even if I don't feel like it

 Cori felt he'd been persuaded somehow to forget what was really bothering him. How did Megan do it? Yes, maybe it was the shower and what went with it that made his worries slip. But it was morning now and as much as he needed to ask about how the whole Vespa thing came about, she somehow found other matters..like breakfast in bed.

"I'll make you milk tea for later," she said as if she needed to get it done right now.

"No, don't worry about it," Cori pressed a smile wanting her to stay with him. "Can you just tell me please..who gave you the Vespa?"

"Oh," she kind of laughed as she smiled. "I didn't tell you? I thought I did."

"No," Cori was serious. "You didn't."

Megan looked away, sitting in the middle of the bed legs crossed yoga style. Cori was still in his flannel pants all comfortable with the pillows behind him propped against the wall. Immediately she hugged his bare chest and she put her ear near his heart. 

"It's not a big deal," she said ever so quiet.

"But it is," Cori looked to the ceiling as if he needed something solid to focus on. Still, he wrapped his arms around her too. "I'm not mad." He promised.

"I know you should be," she said. "And it's all my fault."

"I didn't say you were at fault. I just need to know," he finally admitted. "I mean, I can't help it."

"It's nobody," she said.

"I don't think that's really true," Cori didn't mean to be defiant. 

"OK, I used to know him," She looked up at Cori, swallowing tears. "It's just sad now. That's all."

"Don't do this to me," Cori hated to see her frown. He couldn't help but pout back as he brushed away her tears with the back of his thumb.

She sucked in a breath.

"It's a sad story and I don't know if I can tell you about it," She sat back up and he took her hands in his. 

"I won't let you go. It's just..he's your old.."

"Friend." She nodded. "We..we're still friends." 

Cori nodded. He could live with that.

"I knew Garth..when..when I first started college. He was the first guy I met in the lunch line at the cafeteria and we started eating breakfast together. I dunno..we just hung out," Megan nodded. "By my junior year, we..we were together and..and.." She winced tears once more. "I thought..I thought back then..we would always be together." She nursed her bottom lip again while Cory brushed most of her tears away. "And..and then I got pregnant right before I started my student teaching."

Her tears were unbearable again. She hugged him hard as if she never wanted to relive it. "We..we said some things that weren't very nice to each other. We argued a lot. So..so much stress." She looked at him once more. "Maybe..maybe thats why I'm the worst pre-school teacher, ever."

"Don't say things like that," Cori said. He didn't believe it. But he could see she thought she was still the worst, even as a human being.