Never Say Never

like she didn’t usually have fun, and Emily’s heart broke a little for her; Camila must not have anyone outside of Jaime, not really.
“You’re welcome any time,” Emily said, and she meant it, because she had had fun too, and wouldn’t mind more weekends like this. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Emily settled in front of the TV to catch up on some Netflix shows. Precisely at eight, there was a knock on her door.
“Hey.” Megan smiled warmly, and Emily tried to return it, but she must have failed because as Megan walked in, she asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just… Can we talk?” She hated that phrase because nothing good ever came after it. Megan’s eyes widened slightly.
“Sounds serious.”
“It’s not,” she quickly reassured her. “There’s just…a few things on my mind.” They sat side by side on the couch, Megan right on the edge, like she might bolt at any moment. “I wasn’t really honest with you the other day. I said I wasn’t ready for anything serious after my last relationship—which was a mess. I didn’t lie about that.” Emily hadn’t really planned this conversation; her thoughts were jumbled, and she struggled to make some kind of sense. “But I, um, I’m kind of hung up on someone else. I thought if I went out with someone who was smart and cute and funny that it might…help get my mind off of her, but it didn’t. So I don’t know if I can do this”—she gestured between the two of them—“anymore. I’m really sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun last night and I’m kinda sad it won’t happen again, but don’t be sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong.” Megan reached out and squeezed her hand. “As long as we can still be friends, because God knows I could use a few more in this city.”
“Me too,” Emily admitted.
“This woman you’re hung up on—it’s your boss, isn’t it?” Megan asked.
“Is it that obvious?”
“A little,” Megan said. “Plus you kinda looked like you’d been caught with your hand in the cookie jar this morning. I don’t blame you for being hung up on Camila freaking Evans.”
Emily flushed.
“And for what it’s worth, she didn’t look happy to see me this morning, so maybe there’s something there.”
“Maybe.” She didn’t want to think too much about that, though, not tonight, so she changed the subject. “Want to stay a while and watch a movie?”
“I actually promised my roommate I’d be home for dinner tonight. Raincheck?”
“Sure.” Emily saw her out, and they hugged at the door. She was glad that, although things hadn’t worked out romantically, she at least had another friend in the city that was starting to feel like home.
* * *
Camila slammed the door when she arrived home on Monday night. Jaime’s head was on Emily’s knee and there was a movie on TV, but it wasn’t quite loud enough to drown out the edge in Camila’s voice. It sounded like she was on the phone with her ex-husband.
“Are you fu—”
Emily clamped her hands around Jaime’s ears.
“—cking kidding me?” Camila hadn’t moved from the hall, but Emily could still hear every word. “And you couldn’t reschedule? Did you even try?” A pause, then, “Oh, save it.”
Emily glanced over the top of the couch. Camila rested her shoulder against the wall, eyes cast down, but then she took a breath and forced a smile as she made her way toward her son.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
“Go hug your mom,” Emily whispered in his ear, helping him off the couch. He scurried over to her, and Camila scooped him up. He yawned.
“Are you tired?”
“Wanted to see you before bed. Will you read me a story?”
Camila’s squeezed him a little tighter. “Of course I will.” She glanced at Emily.
“I’ll tidy up a little.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know, but you look like you’ve had a long day.”
“Thank you.” Camila took Jaime down the hall, and Emily collected the toys that were scattered across the room.
She was emptying the dishwasher when Camila padded back into the living room.
“Everything all right?” Emily asked. Camila answered by reaching for a bottle of scotch and pouring herself a generous amount.
She drank deeply from the glass. “It’s my useless ex-husband,” she sighed, and sat at the breakfast bar, gesturing for Emily to sit beside her. “Every December I spend a few days at the CEBC offices in London. They’re the headquarters for our Europe operation, and I like to check in, make sure everything is running smoothly.
“Usually Christopher comes with me—he has family in England, so he takes Jaime to spend time with them. He assured me he would go this year, except now he’s decided that he has to go to a conference that week instead. So now I have to find childcare at one of the busiest times of the year, on top of everything else I’ll have to deal with.”
“Wow. That’s really shitty.”
Camila turned to look at Emily, surprised.
“What? It is.”
“I know, but I didn’t think that word was in your vocabulary.” Camila smiled.
“I can watch him, you know,” she offered—it was her job, after all. “While you’re gone.”
Camila gazed at her thoughtfully, and Emily wondered if she had overstepped.
“If you wouldn’t mind me staying here, that is. I could take him to my place, but I don’t have anywhere for him to sleep. I could take the couch, I guess, or—”
“Emily.” Camila held out a hand, stopping her mid-ramble. “It’s not that. Of course you could stay here. It’s just… I’ve never been away from him for that long,” she said, her voice low. “He’s still so young, and it’s the holidays, and I…I don’t want him to think that he’s not important.”
“He knows he’s important to you,” Emily assured her. “He does. Can’t you take him with you? Could your assistant keep an eye on him? He seems to get along well with her.”
“I’ll need her with me. And there’s no one else to take, unless—” Camila appraised her,