October moved so quickly I could barely keep up with the days. Between Ronit's job and mine, we only saw each other for an hour before work and a few hours in the evening before we both passed out. The weekends became our haven; we'd try to stay in bed together for as long as possible before Daniel woke up. I'd often wake before her and make breakfast and coffee and return with it to the bedroom only to find she was awake and hungry for something else. Everything would go cold on the bedside cabinet while she pulled me on top of her. Those silent mornings; the cashmere touch of her sleepy skin and the fading scent of coffee in the air while her ravenous mouth moved all over my body, they were my favourite.
She didn't ask me much about Beth, which was a huge relief. Although I hadn't expected her adamancy that she would attend the Halloween fete, where Beth would be. I wouldn't be able to control it, I accepted that quickly. Beth and Ronit would meet eventually; it was inevitable. In which case, I had to talk to Beth, even though I tried desperately to avoid her at school, so much so that she noticed.
'Hello stranger.' She caught me one break time, I was hurrying from the staff kitchen back to my classroom when she bumped into me.
'Hi Beth.'
'You know we've barely spoken since I've come back.' Her arms hung casually by her sides. She'd lost weight since I last saw her, from her face and her waist. She looked better, healthier.
'I know, I'm sorry. I've been so busy.'
'I understand entirely. I get it, I do. I just thought we could get a coffee or lunch or something. Catch up.' Her light blue eyes glinted, I remembered them well. I remembered looking into them in the past and thinking how they were the opposite to Ronit's.
I don't know why, but I felt so guilty even agreeing to it. In order to limit the potential misunderstanding, I asked that we ate lunch in the staff room together that day; she seemed disappointed but accepted it.
'So,' Beth said a few minutes after the bell rang in the afternoon; she sat opposite me and opened a clear container filled with chicken salad. 'How have you been? It's been, like, a year hasn't it?'
'I've been well. Very well, actually.' I had a sandwich, but it sat on the table between us, uneaten. 'I was-'
'Oooh, sorry lovebirds.' Mrs Gregory had entered the room and danced past us, waving her fingers. 'Don't let me interrupt. Just grabbing me soy milk.' Beth sniggered as Mrs Gregory opened the fridge and pulled a carton from it, then left us alone again. 'As you were girlies.'
'She's daft.' Beth was tickled even after Mrs Gregory left, but my jaw was fastened shut, and I wasn't laughing. I made a note then to myself, to tell Mrs Gregory about Ronit, even though I wanted to keep Ronit as my secret. Oddly, I felt the more people knew, the more likely it would be that I'd lose her... but Beth – Beth needed to know.
'I wanted to say,' I said before there were any more interruptions. 'That I'm with someone now.'
'Okay.' Beth's smile remained. 'You don't need to look so serious, Esti. This is lunch, not an investigation.'
'It's just so... so you're aware.'
'Well now I am fully aware.' Beth's fork dawdled in her salad and her lips still smirked. 'What's her name?'
'Ronit.'
Her eyebrows rose slightly. 'Ronit? As in... the Ronit?'
'Yes.'
'Wow.' She looked genuinely shocked and took a sip of water. 'What about New York and the leaving and all the heartbreak?'
'She's back.'
