Faith Departed Sneak Peek, Part 2

June hung her jacket over the back of her chair and sat. She snapped her laptop into its dock and scrolled through the calendar on her phone while the computer booted. Her morning was clear, though there were enough tweaks needed on the demo server that she’d have plenty to do. Particularly since the demo this afternoon was supposed to be the crowning achievement that clinched the contract. She’d fought to keep it off the schedule and in reserve—in case things weren’t looking promising. No such luck. Her boss was determined and it simply didn’t pay to ignore Bob when he got a bee in his bonnet.

After a quick scan of her email, June opened a window that allowed her to connect virtually to the demo machine. It was so much nicer to work in her office than in the lab where people were coming and going all the time. Since the demo wasn’t classified, even though the project would be, she was going to take advantage of the opportunity to work in her office while she could. She’d be locked in the secure computer lab soon enough. She opened the email that listed all the tweaks needed on the demonstration and dragged it to her second monitor. She’d start at the top and work her way down. With any luck, she’d be too engrossed to dwell on the fact that she wasn’t pregnant yet. Two months wasn’t that long in the overall scheme of things. But she’d been so positive this was God’s timing for them to start a family. Toby wasn’t quite as convinced, but he was willing to see what happened and leave it in God’s hands. June sighed a prayer for understanding. Was she completely off base?

A line of code zipped by, catching her attention. She scrolled back up and narrowed her eyes. Well, there was the cause of one problem. Possibly a few more. She glanced at the list of bugs and pursed her lips. Yeah. A few of those issues could definitely be tracked right back to this careless typo. She read the comment above the block of code and shook her head. Of course Anthony had programmed this segment. She was going to have to talk to Bob about him sooner than later. But for now…she scrolled to the right place in the code and began to type. Better to just fix it. She could worry later.

**

“Lunch?”

June leaned back in her chair, phone to her ear, and stretched. “Yeah. I could eat. What time is it?”

Her sister’s laugh echoed down the line. “Almost one. I did manage to remember you have a big demo today, so I waited a little longer. But I’m starving.”

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you at our usual spot.” June set the phone back in its cradle and pressed her fingers to her eyes. A headache was brewing behind her left eye. It could be from staring at the computer screen all morning, but it was more likely from irritation at her useless co-worker. How did Anthony continually manage to hoodwink the upper management into thinking he knew what he was doing? And why was she always the one having to clean up his messes? Her stomach rumbled. Maybe the headache was low blood sugar.

She grabbed her purse and a protein bar from the box she kept in the same desk drawer. Maybe if she nibbled it slowly enough she’d feel full. The waistband of her pants was already digging into her flesh. She didn’t need to add a real meal onto the misery. Checking to be sure she’d saved her work and logged out of the demo server, she headed for the elevator.

Pushing through the sparkling glass doors of her building, June breathed in the crisp autumn air. For the beginning of October, it was cooler than she expected in the D.C. area. She wasn’t complaining. Summers around here were miserable, but the fall tended to make up for it. They’d probably end up with a few more sweltering days before much longer, but for now she was going to enjoy this little taste of heaven. Glancing both ways, she stepped into the street and hurried across, ignoring the light. No one really paid attention to the traffic signals in this part of Arlington. Not even the cars. It was every woman for herself. Skirting around a meandering group of office workers, June darted between two of the non-descript office buildings and emerged into a small stone courtyard. A fountain bubbled merrily in the center. The iron and wood benches around the perimeter were mostly empty. She spotted her sister and grinned.

“You beat me.” June plopped onto the bench and pulled her protein bar from her purse.

July looked at the bar and raised a brow. “That’s it? You can’t be serious?”

June lifted a shoulder and struggled to keep defensiveness out of her tone. “Thirty pounds Jules. I’m eating less and what I do eat is healthier than I ever worried about before. Doesn’t seem to matter—the scale just keeps inching up.”

“Sorry. I wish I had an answer for you. Though it’s kind of nice to know you’re seeing what it’s like to be the stocky one.” July gestured to herself.

“Yeah, well, at least you have the height to carry it off. Besides, if I gain another twenty pounds I’m going to be raiding your closet, so you might want to think more carefully about that.” June grinned and tore open the wrapper of her lunch. “What’d you bring?”

“I feel bad…I’ll eat it at my desk later.”

“That’s silly. Just eat. I can drool and dream.”

“If you’re sure?” At June’s nod, July unzipped the top of her insulated lunch bag and extracted a container of lasagna. “Gareth made it last night. I’m not sure what got him on this learning-to-cook kick, but I’m not arguing. You guys in for dinner tomorrow night?”

June would have to remember not to eat during the day tomorrow. Then maybe she could afford to partake of Gareth’s latest concoction. “Looking forward to it. Especially if that lasagna’s any indication of Gareth’s progress. Anything new with you two?”

“Actually…” Excitement practically sparked out of July’s eyes. “Gareth’s finally on board with trying to start a family. So we won’t be too far behind you two. Won’t it be great for the kids to play together?”

“That’s great.” June chewed the faux-chocolate-covered lump in her mouth. Why couldn’t it taste like something other than a crayon? “And you’re not behind us at all.”

“Still nothing?”

“Not unless you count the aforementioned thirty pounds.”

“Sorry. But don’t get discouraged yet. I was reading online last night and it seems like six months is more typical when you actually want to get pregnant.”

“As opposed to…?”

“Teenagers who are desperate not to, I guess. I don’t know.” July shrugged. “Point being, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I guess.”

“Hey. I know so.” July slung her arm around June’s shoulder and squeezed. “I know what’ll cheer you up…wanna hear the latest from the oh-so-exciting world of your sister, CPA extraordinaire?”

“Of course I do.” June laughed and pushed aside her worries.