I tried not to think too hard about what Rae had said, but I figured she was right. I probably was nothing more than a distraction. Furthermore, October was my boss, and my behavior was unprofessional. Throughout the day I found myself wondering why Rae could see what a shit I was but October couldn’t.

What did that say about either of them, I wondered?

October didn’t get home until late that night, and it was all I could do not to call and ask her if I could come over. It should be noted that throughout my entire adult life, I had only entered into relationships with women I could live without. That was my modus operandi: Stay safe. Don’t care too much. So I was anxious about the way I was feeling. I had a hard time falling asleep, and by the time I woke up the next morning, it was already after nine.

I showered and dressed in a hurry. On my way out the door, I grabbed my phone and noticed a couple of texts from October, but I was seconds away from her house and didn’t bother to read them.

The front door was unlocked, and I strolled into the kitchen. October was at the sink filling Diego’s water bowl, and she looked startled when she saw me.

“Joe,” she said quietly, looking over her shoulder. “You didn’t get my texts?”

I shook my head. “I slept in. Came straight over.”

I heard a voice coming from the back of the house. A man’s voice. Talking in an animated tone that led me to believe he was speaking to the dog.

October leaned in and whispered, “Chris came home this morning. He wasn’t supposed to be back until the end of the month. He just showed up. To surprise me.”

“Ah.” I hadn’t had coffee yet and couldn’t process this information in a swift or proficient way. I didn’t know if I was supposed to run from the house or act like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. “What should I do?”

“I don’t know.” October bit at her thumbnail. “He wants to meet you.”

“Now?” I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus. “What did you tell him?”

“Nothing. I mean, I told him you were my assistant and that you were great. That’s all. He caught me off guard.”

The confidence I’d had the day before was waning fast. Now that her boyfriend was real, now that he was here, I didn’t think for one second that I would be able to compete with him, and I certainly didn’t want to meet him without some mental preparation.

October met my eyes and touched my arm, and who knows what she felt there, because she said, “I know. I’m sorry. We’ll sort this out.”

Diego came bumbling into the kitchen, and I could hear Chris a few steps behind. October went to the table and sat down with a mug of coffee in her hands. I backed up as far away from her as I could get, all the way to the sink.