Ade scanned her task list: she’d called a housing company and made an online payment but still had to make a call to Madison. She stalled, her cell in her hand, staring at Madison’s name. Maybe she should write up her supervision notes while they were fresh in her mind. She didn’t want to blow all that progress with shoddy record-keeping.
She typed her notes into the university’s student system, diligently logging her students’ concerns and resolutions. She was pretty proud of her progress today. There’d been no meltdowns, and she hadn’t had to put herself into Steph’s or Sylvie’s shoes to fix anyone’s problems. Without thinking, she picked up her cell and scrolled to messages she’d shared with Sylvie.
Hey. Missing you. How’s it going?
Having fun, but wish you were here. The bed is far too big for one person.
I bet. I could really help with that.
She was putting off the call to Madison. And she wasn’t so proud of that. She was really trying to be the person who got things done, and did them well, rather than relying on anyone else to take care of matters. She sighed, and her finger hovered over the call button.
Convincing herself that it’d be so much worse if she didn’t make contact, she pressed the button. It rang a few times, and she almost hung up until the connection clicked into place. “Madison? Is that you?”
“Hi, Ade,” she almost whispered.
Now what?“I wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. You know, after the last few weeks and all.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m okay.” Madison sniffed. “Are personalcheck-ins part of the service now?”
So, she’d figured out that Ade’s call was unusual. “They are for people I’m beginning to worry about. It’s my job to be here for you when you need extra support.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. Everything is great. I’ve sorted out my report cards, and my schedule is so much lighter since you fixed it for me.”
They were the right words in the right order, but they rang hollow. Ade drummed her fingers. “Are you sure? I heard you’ve missed a few classes?”
“Yeah, but only the ones we talked about me dropping, right?”
That threw Ade off. Had she given Madison permission to skip class? She’d arranged for her schedule to be modified, but that wasn’t a carte blanche for her absence. “Right. So you’re attending the classes you’re supposed to be going to? Just reassure me of that. We don’t want to be getting in any more trouble with the faculty this semester.”
“No, we wouldn’t want that.” Madison sounded detached, like she was staring into space, speaking words that Ade might want to hear. “I gotta go; someone’s at my door.”
She hung up before Ade could wish her well. At least she had company, but Madison’s dead tone played in her mind all the way home.
Back at her apartment, she had no time to dwell on the interaction. Steph was home and itching to hit the bars.
“Come on, you know you want to.” Steph threw a towel in Ade’s lap. “Get yourself ready. It’ll take your mind off missing Sylvie and whatever the hell happened in class today.”
Ade had downloaded a summary of what happened with Madison, but as usual, her sister had brushed off her worries with a flick of her hand and the offer of a quick drink to soak up the misery.
“I don’t feel like it tonight.” She almost never wanted to go out with Steph. Most times, she tagged along with the hope that thisone time would be the night of her dreams. She would morph into the social being she fantasized about, easily moving through a crowded room, unconcerned by the lights and the noise piercing her eyes and ears.
“I don’t want to go out alone, Ade.” Steph stuck out her bottom lip.
“I need a quiet night.” She missed Sylvie terribly. The day’s work had been a good distraction, but they were about to spend more time apart than they had in a long while, and it hurt.
“But we have birthday plans to polish. How am I going to plan dinner and dancing if you’re not around to sign off on the plans?”
Ade rolled her eyes. “We both know that I have no real power in that decision-making process.” She hadn’t spent a birthday on this earth without her twin on center stage.
Steph tilted her head, throwing Ade a pity look. “You sure Sylvie can’t come? It’s a shame you won’t be together on our birthday.”
That fact sat heavy in Ade’s heart. But plans to meet her parents had been made months ago. They were enjoying the finale to their European tour by adding a trip to Morocco, where she and Steph were going to meet them for a few days. “She can’t take any more personal time off.” What Ade really wanted was to stay in the city and celebrate with Sylvie. But breaking her promise to her family was unimaginable.
“Bummer.” Steph adjusted the waistband of her miniskirt. “Do you think this is too long?”
“I have absolutely no opinion on the length of your hem,” Ade said without looking up.
“You could pretend. Just this once.”
