“No, you just sat there and let people pity you, Rae. Do you know how that makes me feel? How that makes me look? You embarrassed me again.”
“I let someone be kind, Briggs. And that’s more than I can say for you.”
Neither of us spoke again.
That night, he came home late, armor cracked. He slumped at the table, head low.
“Long day?” I asked gently. “Can I make you something for dinner?”
“Don’t start, Rae.”
“I’m not starting anything. I’m just asking.”
“Nothing. People are just… annoying. Dramatic.”
He rubbed his jaw. “That diner lady knows somebody. She must’ve said something. My boss called me in. The client requested I don’t come to meetings anymore. They took my company card.”
My heart didn’t race. My stomach didn’t drop. Just a small exhale.
“Can you believe that?” he half-laughed. “Over nothing!”
“Nothing? Really?” I tilted my head.
“She gave you free food. I said one comment and she was after my head. People are too sensitive these days.”
“Or maybe people are finally watching,” I said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means maybe someone finally saw the version of you that I live with.”
He walked upstairs without another word. I curled on the couch, hand on my belly.
“Mia and Maya,” I whispered. “You’ll never have to earn kindness. Not from me. Not from anyone.”
It was the first warmth I’d felt in a long time.
In the days that followed, Briggs avoided me. He paced, cursed emails, muttered about “ungrateful people.” He never mentioned Dottie again. But I remembered everything.
I thought of her often—because she saw me before I remembered how to see myself.
I started emailing old friends, searching for prenatal clinics with good reviews, taking walks even when I was tired.
“It’s all for you, babies,” I said to my stomach.
One morning, after Briggs slammed the door, I grabbed my keys. I drove until I saw it—the same diner with the red door.
Dottie’s face lit up. “You came back. Sit down, sweetheart. I’m taking my break.”
She brought hot chocolate, fries, and pecan pie.
“These are all the things I’ve been craving,” I smiled.
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