Touch The Sky | ✓

Twenty-Three

The following day, Rose, Sara and I have a much-needed girl's day.

Jared has taken their daughter Holly out for the day, leaving Sara free to spend time with us.

Sara fills us in on her father, who has been doing a lot better recently and Rose gives us an update on the tense working environment she's been in, that has been calming down lately.

We sit together in Molly's, our favourite brunch spot from our college days, just around the corner from NYU campus.

Sara points a waffle-filled fork at me, her eyebrows raised. 'So, it's only you left, then.'

I open up about Katie, about how tough supporting her is and how drained I am.

Sara's eyes well up, which I peg down to her being a mother so having a much better understanding of the fear of losing a child than either Rose or I do.

Then, however, the conversation shifts.

It's not that I don't think it's important to talk about these things, nor do I think that I can get away with not expressing my own feelings on the whole situation, but I decide that now is not the time and place.

'Well, then,' Rose says after I shut down the conversation about Katie's miscarriage. 'There are definitely other things that need to be involved in your update.'

I laugh sheepishly, looking down at my own waffle mountain. 'Maybe.'

'Yeah, how are things going with that Seth Gregory?' Sara grins wickedly at me. 'I know the press caught wind of you guys, but I've not seen much since.'

Of course, it was Sara who originally showed me the article that led to Seth and I taking a break, but it's not like it was her fault. Honestly, I'm glad that she did.

I shrug, my cheeks warming up. 'Yeah, things are good,' I eventually reply, honestly. 'I went out for dinner last night with him and some of his teammates. It was really good, actually, getting to know some of them.'

'Lucky you,' she groans. 'Jared would be so jealous.'

I shrug, kind of forgetting that Seth is actually a big deal to a lot of people. 'Well, I mean, you can meet him at some stage.'

Her eyes spark. 'Really? That would be great. It sounds like it's getting serious, anyway.'

I feel like I'm in the Spanish Inquisition, but when I look to Rose for assistance, she just smirks at me.

'Yeah,' I relent. 'I think so. We're having lunch tomorrow with Terry and his boyfriend, so that'll be good for them to meet.'

Refusing to spend the whole day talking about my boyfriend and I, I insist that the conversation moves on to something else.

Despite not mentioning Seth again, my brain does keep flitting back there, to the thought of him meeting my brother tomorrow. Not only that, but meeting Ikuma, too.

The rest of brunch with the girls is lovely. It's so great to actually be able to spend quality time with both of them, something that is becoming increasingly rare as time goes on, unfortunately.

'Listen,' Sara says after we've paid for brunch and are gathering our things. 'It's been so great to see you both and to catch up on all of your news, but I really do have to get going now. I promised my Dad that I would go and see him today, without any of what he calls distractions.'

Rose snorts. 'That's a great way to refer to his grandchildren.'

Sara just laughs. 'Tell me about it,' she agrees. 'The joys of merging families together, eh?' she says sarcastically.