More Than This

by Shannyn Schroeder

  “Since we were kids.” Ryan nodded at the wine selection and the waiter poured two glasses.

  “How’d you meet?” She took a slug of wine.

  “We went to school together.”

  “You did?” Her eyes crinkled in confusion.

  “Where else would two kids meet?”

  “I don’t know. I thought . . . he’s rich, and rich people usually hang out with other rich people.”

  He feigned offense. “You think I’m not good enough to hang out with the rich?”

  “It’s not that. You’re not rich. Are you?”

  He laughed. “Not by a long shot. But Griffin wasn’t born rich. He’s worked his ass off for every penny.”

  She drank more wine, draining the glass. “Sounds like a fascinating story.”

  The waiter returned and Ryan ordered a garbage pizza. He refilled Quinn’s glass.

  She leaned forward eagerly. “Tell me.”

  Ryan felt the nick of jealousy and reminded himself again that Quinn was only a friend. At least for now. Besides, Griffin wasn’t her type. “He grew up poor. Poorer than me. His dad took off when he was little, and his mom had to work two jobs to keep them living in a decent neighborhood.

  “We met in first grade. The class clown made fun of Griffin’s name and he punched the kid. Gave him a bloody nose.”

  Quinn tucked her hair behind her ear. “Good for him. You were the clown?”

  “Yeah, we’ve been friends ever since.”

  “Boys bond over the strangest things. How did he become a millionaire?” She sipped her wine now. The nervous energy seeped from her.

  “Computers. He discovered everything he could about computers. Hardware, software, all the technical mumbo jumbo. He learned to take the machines apart and rebuild them. Then he learned how to write software. Before he hit twenty-five, he’d created three top-selling video games.”

  “He’s a computer geek.” The awe in her voice returned to interest. “He can be my type. Sexy, smart, independent, hardworking.”

  “Playboy, controlling, demanding.”

  “No one’s perfect. I bet he’d be fun for the summer.” She winked at him.

  His blood pumped hot. It was one thing for her not to sleep with him, but another to go after his best friend.

  The waiter arrived and placed their pizza on a pedestal between them.

  Quinn reached up and placed two outer-edged pieces on her plate. “Relax. I’m joking. I’m not going to try to sleep with your friend. That would be tacky. And awkward. It would be like you going out with Indy.”

  They spent the remainder of the meal chatting about inconsequential things. They finished the bottle of wine and Quinn looked at her watch. She blinked and tapped the face. “Oh my God. We’ve been here for hours.”

  “So?” The uptight clock-watcher had returned. He’d wondered how long it would take.

  “I have papers to grade.”

  He signaled to the waiter for the check. “I have to ask. Do you read every single one of them?”

  She was genuinely surprised. “Of course. How am I supposed to assign a grade if I don’t read it?”

  “At the beginning of the year, sure, but you’ve had these same kids since September. Don’t you know who’s going to get an A and who’ll be lucky to get a D?”

  “Yes, mostly.”

  “So give them the grade.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  He pulled money from his wallet to cover the bill and tip. “Why not? It would save you hours of work. I bet the kids wouldn’t even know.”

  She sighed heavily. “You’re probably right. But the first time I do something like that, it would be my luck to have a kid question the grade. How can I explain the grade when I assign it arbitrarily? Plus, it would feel like cheating.”

  “Like Indy said, pedestrian.”

  She shoved away from the table, clearly irritated. “No, responsible. I take my job seriously. It’s not a game. It’s everything to me. I read those papers because they did the work. They deserve for me to hold up my end and read them. I also enjoy seeing their growth. Most of them are different than they were nine months ago.”

  “I stand corrected. It seemed like an easy solution for you to save time. I didn’t mean to offend you. At least not much.” He stood and followed her out to the car. Her passion for her job surprised him. He knew she would be good at what she did, but he didn’t expect her to get fired up.

  In the car, she rummaged in her purse. “What do I owe you for dinner?”

  “Nothing. We were celebrating your first ride and another item checked off your list.”

