“Okay, give it to me so I can go back to bed.”
“What?” Ariel asked with fake confusion.
I waved my hand impatiently. “Whatever lecture you two have planned.”
“Grace, what’s going on?” Maeve asked softly. “You haven’t shown up for work for four days. You don’t answer our calls or texts. And your mother called a little while ago looking for you. She said that you quit your job there and she hasn’t heard from you since. You didn’t even tell us.”
“We didn’t get the Grant Park College project,” I mumbled around my sandwich. “My parents were pissed and when they went off on me, I quit.”
“I’m sorry,” Ariel said. “Although to be honest, we all thought it was a long shot. Is Nicole upset too?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. We broke up.”
“Let me get this straight,” Ariel said. “You didn’t get the project, you quit your family’s company, and you and Nicole broke up, all in the same day?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’ve been moping ever since? Ignoring all our calls and texts.”
“I needed to be alone,” I said defensively.
“Wallowing never helps,” Ariel said.
I sighed dramatically but didn’t answer. I was too exhausted to argue with her.
“I’ve got to be honest,” Maeve said. “I’m glad you finally quit Sanderson Real Estate Services. Your parents never respected you or the work you do. They totally take you for granted. And working what was basically two full time jobs was slowly killing you.”
“Well, I only have one job now,” I said bitterly.
“If you bother to show up again,” Ariel snapped back. “We’ve been covering for you all week.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, lowering my chin to my chest and staring into my coffee.
“This isn’t how we do things,” Ariel told me, digging the knife in more. “We don’t ignore each other. We don’t blow off work. This isn’t like you.”
“What happened with Nicole?” Maeve asked before I could respond. “Why did you break up?”
“I went to her house to tell her the bad news, and her mom was there. Not only did her mom not know we were together, she didn’t even know Nicole was gay.”
“So she’s private,” Maeve said. “I don’t tell my family about everyone I date.”
“It’s more than that, she’s got this weird relationship with her parents, like she never grew up. And…,” I took a deepshuddering breath. “When her mother asked if we were together Nicole recoiled in horror and said – and I quote – of course not.”
My friends winced in unison.
“What are you going to do now?” Ariel asked.
“Focus on my work at AGM, like I always should have been doing,” I replied. “I know I haven’t been pulling my weight…”
“You’ve always pulled your weight,” Ariel interrupted. “Except for this week that is.”
“Well I’ll be totally focused on the business now.”
Mr. Mittens strolled into the kitchen and gave me an angry meow. The poor guy had been feeling neglected the last few days. I got up to get him some fresh water and to refill his dish. Not seeing any of his favorite fishes, he left again. Someone else that I let down.
“But what about Nicole?” Maeve asked as I returned to the table to finish my sandwich. “What are you going to do about her?”
“There’s nothingtodo,” I said. “It’s over.”
