Episode 846: Spending My Time

Adria nodded, passing their warm little bundle to her husband. “I’m so sorry Dustin was here before.”

“I know.” Ryley took a seat beside her hospital bed, cradling their baby in his arms. “You don’t have to keep apologizing. He’s the one into you, not the other way around, it’s just his talent that’s kind of magnetizing to you. I do understand that, if he weren’t how he is, I’d encourage you to work with the guy, but he’s just not somebody to be trusted. It’s obvious you see that, too, or you wouldn’t be sending so many apologies my way, so really, it’s okay, I know you weren’t at the theater for him, you were there for you, and the only reason you didn’t get away from him the moment you saw him, is because it’s a little hard to make a getaway when you’re going into labor. You don’t need to apologize for that, Ad.”

“I just didn’t want you to think I’d meet with him on purpose. Anyways, now, unless he takes a sudden interest in baby stores and stuff like that, there shouldn’t be much risk of running into him, he’d have to go out of his way to seek me out and he’d have no reason to do that, he’d have nothing to entice me into working with him since as of today I’m on permanent hiatus from acting. By the time I’m ready to work again I’ll be old news to him. So I am so sorry he was here, but at least you won’t have to worry about that again.”

“You can act without working with Dustin,” Ryley pointed out, shifting their little girl in his arms so that he could reach out and clasp Adria’s hand. “And, most importantly, you don’t have to give up acting to be a good mom, you can do both, I meant it when I said I’ll cut back at the office, if we each give a little there’s no reason we can’t make this work. You need to act, I get that, and our daughter will, too, it makes you feel alive, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice that.”

Adria shook her head as she’d been doing for months. “My parents, they butt into our lives, sure, they do take an interest, but the day to day, they weren’t really there. I always told myself I would be different, that my work wouldn’t take priority, and look at how I messed up already, look at where I was and who I was with when I went into labor.”

“You-”

Adria held up a hand to stop whatever protesting he’d been about to do. “You know what I’m like when I take on a role, it consumes me, like my parents’ work consumes them. I won’t do that to her. I won’t.”

Episode 847: Thankful