  She smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

  When they pulled up to her building, she didn’t invite him in. She opened the door and he asked, “Since school is over, will you still be coming to the bar?”

  “Sure, sometimes. You’re my wingman. I’ll have to have you check out my prospects for romance.” She closed the door and walked to the apartment.

  He waited to make sure she was in safely before pulling away from the curb. He needed to check out her romantic prospects to make sure he had no real competition. Plans formulated in his head that would allow him to simultaneously support and sabotage Quinn’s plans.

  Girls’ night in was an early evening days later. Quinn asked Kate and Indy to come to her house. She needed help developing a plan to conquer the rest of the list. She had turned in her grades and was officially free for the summer. She also wanted to discuss her plans for getting pregnant.

  The buzzer rang as she set bowls of chips and dip on the table. She pressed the buzzer. Minutes later, Kate stood in the doorway with all three kids in tow.

  “Hi, guys.” Quinn hoped the shock in her voice wasn’t too apparent.

  “I am so sorry. Mark’s not home. I should’ve called and canceled, but I needed to get out of the house. Never underestimate the power of adult conversation.”

  “No problem. We’re kid-friendly.” She lowered herself to child-height. “Hi, Kyra.”

  “Hi, Aunt Quinn.” Kyra moved forward and wrapped her arms around Quinn’s neck. Her younger siblings attempted to join, but only succeeded in knocking the group to the floor.

  “Kyra, get off Auntie and take the bag of toys to the living room.” Kate tried to smooth the hair that had escaped her ponytail. She asked Quinn, “Are you sure this is okay?”

  Quinn got off the floor. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s just us. I’ll move the chips to the counter, and the kids can spread out over the couch and table. We can always pop in a Disney DVD for a while.”

  “Thanks.” She picked up four-year-old Thomas and two-and-a-half-year-old Nicole and carried them to the couch. Kyra had already opened a ziplock bag of Little People toys and dumped them in a pile on the area rug in front of the couch.

  Quinn set the TV to a kids’ show. Kyra looked up at her, “Can I change this?”

  Kate answered, “No.”

  “What’s that about?” Quinn asked, nodding her head toward Kyra.

  “She asked for your permission, not mine. She’s figured out she can ask Daddy for things after I’ve said no. He usually says yes. God forbid, he think ahead and actually be a parent.” Kate sighed heavily. “Sorry, I don’t mean to unload on you.”

  “Unload away. I do it to you. What’s going on?” Quinn eased onto a bar stool at the counter. The spot afforded them privacy for a conversation and the ability to keep an eye on the kids.

  “I don’t know where to start. I’m miserable. Mark is never around. When he is, he plays with the kids and disappears. He’s busy. He’s tired. What, like I’m not?” She pulled a chip from the bowl and ate it. “This is lunch for me.”

  “I’ll make you a sandwich for now and we’ll order dinner in a while.”

  “I’d rather have a margarita.”

  “I can do that too.” Quinn moved into the kitchen and pulled out a blender and margarita mix. “Go on.”

  “I think Mark might be over
whelmed by everything, but I don’t know because he’s not talking to me. He works more and more hours every week. I talk to his voice mail more than I do him.” She munched on another chip.

  “I can take the kids for a night, or even a weekend if it would help. Maybe you guys need some alone time. I can’t imagine trying to have a serious heart-to-heart with the kids around.” Quinn poured drink mix and dumped ice cubes into the blender and pulsed the concoction.

  “I might take you up on that. I’ll have to check with Mark and his forever-growing schedule.”

  “Let me know when. I’m a free woman for the entire summer. I don’t remember the last time I had a summer off. I don’t know what to do with myself. The kids will be a nice distraction.”

  Kate took the glass Quinn handed her. “You have things to do. You have a list to accomplish and romance to find.”

  The buzzer rang again. Kyra jumped off the couch. “Can I get it?” “Sure. Press the intercom button and ask who it is.”

  Kyra stood on tiptoe in front of the intercom and pressed the button. “Who is it?”

