Play On (Game On 4)

“Friday, but Jesse and I are blocking it out at the moment. Probably on Monday it’ll start to hit us, but for now we’re taking everything a minute at a time.”

She shifted her gaze to the pool where Jesse was wrestling with Jamie for a blow-up alligator; both of them laughing and teasing each other good-naturedly. Her smile widened as she watched him and I couldn’t help smiling too. They had their whole lives ahead of them; they were so lucky.

“You’re the first person not to ask me when I’m moving here permanently,” Isabelle said, turning to me again. “Thank you.”

I laughed. “Well, Jesse said you’re still at university so I figured if it’s going to happen it won’t be for a while.”

“Yeah. Plus, we only met in December. That’s seven months, and who moves across the world for someone after seven months at our age? Anything could happen, and if we can survive for at least a bit longer being so far apart, I think we’ll be better prepared for making big decisions. I’m looking into transferring here for my third year, and until then, Jesse plans to come back to London when the football season ends and I’ll come here with him during uni holidays.” She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

Isabelle was about as different from Taylor as it was possible to be, and it was obvious why Jesse had fallen for her so hard. She was cute, and sweet, and smart. Everything that can be so difficult to find, especially for a well-known sports star. She was unassuming but optimistic about their future and I had a sneaking suspicion they would make it work, whatever it took.

“I was really sorry to hear about your boyfriend,” Isabelle said timidly. “I might be wrong to bring this up, it’s just Jesse always spoke so fondly of you and Will, and when he told me what happened, even though we never met, I felt terrible.”

Her sad smile, the one I’d seen on so many faces since Will died, didn’t affect me the way it usually did. Perhaps because, although her eyes were full of sympathy, they also held optimism instead of gloom . It was refreshing.

“Thanks, Isabelle. It’s been a rough year so far but I’ve got some incredible friends who have been supportive.”

Isabelle glanced down at her lap for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“This is none of my business and I wouldn’t usually try to barge into a situation I know nothing about, but a lot of things were said at Cody’s party after you left. But there was something I noticed about you that nobody else mentioned.” Curious, I tilted my head to one side and Isabelle’s cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry. It really is none of my business.”

“No, please. Go on.”

“I saw you when I first walked into the party with Jesse; I don’t know why, maybe it was your outfit that caught my attention.” I laughed; my costume was pretty out there. “You looked sad even though you were smiling, and the photographer in me wanted to take your picture right there and then because it seemed so poignant. You were with your circle of friends at this happy occasion where everything was so bright and colourful, but your eyes held such a contrast to the things around you. Later, when you were skating, I saw a different you. One who was free, and I wanted to take your photo again but Miguel kind of stole my thunder.” She smiled. “When you were with him the sadness disappeared. When that guy came over and said he’d seen you two kissing, I couldn’t help wondering why nobody else saw the bigger picture. The difference in you when you were with Miguel.” She shook her head as if physically removing herself from the memory. “I’m sorry. I probably sound really stupid.”

I let her words sink in for a moment. That Isabelle had noticed so much was amazing to me. She’d seen the things Leah saw, and the things I felt, and she didn’t even know me.

“It’s not stupid,” I told her. “It’s smart. But the reason nobody else saw it was because it was so unexpected to them. They saw how much I struggled since Will died, and then they saw me with Miguel. To them, it’s like I’ve cut Will off and moved along to someone else.”

“But you haven’t. You’re still hurting.”

I nodded. If only they knew how much.

“For what it’s worth, I think anything that makes you happy is worth pursuing.”

With a happy sigh at her understanding, I said, “You’d better pack your bags and get moving over here soon, honey. I think you’ll fit in perfectly.”

Isabelle laughed. “Thanks.”

“Thank you.” I sat up, and stretched my arms out before standing. “I’m gonna go give Leah a hand with the drinks. Catch you later.”

Talking to Isabelle left me with a similar feeling as talking to Bree did. Uplifted, but without the slight headache from the speed Bree switched topics.

A little clarity was what I’d needed, and in the time I’d been away from Miguel, everything was still fuzzy. Isabelle’s observations made things a little clearer but what she saw were things I already knew. I knew being with Miguel made me happy, made me feel like myself again. The issues were me beating myself up over it and everyone we knew adding their opinions to the mix.

My unfinished thoughts ground to an abrupt halt when I reached Leah’s kitchen and found her leaning forward, her palms pressing into the marble counter beside the sink. Her black hair fell in front of her face as she breathed deeply.

“Leah?”

Her head snapped towards me, her cheeks flushed and her forehead dripping with sweat. “Oh, thank God. Freya… I think the baby’s coming.”

I took a step closer to her, sure I’d misheard. “What?”

“I’ve been getting pains since yesterday evening, but I’m not due for three weeks. I thought it was Braxton Hicks but the pains have been getting worse for the last hour, and… I’m scared.” With one more long breath out, Leah straightened up and grabbed my hand.

“Erm… okay. Leah, are you sure this is it?”