Chapter 2
Maryellen
Walking up four flights to my apartment every day after work was exhausting.
And that was after a thirty-minute subway ride from lower Manhattan to the Bronx, then a ten-minute walk to my building.
I didn’t mind. It brought me home. To my tiny little apartment.
To my sanctuary. No one could take it away from me.
The six hundred square foot space was all mine.
It made this apartment feel like a palace.
Parker Financial paid me well. They paid me enough that if I wanted it, I could afford a larger place to live for sure, even here in New York City. I didn’t need a larger place to live, though. There were plenty of other things I could do with my money.
Like save it.
You never knew when a rainy day was going to present itself.
One thing I did splurge on was an in-apartment stacked washer and dryer. It was such a luxury not to have to lug my laundry all the way down to the basement. Plus, the machines down there were disgusting. My miniscule wardrobe deserved to be well tended so it would last.
Getting a stain out was calming for me, it was like my therapy. The smell of the dryer running was better than any scented candle I could be burning. As soon as I finished stripping off my skirt and sweater from the day, there was a knock on the door.
“One sec!”
I scrambled around searching for my robe. It wasn’t on the hook where it should have been but on the chair beside my bed. Looking through the peephole, I smiled at the face I saw on the other side and threw the door open.
“Hi!” I yelled out to the tiny dark-haired girl standing in the hall outside my door. She held a bottle of wine while in sweats and slippers.
Not only was Evie my neighbor, but she was also my best friend.
“Wine on a Tuesday?” I asked.
She trudged past me into my kitchenette, straight to the cabinet, and took out two stemless glasses.
“Yep,” she said. “It was that kind of day.”
Evie worked at an art gallery in Manhattan. One of the more exclusive ones. She was their events coordinator primarily but chipped in with almost every other position when there wasn’t a major event scheduled. It was kind of cool having her as a friend; it gave me something to do most weekends.
“Was it him, or work?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
She handed me a glass of ruby-red wine as we plopped on my couch.
“I’m sorry, you’re not even undressed from work yet. I’ve been waiting for you to get home and came over as soon as I heard you. Wanna get into something comfortable?”
Evie and I have been commiserating about the men in our lives on and off for the past few months.
She was fully aware of the issues I’d been having with Chase.
And I was more than aware of what an ass Gregory was.
The sheer fact no one could call him Greg spoke volumes.
But he was a client from the gallery, so…
“Well, that depends. Do you want to stay in or go out?”
The slow swivel of her head towards me was almost comical.
“You, Maryellen McEntyre, are offering to go out on a weeknight? You berated me for bringing this bottle.”
She knew me well. That was why her tone changed immediately.
“Wait, what did he do?” she asked.
“It was nothing, really.” As I said it, I got up to look for jeans and a sweater. I knew we’d be going out for a drink. As I pulled them from my closet, I turned to Evie. “Actually, what he did was act nice. And that’s worse.”
Her eyes warmed at my words.
“Yeah, hon, it sucks when they’re nice and you’re trying to get over them.” She curled her legs under her and leaned into the corner of the couch while taking a sip of her wine. “Why are you trying to get over him again?”
I could hear the sarcasm in her voice, and she kept going.
“Anyway, I thought he moved on, and he’s been dating. Or hooking up, whatever it is he does. Why would you want to be bothered with him if he’s moved on?”
I knew he was hooking up, but I hated thinking about it. Hated putting words to it because then it made it a reality.
I moved to my mirror and pulled my hair from the bun I wore and ran my fingers through it. She joined me and saw the look in my eyes.
“Hey, did that upset you?” She put her head on my shoulder as we looked at each other in the mirror.
She could read my mind sometimes. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but if he isn’t dating, then that changes things.
I also know whatever you dealt with when you first got to New York is one of the biggest reasons keeping you from being with him.
But I’m not sure you give him enough credit.
” She poked me in the side. “I mean, I’ve never seen the side of Chase you insist exists, but if it does, I know he would understand. ”
The only acknowledgment I could give her was a nod. If I did anything more, I feared I’d start crying. Evie knew my early days here were challenging, but she didn’t know the whole story. I planned on telling her one day. That day hadn’t arrived yet.