  “You have to let go of the button for them to answer,” Kate said. She let go of the button.

  “It’s Indy. Let me up.”

  Kyra needed no further direction. She pressed the other button and danced in place. “Auntie Indy’s here.” She pulled the door open and peered out. When the elevator dinged, she ran out in the hall. “Auntie Indeeee!”

  “Why don’t I get that kind of welcome?” Quinn asked as Indy came through the door carrying Kyra.

  “Because I’m the fun aunt.” She deposited Kyra on the couch and tossed her purse over the back of one of the stools.

  “I’m fun.”

  Indy rolled her eyes. “Sure you are. In the conventional, safe kind of way. I break the rules.”

  “Whatever.” Quinn knew she was right. It irked her to hear it out loud, though. Kyra loved her too. She didn’t need her name screamed in the hallway to prove it.

  “Early for drinks, isn’t it?”

  “Rough day,” Kate answered.

  Indy took a swig from Kate’s glass and looked over at the couch. “With the three of them, I’d think every day would be rough.”

  Kate took her glass back. “Most are good. And they’re not the problem.”

  “Mix one up for me,” Indy said to Quinn, who was already back at the blender. “What’s wrong in Leave It to Beaver–land?”

  “I wish my life were a TV sitcom. I don’t want to think about it anymore. Quinn needs help.”

  Quinn knew this would be difficult. Announcing life-altering decisions over margaritas would cause a stir, but she needed Indy’s and Kate’s support. She decided to rip off the bandage, get it over with, so she blurted, “I’m going to get artificially inseminated.”

  Indy stared at her. “You’re crazy. I know you want to be a mom, but have you considered how hard it will be to do it all alone? There will be so much you won’t be able to do.”

  Kate interjected, “Indy has a point. I’m in the thick of it. I can’t go to a movie whenever I want. The thought of a vacation brings chills. I can’t remember the last time I went shopping for myself where I got to try things on before purchasing them.”

  Quinn turned toward Kate. “But would you change anything?” Kate smiled. “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “See?” Quinn turned back to Indy. “That look on Kate’s face? I want that.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “This is not the life I planned. I’m supposed to be married with a couple of kids and a house in the suburbs by now. Nothing I’ve been doing has worked, so I’ve developed an alternate plan.”

  “But you’re alone,” Kate said. “Regardless of how rocky my marriage is, I have Mark to fall back on. His paycheck allows me to stay at home with the kids. If I need to run out in the middle of the night for Tylenol because a kid is sick, he’s there. I have support.”

  “You said yourself Mark doesn’t do a whole lot when it comes to the kids. He loves them and plays with them, but you’re the one who takes them to school and the doctor. You’re the one who takes care of them when they’re sick. What is his involvement?”

  Kate’s eyelids lowered and she shrugged.

  Indy moved forward. “She at least has a sense of help. If it was really important, Mark would step up.”

  “Millions of women are single moms and they manage. They manage with little or no education, a low-paying job, and no benefits. I’m already so far ahead of so many people. I can handle this. I’m not naïve. I joined an online loop for single moms a few weeks ago. It’s opened up their world to me.”

  Quinn went to her desk and pulled out her master schedule and plan. “Look. I’ve thought it all through.”

  “What the hell is that?” Indy asked.

  “It’s my plan. I started with conception dates because really, everything hinges on that.” She pointed to the calendars coded in yellow, purple, and green. “These show the dates I can conceive and have a summer baby. If I give birth over the summer, I don’t have to take any time off work. If I come too close to the start of the school year, I have sick days saved that I can use, but with any luck, I’ll get pregnant earlier and have the whole summer with my baby.”

  “What about the cost? Most families are struggling with two incomes.”

  Indy obviously thought she was an idiot. “I have enough money saved that I can try to get pregnant three times. The odds aren’t in my favor. It takes an average of six times, but I’m hoping I won’t need that. Insurance covers the actual pregnancy.”

  She flipped the page to show her income and expenditures. “The only thing that I’m iffy on is whether I should sell the loft and get a small house or stay here for a couple of years. Sooner or later, I’m going to want a house and a yard for my kid.”

