Work Hard, Love Harder

Zoe put her arms around her mom and held her while she rocked forward and back, sobbing and muttering, “I couldn’t let that happen, I couldn’t let him go like that.”

“It’s okay, Mom, it’s okay. I took care of it.”

She slowly quieted down and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her bathrobe. “You did what we talked about? You were careful?”

Zoe nodded. It had been a long night and she was mentally and physically exhausted but ran through it, both to reassure her and reassure herself that she covered everything. “I talked to her about my situation, let her know I’m engaged to a billionaire and we would be staying with Zack. They won’t take him away. They’re not putting him in foster care. I’m kind of surprised you feel so strongly about this, but it’s done, okay?”

Her mother looked up sharply. “I grew up in the system, Zoe. You know this.”

“Yeah… I guess I did. I just didn’t think that you’d care if we ended up there considering how you neglected Zack.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes, forgetting that her hands were still dirty. “I’m really tired, Mom, and tomorrow I have to convince Femi to go along with my story. I gotta get some rest. Come up with a strategy. Femi isn’t like other men; he’s not easily duped. I have to probably appeal to his better nature or some sh*t.”

Her mother shook her head, looking down. “I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I don’t care. I’m sick. You know that, I can’t help myself sometimes.”

“Mom, we need to protect each other. I’ll be back at college in a couple of months and you need to stop with the drugs so people leave you alone. Remember what you say about being below the radar?” She watched her mother continue shaking her head, talking quietly to herself, and Zoe knew that she had lost her for the night. Her mother had… episodes. “I’m going to go take a shower and go to bed. You should, too, you need your sleep.”

Her mother looked up and her smile wavered as she said, “That’s fine, Zoe. I’ll come up when you’re done.”

Zoe didn’t say anything as she went to the bathroom to shower. She would be going back to Harvard in the spring, just a couple of months away. She needed to find an apartment and a job so she had the means to take care of Zack. Paperwork for social services to see. Hustling didn’t exactly play well on a resume. She didn’t know how the pregnancy would factor in with everything. Femi seemed to be on board with supporting her through it, but that was before she had to add in the complication of her brother. She really, really needed a drink.

*****

“Hello.”

“Hi, Femi. Are you all settled in?”

“Yeah, I’m great. Got a room at the Holiday Inn, had a shower, took a nap. You want to come over?”

“Not tonight. But maybe I can come for breakfast?”

“Yeah. I look forward to it.”

“Femi?”

“Yeah?”

“We need to talk.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Okay then. See you in the morning?”

“See you in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. I love you, Femi.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Goodnight.”

Zoe hung up and took a deep breath. It was a risk playing the love card, but she needed to soften him up however she could. Besides, she had a sneaking suspicion that it was at least partly true. At least she was sure she’d never felt this way for another guy. Femi made her feel… things. He made her want all those cheesy things that she’d scoffed at other girls for wanting. A home, a family, a man to cook dinner for, the works. It was crazy and it was probably impossible, and she tried not to think about it too much, but there it was.

*****

Femi laid down staring at his ceiling, replaying the phone call in his mind. Should he have said the L-word back? He had a nagging feeling in the back of his throat. Like he was being hustled. He didn’t want to think it. He pushed the thought away, but it kept coming back. There was something off about the whole thing. Of course she’d taken her brother to the hospital, insisted on going alone. So, maybe it was just stress. She’d also promised to see an obstetrician while she was there and didn’t so much as whimper at him for arranging health coverage for her without asking.

“You haven’t even told your mother about this pregnancy,” he said to himself. “That’s what you need to be worrying about.”