"Hey Sarah, what's up?" Cosima asked knowing exactly why Sarah was calling.
"You know why I'm calling, you bloody twat." Sarah scoffed into the phone. "Kira's birthday party is tomorrow and she wants her quote 'favorite aunt' unquote to be there. So you won't disappoint her, yeah?" Sarah paused, but Cosima could tell even through her Bluetooth, the sounds of her windshield wipers, and tires hitting pockets of potholes filled with rain, that Sarah was holding her breath, coiled tight like a spring. Cosima would have to tread lightly here.
"You know, Sarah…" She hesitated. Why is she hesitating? Cosima was never one to be at a loss for words. But whenever her best friend became quiet the way Sarah was now, Cosima always bit her tongue. A little afraid maybe, a little disappointed with herself for doing what she was about to do. What she always did.
"Cos…don't"
"Work is just…I have to"
"Bloody hell, Cosima. No. Change it. This is Kira we're dealing with, not one of your bleedin' bints, yeah? You don't get to blow her off. Not tomorrow."
Cosima pushed through feeling the beginnings of a headache forming at the middle of her eyebrows and speedily migrating to her temples. "Sarah, I have to be on a train to Sacramento when the party starts." One hand gestured wildly and the other gripped the steering wheel even tighter. "Maybe I can stop by on my way to the station or on my way home? I just need…"
"No, you need to get your shit together, Cos!" Sarah was screaming now. Cosima heard the screen door slam in the background which meant that Sarah was in her backyard on her way to the shed. Once she reached the shed, she would be out of earshot of the neighbors and Kira. Cosima was in for it if she didn't placate her wild British friend quickly.
"Ok, ok. I'll move some stuff around to be there."
"Sure." Sarah spit out unconvinced. The voice came through with a slight echo, meaning she was now in the dreaded shed.
"I promise…" Cosima breathed out slowly. "I promise that I'll be there."
"Cos…" Sarah started, running her finger through her hair and sighing on the verge of defeat. "Please, please don't do this to Kira. She loves you so much, alright? Just…" Sarah stopped to collect herself. The countless memories of Kira little face falling once she realized that her Auntie Cosima wasn't coming to her ballet recital, her first piano recital, Christmas, etc. Every time Sarah made up excuses for Cosima. And Cosima would attempt to make it up to Kira the very next time she saw her. In that moment, Sarah wasn't furious with Cosima though, she was heartbroken for her daughter.
"Sarah, I'll be there." Cosima whispered. The car behind her honked its horn aggressively because Cosima got so lost in Sarah's breathing, the breaking of her voice that she forgot where she was and what she was doing. "Listen, I'm driving. I'll call you later tonight, ok?"
"Sure, alright."
She started to choke up, unsure why this conversation had her more emotional than the other verbal thrashings that she got from Sarah. Maybe Sarah's swift tone shift did it. Maybe it was Cosima finally understood that one day Kira would stop expecting her. Stop looking at her like she was the world. That would be too much. Then she would lose more family and she couldn't do that. "Give Kira a big hug for me."
"Will do, geek monkey. You be careful out there it's supposed to start raining soon. And you're birthday's next week and we can't have you all car crash-y and in traction." She laughed and Cosima joined her.
"It's already raining, Sarah." Cosima deadpanned.
"Ok, genius, then get off of the phone. Look at your calendar and figure it out. Talk later, yeah?"
"Yeah ok, I love you Sarah."
"Me too, Cos."
Waiting at one of the last lights before pulling into her job's parking lot, Cosima let her head fall gently against the steering wheel. She would have to figure something out before tomorrow. And someone, her boss or Kira would be angry about her choices. The light turned and instead of waiting to reach her office to shift her meetings around, she called her assistant while she drove.
"Rodney, Denim, and Taylor – Mergers and Acquisitions, Cosima Niehaus' office, how may I help you?" 'Jesus' Cosima thought, did he really have to say that every time, poor guy.
"James, it's me"
"Ms. Niehaus. How can I help you?" Good, straight to the point. One thing Cosima never had time for at the office was small talk, even with the person closest to her as her assistant was.
"James, pull up my calendar for tomorrow. Something came up and I need to be in Sacramento later that I anticipated.
"But Ms. Niehaus, the partners personally selected you to…"
"James, I didn't ask for commentary, I asked you to pull up my damn calendar!" She started to seethe and unexpectedly hit the accelerator lurching the car forward.
"My apologies, ma'am." He meekly responded.
"Here I'll help," Cosima was getting irritated with him instead of apologizing for losing her temper. He was used to it. After every bad night that Cosima had, without fail he was sure to have an even worse morning. She pulled out her phone while holding on the wheel effortlessly guiding it to its destination. "Ok, I can possibly move the Ginger Toys meeting to an evening dinner, if Chamber is willing to move to another, SHIT!" She screamed as the phone slipped out of her hands.
"Ms. Niehaus?" James asked.
"I'm fine, my phone fell on the floor, hang on." Ignoring the obvious lawlessness of her action and the danger she was putting herself in in order to move meetings now instead of waiting 5 more minutes to do so, Cosima unbuckled her seatbelt and felt around the passenger side floorboard for her phone.
"Ms. Niehaus," James buzzed in her ear. "I can make these calls now while you're on your way to ensure that the companies are available."
"Nah, they'll be available." she retorted smugly. Cosima was nothing if not excellent at her job. Her reputation for coolly putting clients at ease while making a plan to dismantle their companies was well known and respected at the firm. At this rate, in two years' time, her name would be included in that list of partner names James dutifully recited.
However, the sharp negotiator, the genius, the geek monkey, Auntie Cosima continued to fish around for her phone instead of keeping her eye on the road. She assumed, as was usually the case, that the back roads would be clear and driving with her head down for a few moments would be fine. She never slowed down, she never looked up, and she never saw it coming.