REBECCA WAS LEAVING him with the baby. After five months, it was surely time that she went out for an evening with friends, yet despite reassurances that he’d be fine – “The main thing is to put her down by eight, and maybe give her a bath” – Ethan was still nervous. He just hoped he’d steeled himself more than other times; Rebecca was always reassuring him. And Ethan really did want her to have a good time. Seeing her standing at the door of their apartment with her auburn hair looking luminous and her makeup done just so, he was reminded of their first dates. Somehow, he was more nervous than he was back then.
“You don’t want Lacey’s number? In case you can’t reach my cell?”
Rebecca looked at him with a mixture of concern and appreciation. In four years of marriage, it was probably the fiftieth time she’d done so.
“No, that’s fine.”
“Well, if you’re sure.” Rebecca’s phone dinged. “Alyssa’s in the lobby. We’ll be at Lacey’s for supper and then we’ll see . . . there’s this band at Bud’s on Broadway. If we go, I’ll be back around midnight.”
“Got it,” Ethan said.
Again, Rebecca looked at him. Him and their baby. Sierra. For a moment, Ethan had almost forgotten he was holding her. Rebecca smiled, lips covered with a hint of red lipstick, grey eyes wide in amusement. She leaned in and kissed Sierra on the cheek, gave her little arm a shake. When she gave Ethan a kiss,
…
Brandon Fick is a writer and editor from Lanigan, Saskatchewan. He received his MFA in Writing from the University of Saskatchewan in 2022. His fiction and poetry has been published in The Society, in medias res, and El Portal, and he has published reviews in Prairie Fire, Prism International, and SaskBooks. He has also been Associate Prose Editor of spring magazine and Managing Poetry Editor of Windscript. Brandon is currently a freelance editor and reviewer, and slowly attempting to write a novel. You can find him on Instagram @brafic98 and on X @Brafic98.