  Kate moved closer to inspect the charts, graphs, and lists. “You definitely did your homework.”

  Indy shook her head. “I think you’re nuts. You need to make sure you’ve lived all the life you want before you trap yourself. Even if it is a trap of your own making.”

  “Nothing’s definite yet. I haven’t talked to a specialist. I’ve been doing research. Did you know for five hundred dollars I can order sperm online? Not only that, but I can choose a guy’s height, weight, eye and hair color, education, race, and nationality? It’s insane. Click-click and I choose a father who looks like me.”

  “No way,” Kate said.

  “Seriously. I spent a good hour the other night playing around with it.”

  Indy shook her head. “I think you need to spend more time with kids and less playing who’s the baby’s daddy.”

  “I have plenty of experience with kids. I babysat all through high school and college. But just to prove to the two of you that it’s no big deal, I’m offering to take Kate’s kids for a while. No big deal.”

  Kate’s eyes lit. “Name the time and they’ll be here.”

  Quinn continued to lay out her plan. “I’ve planned out the timing for this. If I take my vacation in early August, I can come home, choose my donor, and inseminate by the beginning of the school year.” She sipped on her drink and waited for Indy’s next blast.

  “What’s your hurry? You have plenty of time.”

  “I told you before. I’m tired of waiting for life to happen. I’m going after what I want, but I’m still researching to figure out what the best course of action is for me.”

  One side of Indy’s mouth lifted. “I know you. If you’re bringing it up to us, you’ve already made up your mind.”

  Quinn bit her lip. “The more I look into it, the more people I talk to, the more excited I get. The prospect of having a baby and being a mom makes me feel like I’ve found the missing component in my life.”

  Kate reached out and covered Quinn’s hand. “We’re here for you.”

  “Good, because I need help with a couple of things on the list,” Quinn answered.

  “What’s next?”

  “I ne
ed a karaoke bar, somewhere to pose nude, and a summer romance. And I need to figure out where to take my vacation.”

  “Sure, let me whip out my phone book,” Indy responded.

  “You don’t need to be sarcastic. I’m looking for ideas. Obviously my usual way of doing things isn’t working. I should get bonus points for asking for help instead of finding the easy way.”

  “Go to the Art Institute and some other local colleges. They might have a bulletin board advertising for models for the art classes.” Kate put her drink down and swiveled off her chair. “I’ll be right back. The kids are too quiet. They must’ve gotten into something.”

  “Let’s talk vacations. What kind of atmosphere are you looking for?” Indy asked.

  “I have no idea. I suppose it would depend on whether or not I find my summer romance before I go on my trip.”

  “You’re supposed to go alone. That’s the deal.”

  “I know. But if I don’t have a summer romance, I’ll be depressed, so I’ll need someplace to cheer me up. A place with a high male-to-female ratio so I can find someone there, so I can have a quickie romance.”

  Kate came back to the counter.

  “Kids okay?” Quinn asked.

  “Yeah, they were smelling the beautiful daisies on the table and pretending their Little People were getting married. It was kind of cute.” She took a drink. “I say regardless of whether or not you find a man, you go somewhere fun.”

  “Like?”

  “The Bahamas,” Indy offered.

  “I don’t think I want beach. I don’t know if I’ll have to start taking hormones. What if they make me feel bloated and fat? No swimsuits.”

  The buzzer sounded and Kyra shot up again. “I’ll get it.”

  Indy looked at Quinn. “Expecting someone?”

  Quinn shook her head. “You guys.”

  “Who is it?” Kyra asked into the intercom.

  “This is Ryan. Is Quinn home?”

  “Yeah,” Kyra answered, but didn’t move to buzz him up.

  “Can I come up?”

  “I don’t know.” Kyra looked over at Quinn.

  “Let him in, Kyra. He’s a friend.”

  “Spending a lot of time with your friend, aren’t you?” Indy leaned forward, expecting juicy gossip.