jake to have a meltdown and Todd to call me to come get him.”
She squints at me. “I’m thinking sexy buns across the street is single, and you should spend this weekend getting reacquainted with him.”
“Lisa,” I frown. “The ink is barely dry on my divorce papers.”
“Oh come on, Beth. You haven’t had sex since you conceived Jake. It’s way past time.”
My eyes widen. “I’m not about to go have casual sex with Kellen Brady.” I may have been a teenager the last time I saw him, but there was nothing casual about him. No, he’s not the man you call to scratch an itch.
She slumps back in her chair. “Fine, fine. Let’s talk about your career options instead.” She arches a brow at me. “You know you’d be a damn fine project manager somewhere, too.”
I shake my head. “I haven’t had as many balls in the air as you. You slipped right into this role—you said it yourself, that those computer programmers are no different from children who need to get to the orthodontist and soccer practice all at the same time.”
We pay the check as she scolds me about downplaying my skills.
“Just because you only have one kid doesn’t mean you haven’t been the goddess of your date book.
How many other people do you know who can manage an autism therapy schedule along while arguing with the insurance company about covering medication and getting an autistic teen ready for a new school? ”
I look down at my lap. When she describes these things it makes it sound like I’ve been doing so much. “Jake is really excited about high school,” I admit.
“This is what I’m saying. You got a teenager to be excited about something. You helped him find a school in the city with engineering classes and advanced math, you got him on a tour…you’d be a major asset to any office, is all I’m saying.”
“I’ll think about it,” I tell her.
She points a straw at me as we get our things to leave. “You should spend this weekend starting your resume,” she says. “I’m going to call you six times and check until you send me a draft so I can tell you how awesome it is.”