I forced a smile. “It’s not about him leaving me. I just don’t want my entire identity to revolve around him. I love him—more than I’ve loved anything—but that doesn’t mean I should disappear into him.”
Irene sighed again, very dramatically—as if my existence exhausted her—and shook her head.
“Sometimes,” she said, “I don’t know whether to hug you or flick you.”
“Flicking would hurt the baby,” I said with a shrug.
“That’s the only reason you’re safe.”
We shared a smile, the tension melting a little.
Workers hurried around us, adding more ribbons to the walkway. The event planner glanced at Irene nervously from across the field, as if awaiting another execution order. Irene lifted her chin in approval this time, and the woman nearly collapsed in relief.
I leaned in closer. “See? She’
