- 2.
I got a text as I was pulling into the driveway. I was asked to drop off some files at the “Skyline
Club“.
I turned the car around, opened up my
company’s expense app and ordered a Lyft.
Adult nights were never really yours. Half of them were spent on your love life, the other half on crap you had to do for work.
I got out into the chilly air, looking around. I’d
heard of the Skyline Club, it was known for being pretty exclusive.
I guessed my boss must have finally gotten in
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good with some high up exec to get into this
place.
I went through the red doors, with the guys in
suits standing like statues. I said why I was
there, and they led me through to the inner
courtyard.
I already figured this was going to be how it
was. After handing over the files, I gave my fake
smiles, and clinked glasses with them.
A lot of times, these file drops didn’t require my
actual presence. But these kinds of get-
togethers always needed some pretty girl to
brighten it up.
“Mr. Thompson, this is our tech whiz, Jane. She
can totally break it down for you.”
As the client’s hand brushed mine, I took
another sip of wine and made my escape.
Sometimes, I couldn’t push back. I just had to
deal with the stares.
A few drinks in, I made an excuse to get some
air.
I turned a corner and there was a door slightly ajar. The handle was made of cold brass, the
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detailed carvings seemed to move in the dim
light.
As I was glancing over, someone started
talking.
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“I’m cracking up, you know Jane thinks Ben’s poor, that’s why he won’t marry her?” “Honestly, that girl’s too good for her own good.”
“I called up the bank and they said she cashed in her savings, like a hundred ninety–five
thousand, to buy a down payment, like that was a wedding house.”
“A hundred grand? That won’t buy a toilet.”
I froze in my tracks, taking a few steps closer. “And what is with this get–up? We all took trips, and you’re still playing poor dude?”
I thought back to Ben’s outfit. He wore a new $200 puffer jacket, some cheap pants from Amazon, and the Balenciaga’s that I’d spent weeks trying to find a deal on.
I looked at my own clothes. My whole outfit
probably wasn’t even $200.
I thought maybe I’d heard wrong, and was
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about to dial his number.
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That’s when I saw the guy reach over and grab
a bottle of wine.
When he did, his whole face was visible. The
way he moved, the clothes he had on.
I clenched my fist so hard my knuckles turned
white.
I was staring, my mouth open but no sound was coming out.
Ben looked over at the other guy: “I’m doing things my way, stay out of it.”
“Dude, how long are you gonna do this? You
said it was a joke. You really like that poor girl?”
Ben hesitated, taking a drag of his cigarette before scoffing, “What are you talking about?” “You can’t marry her. Break it off and let her find someone good.”
“Hey, Mark-” Ben blew out a smoke ring,
looking at him, “Too much.”
“You’re too quiet, but next time you make me
download some crappy app for your girl, I’m gonna get you back.”
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Then a guy wearing glasses raised his hand:
“Those apps are great, my badges are at full
level.”
No one paid any attention. Mark kept talking, “When you gonna tell her?”
Ben paused, “Probably at the engagement party.”
“So, it’s the Zhao’s?”
“Yeah.”
“How’re you gonna explain? That ain’t right.”
“Why bother? Ben can just ghost her.” “Yeah. If you hadn’t planned it, she’d never
even met you, you know, a guy like us.
“Just give her some cash. She stuck with you
for five years. Treat her right.”
The words were from another universe,
crashing against my brain. I looked at Ben,
waiting for him to say something.
Tell them how wrong they were. That I was
different. That I was his girlfriend, the girl he’d been with for five years.
But nothing, not a word.
I stood at the doorway, the cold air making my
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skin swell.
I tried to see his face through the smoke.
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The snow was weighing down the trees, bending them until they couldn’t get back up.
