“Not wine.” If I was…well, better not wine.
“Let me put this away and I’ll be back out shortly.”
I puffed out a breath. Should I talk to her, or tell her it was just one of those days? The NT-WAGs wanted to get together for a support session, but Jayna was out of town and Jess was sick. It would be a few days before we could find a time we were all available.
But my roommate? I could talk to her. If I was going to upchuck every morning, she’d soon know about that particular problem.
Madeline came back down the hallway, hair pulled into a ponytail, cashmere sweats on. I sighed. It wasn’t like I couldn’t be look more like her if I really worked at it, but I didn’t want to that badly. Especially not now. But damn, the woman was put together.
Josh hadn’t gotten back to me yet. Had his mother done something, or had Daniel not given him his phone? Maybe he’d heard bad news and he wasn’t talking to anyone? Or was it just me?
My brain couldn’t focus on any one thing. I was a mess.
Madeline came over with a pint of gourmet ice cream, a couple of bowls and spoons. “Do you want to talk or just turn on a movie?”
“I want to pretend none of this is happening, but I can’t. Would you mind if I dumped on you to try to sort things out?” Madeline would never get into a mess like this, but hopefully she wouldn’t judge me.
“I won’t pretend I’m the best at advice, but I can be a sounding board.” She passed me a bowl with salted caramel ice cream and a spoon.
“Thanks.”
Once she’d placed a smaller amount in a second bowl, she took the carton back to the freezer. “This is the good stuff, so bring on the problems.”
I gave her a half smile. “I have more than one, so be prepared.”
“I meant to ask, how is Josh? I’d heard he was injured.”
I held up one finger. “That’s problem one.” I gave her a recap of what had happened with Josh, his mother, Daniel…everything up to now.
She licked her spoon, eyes on me. “For now, that’s all you can do, and that’s frustrating. When will Josh get his phone?”
I pulled up my own—still no messages. “I’m not sure. Daniel had to go to the arena and get Josh’s stuff, including the phone, before heading over. And he’s still got his own life, practices and stuff to deal with, so I don’t want to bombard him with my own worries.”
“Let’s finish the list of problems before you reach out again. What’s next?”
Next. Well, this was one she could help with. “My advisor is a misogynist, and it’s hobbling my ability to do my research project.” I gave her a synopsis of the issues I’d had.
“Is there some kind of hierarchy in place so that you can report his behavior?”
I huffed. “Yeah. I wrote an email, but I haven’t sent it yet.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “I don’t want to make a fuss? I mean, other women must deal with this. And what if it backfires? He gets pissed and nothing else changes.”
She pointed her spoon at me. “I’ve dealt with this kind of bullshit. I can tell you from experience that ignoring the problem does nothing to help, just reinforces that mindset.”
Nora had told me that when I talked to her. If I wanted something I had to push for it.
I grabbed my laptop and flipped it open. “You’re right. And this is one thing I can deal with.” I called up my email program, found the draft and closed my eyes. “There’s no going back if I do this.”
“Do you want to go back or forward?”
“Good point.” I opened my eyes and hit the send button. “Done.”
“How does that feel?” Madeline was watching with a trace of a smile on her face.
I swirled the spoon in the remaining ice cream in the bowl till it became a soup. “Good. But also, terrifying.”
