Play it off

“Hey, Button,” I say when we come in the back door.

She turns around and looks at me. I can see in her eyes she’s still a little pissed, but she’s cooled down.

“I’m sorry, I should have been more supportive,” I say, holding out my arms. I just want to hold her, but I don’t know if she’s ready for that.

“Well, good thing. They just called and offered me the job.” She crosses her arms in challenge and stares me down.

I have to swallow before I speak and try to put a happy look on my face. I’m not sure I do a good enough job because for a second she looks concerned like something is wrong with me.

“Oh, really?” I say, stalling to think of something nice to say. “That’s good.” God, I could kick my own ass. That didn’t sound cheerful enough. “I mean, fantastic. That’s fantastic!” I say, a little too loudly the second time.

“Oh,” she says and then uncrosses her arms. She looks around the room then back to me. “Yes, I mean, it’s different. But good. Right? Of course. It should be fun.” She d