Chapter 42 Elaine - Too Bad At Goodbyes

• The days passed by in a whirlwind and before I knew it, it was Friday already. Max was still in the dark about Finn. With each second that passed, it got even harder to pick up my phone, call, and tell him. At this point, I was really scared about his reaction. I'd spent almost every night at his place, and whenever he came over to mine, Finn was in school or hanging out with Cora. I kinda hoped that he'd catch on, with the small footwear by the entrance doorway or the little, children's books littered on the Lucite table in the living room, but so far he was oblivious to the details, and I had no idea how to break it to him.
• Yesterday, Jessy invited me over to their place again, and I was surprised at how differently Bruce and his assistant treated me. No searching. They just pulled open the gates and admitted me into the house. Turned out that Jessy wanted me to wear a cool dress of hers and save my money. Ryan was playing with the kids when I arrived but was delighted to see me as well. It all felt weird...the sudden bonding and comfort, but I tried not to think too much about it. After trying out lots of her dresses, Jessy and I sat down to talk about a range of topics that involved men, relationships, and motherhood. Her demeanor was so soothing, that I almost blurted out that I had a child as well. The way she discussed children could make even the world's coldest woman who'd sworn to not have kids think about getting one.
• When we were done, she took everyone out for lunch, and we all had fun with the children, laughing as we munched on pizza and ice cream. The dog came along as well, and everyone's happiness was contagious. I got to know more about Ryan and his sexuality. I kind of suspected that he was gay from the onset, but didn't know for sure, and it felt refreshing to hear him speak about his partner, Jace. I had a feeling that we would be best friends and Jessy? She was just so awesome and with each minute we spent together, I got to love her personality even more. She was the exact kind of girl I would be friends with, even though we didn't know the Sturm men. Our connection was so thrilling that I couldn't help looking forward to Saturday when I would see her at the get-together, even with this painful lump of truth in my chest.