Some There Are Fearless by Becca Babcock

Author:Becca Babcock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nimbus
Published: 2023-04-12T17:31:20+00:00

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In November, the company hosted its annual holiday party. They rented the small ballroom of a waterfront hotel downtown. There were hors d’oeuvres and an open bar. The invitations said “black tie,” but Yash told me no one would be in a tuxedo. “Most of the guys won’t even bother with a suit,” he said. He was right. Most of the men were in dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie, and several of the women wore dresses I’d seen them wear to the office.

I’d bought a new dress, a cocktail dress, I supposed. It was knee-length and sleeveless. If the material were less shiny, I’d have been tempted to put a blazer over it and wear it to work.

Adam wore a black suit he’d bought recently for job interviews. It was the only one he had that was long enough in the sleeves and pant legs, not that he cared much. He kept pulling at the cuffs. I could tell he was nervous. I just hoped that he and Douglas wouldn’t end up talking about the job I hadn’t recommended him for.

When we got there, Smitty, Dinidu, and Yash were all chatting at the bar. Smitty had brought his fiancée, a pretty woman who wore a dark red dress with little straps, a matching headband in her shiny black hair. Her eyes were expertly lined with little black wings, and her skin positively glowed. I fought the urge to find a mirror to check my own reflection.

“This is Denise,” Smitty said, beaming just a little.

I shook her hand, then remembered Adam. “This is my boyfriend, Adam,” I said to them.

“I’m a civil engineer,” he blurted with a wide smile.

Denise rolled her head in mock exasperation. “So you’re all enginerds?” she asked. “Everyone but me?”

“What do you do?” Yash asked.

“I’m a teacher up in Indian Brook,” she replied, naming a Mi’kmaw community outside of Halifax. “Fifth grade.”

“Are you Native?” Adam asked.

She didn’t answer, taking a sip of her drink. I felt at once protective of Adam, wanting to explain he hadn’t meant anything by the comment, and irritated by his social clumsiness.

Fortunately, Yash filled the silence. “How about you, Adam?” he asked, giving my boyfriend an easy, welcoming smile. He was good with people, I realized. I wondered whether Douglas had tried to talk him into an MBA program.

“Oh, I work for King’s Equipment,” Adam replied. “I’m still looking for an engineering job.”

“Did you see the postings with Gallant up in Eastern Passage?” Yash replied.

“No?” Adam said, tilting his head.

The bartender gestured to us then. Smitty, Denise, Dinidu, and I all shifted away, but Adam ordered a beer. Yash followed him, still talking about the job postings. Without the two of them, the rest of us sank into a kind of awkward silence.

“Jess, I heard you were in Amherst with these guys?” Denise asked at last.

“Yeah, for a while.”

“What was that like?” She gave one of those smiles that’s meant to invite good-natured gossiping among women. I

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