She pulled on a strand of my hair, snapping me out of my trance.
“You’re the only girl I know who can wear their hair up all day and make it look good when you take it down.
How the hell do you do that?” Evie ran her fingers through her own hair but gave up with a roll of her eyes.
“I’m going to head to my place and change real quick.
Knock when you’re ready.” As she turned to go, she stopped.
“Do you want to call Harper? We haven’t seen her in a while. ”
I’d love to see her, but calling her last minute like this on a weeknight wasn’t something that worked for her.
“Just us tonight.”
As we walked along the streets of our neighborhood, we had no real plan in place. We could easily go to the local bar. But it was exactly that, local. We usually knew everyone there, and I got the feeling Evie wanted something more tonight.
“Where to?” Evie asked while stopping at the corner. Puffs of breath escaped her mouth with her words. It was freezing out. Winters in NYC could be harsh, and this January was proving to be no different. “We could jump on the subway right now if you want.”
We were standing right by the station for the 6 line. An easy ride to East Harlem in Manhattan. But it would make for a late night.
“Fuck it,” I said as I dragged her by the hand down the stairs. The stench of urine was strong as we made our way into the depths of the subway; it was always worse in the winter. It was commonplace, so it didn’t bother us.
“Oh my God!” Evie screeched. “This is so exciting. We’re actually going to the city on a Tuesday night?” She hooked her arm in mine and started skipping toward the oncoming train. “I’m going to write this in my diary.”
One of the main benefits of where I chose my apartment was its close proximity to mass transit to get me into the city. Living outside Manhattan saved me money, so it was a win-win. It also gave us options in going out. Getting on the subway wasn’t a big deal, but not our norm for a Tuesday.
“Shut up,” I told her. “This is for you just as much as it is me.”
But I needed it. Chase had thrown me for a loop today. I was used to the charming, womanizing version of him. Not the vulnerable side of him. That side nearly broke me. It nearly caused me to rescind the promise I made myself, and him, months ago.
The train pulled up as soon as we arrived at the track, which rarely happened.
It was as if fate were trying to reinforce we should be doing this.
We jumped into the car and were pleasantly surprised to find it comfortably heated.
You never knew what you were going to get.
Yet the ride wasn’t long enough to peel off my layers, so I only removed my hat as the car jostled me around on departure.
“You know we’re not going to be able to talk once we get there,” Evie said.
She was right; it would likely be too loud.
“Do you even want to talk? Or just get drunk?” she asked.
As I gripped the grimy pole to keep from losing my footing, I stared out the window at the passing concrete.
All my thoughts and emotions were bubbling up inside me, busting to come out.
I was afraid if I let them out, said anything, they wouldn’t make enough sense to keep on my current path.
And Evie would make sure to point that out.
“No talking tonight for me, what about you?”
“Same.”
Her voice was sad. Get a couple drinks in her and I had a feeling the words would be flowing. It was OK, that’s what we did for each other.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked.
“I was thinking we could go to Maxwell’s.
” Their outdoor space was amazing in the warmer weather, but the bar was nice enough inside as well.
Plus, I was fairly certain it would not attract a Parker brother.
Even though Chase lived on the Upper West Side, not too far from there, he mentioned karaoke. This bar definitely did not have that.
“Perfect,” Evie replied.
As we walked into the bar, we realized we didn’t have a novel idea.
“Shit, a lot of people go out during the week, huh? Definitely no talking tonight.” Evie grabbed my hand as we snaked our way through the crowd toward the bar. We only found one open stool, so we used it to put our bags and coats on as we stood around it trying to get the bartender’s attention.
“Christ, do you think every bar in this godforsaken city is this packed every night?” Evie had to almost scream so I could hear.
Finally, the guy came toward us. Once he did, I wasn’t disappointed.
He had dark hair that hit the tops of his shoulders, and dark chocolate eyes with long lashes that curled better than mine. The black Maxwell’s shirt he wore was stretched tight across his muscled chest and arms. What really stood out were the dimples as he smiled at us from across the bar.
“Hi, ladies, what can I get you?” he asked.
Evie, being who she was, didn’t hold back. She bent over the bar so he could hear her but made sure to give him a view of her as well.