Hello Quarterback (Hello #8)

23. Mia

23

MIA

The next two weeks were going to be slammed with work travel out of town, so I asked my best friend and both of our moms to meet me for lunch. The four of us tried to go out at least once every couple of months to catch up.

Today, we were eating at the café with an exclusive membership, and I swore Farrah’s mom kept glancing around, shocked at all the stars she recognized. It was fun to see how giddy she got about it.

My mom, on the other hand, could care less about fame and fortune. She said anyone who walked the red carpet had once worn a dirty diaper that needed to be changed. Maybe that was part of where my confidence came from—truly believing that all people were equals.

As we were waiting for our food to be delivered, Farrah said to me, “Are you expecting a call from someone? You keep checking your phone.”

Slightly embarrassed, I tucked it back into my purse. “Sorry, this is girl time.”

Never mind that I wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone—just hoping to hear from Ford.

After he dropped by the office yesterday, I'd gotten several emails from my employees thanking me for giving him the time to chat with them when he should have been eating with me.

It had been a really successful drop in. I wanted to message him and tell him thank you and how much it meant to me, but we'd gone by a silent-but-understood rule that we weren't the kind of fake relationship couple who texted each other regularly. In fact, there were only a handful of messages between us.

But I could already feel myself starting to miss him. Especially since I knew I'd be going out of town soon and it would be a couple weeks before we could see each other again.

As if she could read my thoughts, my mom said, “Tell us how things are going with Ford.”

Heat found my cheeks because no one close to me knew that the relationship was fake. But I couldn’t bear breaking the news to them, especially when I didn’t want to believe it myself. “He just brought me lunch to the office yesterday. It was nice.”

Farrah smiled. “Any activities on your desk?”

I gasped at my friend. “My mom is here!”

Farrah chuckled, and her mom, who looked just like the older version of Farrah, said, “What? We're all adults here.”

“True,” my mom said, “and he is such an upgrade from your last boyfriend. I’m so glad you’re with someone who makes you smile so big.”

My heart stung at the mention of my ex. And how happy I was in my relationship with Ford.

“I saw Christian the other day,” Farrah’s mom commented.

All of us were staring at her now. “You did?” I said. I was way too interested.

Her mom nodded. “He acted like he didn't recognize me, and I was fine not talking to him. He was with another woman. There was a child with them, but I didn't know if it was his or not.”

My chest twinged painfully. He was living the life that he wanted.

But so am I , I reminded myself. In fact, on the outside looking in, I had it all. A great job, a beautiful home, incredible friends, and a killer wardrobe... I just wanted love to be part of the equation too.

Farrah said, “ Please tell me he's going bald.”

My mom and I laughed, but Farrah’s mom unfortunately shook her head. “Maybe one day.”

Before the conversation could continue down that route, a server brought our food, and we dug in.

A few bites in, Farrah’s mom asked me, “Anything new going on at work?”

I set down my BLT, actually feeling a rush of excitement through my chest. “I am starting a mentorship program for plus-sized women in business.”

Farrah said, “Seriously? That's great.”

My mom tilted her head, asking, “Why plus-sized women specifically?”

I frowned, knowing that this was just one of the areas where we couldn't connect. She had been thin her whole life and wouldn't know all of the struggles plus-sized women went through, even if she raised me. But I knew she supported me deep down, and the question didn’t come from a bad place. “I don't know if you know the stats, Mom, but plus-sized people, on average, get paid less than their counterparts, even working in the same job. And that’s if they get in the door. They're less likely to get called back for an interview, and imagine running a business with that kind of bias existing. Not a lot of women who look like me make it to the top. Especially in male-dominated fields.”

Mom seemed genuinely stunned at that information. “Wouldn't that be discrimination?”

I shook my head. “Size isn't exactly a protected class. And a lot of people misunderstand plus-sized women. They think we’re just unmotivated, lazy.” I saw Farrah tilting her gaze down. Her ex-husband had done a number on her, calling her fat, lazy, saying that no one would ever want her. “It couldn’t be further from the truth,” I finished.

My mom nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I’m glad you’re making a difference. What do you think mentorship will do?”

I smiled, glad she always had my back. “I think one of the best things we can do for women is to show them what's possible,” I said. “And now that I've made it here, I'm ready to give them a hand up.”

Farrah set her fork down and said, “I totally agree. I know it might not have been the case every time, but when I was applying for all those jobs right after the divorce and I kept getting rejected, part of me was wondering if some of those employers were judging me because of my size. I was lucky that I had you, Mia, to help talk me up and help me get my foot in the door at Griffin Industries. You changed my life.” Her voice broke on the last sentence.

My eyes stung with emotion, and I understood Ford in a whole new way.

He got to experience this feeling all the time with Ford’s Friends, to see the impact he was making. That meant prioritizing his work so a relationship didn’t detract from moments like this.

But as I ate lunch with my friend and our moms, I had to wonder… couldn't we have both?