Mary and Halley (sequel to When Mary Met Halley)

six

By eight the following night, Halloween was nearly over, and the trick-or-treaters coming to the door were all teenagers with defiantly sheepish grins and half-assed costumes. The last group to come consisted of three towering guys in jeans wearing Marvel masks, and we gave them the rest of the dispensable candy and then turned out the porch light.

The bigger kids were already in their pajamas and Halley herded them off to their room after they hugged Leif, who had on a princess crown and sparkly wings and a lot of fancy makeup. He was in his chair with a sleeping Hank and PK in his lap. I picked up the baby with a sound of exertion. "He is getting too big," I said, settling him against me as he smiled in his sleep.

"I wish someone would carry me to bed and tuck me in," Leif grumbled, unwrapping his millionth peanut butter cup. He popped it in his mouth and chewed gloomily.

"Go to bed," I told him. "You're crashing from the ridiculous amount of sugar you had today, and you're going to be a total bitch tomorrow."

"Whatever, worth it," he retorted, reaching for the candy bowl that contained our personal stash.

I took it away and held it out of reach. "You're cut off, pretty boy." I took it with me and put it in the linen closet before going to put Hank in his crib.

We finished tucking the kids in and went back to the living room when knocking ensued. "Uh, the porch light being out means we're done," I muttered, but flipped it on and opened the door.

Paramjeet stood there with matching suitcases, eyes red, cheeks wet. 

My eyebrows went way up. "Hey, what's--"

"I left that sick son of a bitch, Mary," she said, and fell into my arms sobbing. 

Leif appeared at my side, joining the hug for a few moments. "I can kick his ass, if you want," he told her earnestly, pulling back. "I've been working out, if you hadn't noticed yet." He flexed, the sparkly wings making an interesting backdrop.

I punched his arm. "Not now," I hissed, patting her back. "Come in, come in." I nodded toward her bags and he stepped out to get them.

"Now I'm a glorified bellhop," he muttered.

"Glorified in what way?" she asked automatically, blowing her nose on a wad of Kleenex.

"Oh snap," he said approvingly, following us into the living room. The crow had long since retreated to the bedroom, annoyed with all the people at the door and too much excitement. The cat, though, was an extrovert and jumped into her lap the second she sat down, purring madly.

"What happened?" I asked, taking in her face swollen from crying, her bitten nails. I realized Halley was purposely staying in the kitchen to give her some privacy.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, her breath hitching. Her accent was heavier because she was upset, making her words almost musical. "I can't, I just can't. Not yet." Her ring finger was bare. She and Paul had only been married four months. "And I'm done at the paper, done with New York, I'm done with everything! Done!" She covered her face with her hands and wept. The cat meowed and pawed at her face, then flopped upside down on her legs.

I looked at Leif in alarm. He motioned for me to do something. "It'll be okay," I said uselessly, patting her back. "You can stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you," she said, wiping her eyes with her sodden sleeve. "I'm so stupid," she said forlornly, looking at her naked ring finger.

I knew that whole mood well. "You're not," I protested, wishing I had better words.

"Yeah, he's the stupid one." Leif put in, concern on his face at her continued angst.

"No, I was so foolish, so naive." She shook her head, stroking the cat with a shaking hand. "I can't believe this is happening. This must be a nightmare. I keep thinking I will wake up."

I knew that feeling well, and that there was nothing anyone could say to make it better. "I'm sorry," I said, stifling a yawn as exhaustion crept in. Hank had been up three times during the night and Jasper twice. "It'll be okay," I said again. "You don't have to talk about it. Just, whatever you need. We're here."

She looked anguished. "Sorry to barge in on you like this, I just didn't want to call and I didn't know what to say if I texted and . . . " She looked around. "Where's Halley?"

She came to the doorway, drying a cup and smiling shyly. "Hi, I was just cleaning up in here. How are you?" She rolled her eyes at herself. "Dumb question, sorry."

"No, it's fine. I've been better," Paramjeet admitted, but at least the tears were tapering off.

A yawn escaped me and Halley saw it, which made her do the same though she covered her mouth. "Excuse me, didn't get much sleep. Are you hungry? We have pesto linguine, and roasted chicken, stuff for sandwiches?" The cup had to be bone dry but she kept wiping.

"I would love some of the linguine, if it's not too much trouble," my sad friend admitted.

Halley looked relieved to have something to do. "Not at all," she assured her, returning to the kitchen, where she would no doubt make a salad and toast some sourdough rolls to go along with it.

Sometimes I worried she was too perfect and would get fed up with me and my mediocrity.

"This crazy cat," Paramjeet exclaimed, petting PK, who was making energetic happy feet in her lap and purring like a Harley Davidson motorcycle. "Yes, you're very cute, aren't you." She scratched his head.

"You want something to drink?" I thought to ask. Halley and I rarely drank, but kept a few things in the house. "We can step out back and smoke a joint, we don't smoke in the house."

"No, thanks but it's past midnight to me; I don't need anything to make me more sleepy." She kicked off her Nikes and rested her black-socked feet on the table.

Joey came out, slouching, but straightened up when he saw Paramjeet. He'd always had a crush on her, which luckily Char didn't give him shit about. "Hey, what are you doing here?" He got close enough to see her face and his smile disappeared. "Are you okay?" He stood in his green plaid pajama bottoms and gamer shirt, nearly a foot taller than I was, and I couldn't believe he was almost an adult.

She nodded, waving him off. "I'm okay. Just-- " She shook her head, putting her hand over her face, her shoulders shaking.

Joey's eyes widened, the left one less puffy but blacker than it had been the day before. "I'll just let you guys talk. Let me know if . . . " his voice trailed off and he disappeared to the kitchen. The cat thumped down and ran after him.

"Had to go pick him up drunk from a party the other night," I told her in a voice low enough that he couldn't hear.

"Nooo," she said, momentarily distracted from her pain. "You lie, Mary."

I made a face. "I wish. It was pretty lame." I yawned again. "Sorry."

She did the same now. "You guys go to bed, I'll just sleep here on the couch when I'm done eating. Is there an extra blanket?"

"Shut up, you can sleep with me. There's plenty of room; I won't bite," Leif told her. "Hard, anyway."

She pushed him. They were pretty close friends too.

"He does have an enormous bed," I told her. She wouldn't get much sleep on the couch when the kids got up in the morning, though she slept through almost anything.

"All the better to have orgies in," he said happily. He saw the look on her face and sobered up, realizing that joking her out of it was not an option. "Or sleep, just sleep and nothing else," he amended.

"Let's put clean sheets on it at least," I suggested, because ew. "Maybe a plastic one over the mattress."

Joey came back in with a plate of pasta and sure enough, garlic bread and salad. I helped Leif change his bed and then finally got to my favorite part of the day, bedtime.

Because as luck would have it, lesbian sex had turned out to be the best thing ever.