Chapter 2
PHOEBE
“Oh God, this place is a dump,” my best friend, Veronica, said.
I laughed. “Good morning to you too. And yes, it is. Do you need help?”
She’d accidentally stepped on a weak board on the front porch. Fortunately, she didn’t hurt herself.
“No, I’m good,” she said.
“Good thing I took the coffees from you beforehand. I’m going to mark that spot so we can sidestep it.”
Veronica looked up at me with worried eyes. “You’re sure this place doesn’t have termites?”
I winced. “We had it inspected before buying it, so I hope not. I really can’t deal with another financial blow right now.”
“Okay.”
“Come on, let’s go inside. I made breakfast.”
“Oh, it’s that bad,” Veronica muttered.
My friend knew me well. I usually skipped food in the morning, even on weekends, so whenever I made it, that meant I needed comfort food first thing in the morning.
I’d made waffles. Yeah, that was a bad sign.
I kept thinking my life couldn’t get any worse, yet somehow it did with every passing week.
I had some bad news to share with my best friend, and I’d told her as much on the phone.
Once inside, Veronica glanced around and pressed her lips together.
She didn’t have to say it. The place looked dreadful.
I knew that. Honestly, it was practically a teardown.
But City Heights was a decent neighborhood, and the house had two bedrooms and a tiny bathroom.
The highlight was the small backyard. It looked dreamy, especially now in June, with the bougainvillea in bloom.
It was supposed to be mine and my boyfriend’s starter home. We were going to renovate it together but never got the chance because he dumped me soon after we bought it. The same day I’d moved out of the apartment we shared and into this musty house.
The kitchen was furnished, and there was a bed and dresser in one bedroom, but I had to buy everything else, and nothing matched. This house had old-school wooden panels everywhere. I’d found a comfy gray couch on sale, but I didn’t have any lighting fixtures at all, only naked light bulbs.
The dining room table and chairs were actually meant for outdoors, but they were a steal. Veronica didn’t comment on them as we sat down. I’d already set the table so we could eat right away.
Everything was a mess—the house, the furniture, and my life. At least I’d started a part-time job as an accountant last week at H&R Block. It paid peanuts, but I needed something on my résumé other than “office assistant.”
“Your waffles are amazing,” she said after the first bite.
“I know, right? Thought I’d start the day by treating myself to something delicious.”
Veronica gulped down her meal in silence. She was a breakfast person, and it was already nine o’clock. No wonder she was starving.
We finished the waffles in no time. Nodding at the coffee cups, she said, “Want to go out in the backyard and sit in those comfy swings while we drink our coffee?”
I grinned, nodding. “Yes, let’s go.” I’d found the swings at Goodwill and was so proud of my purchase.
Grabbing our coffees, we headed to the back door. The wooden floor creaked like crazy on every step. I needed to get out of this place but knew that wasn’t possible. I was stuck until my ex and I managed to sell it.
Veronica and I each sat on a swing. I closed my eyes, gently rocking back and forth. She wasn’t saying anything, but I could feel that she was bursting at the seams.
A few minutes later, she said, “So… what do you need as a housewarming gift?”
“Oh, nothing, really.”
“Are you certain?” She glanced over her shoulder, as if she could see through the walls. “Because you could use some things.”
I nodded. “Like a life, huh? Yeah, I know.”
“Phoebe,” Veronica said with affection in her voice, “I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“It’s kind of you to offer. Thanks for being in my corner.”
“You can always count on me. I just wish you didn’t have to go through this.”
“Yeah, so do I.”
Marshall and I had been together for six years.
I met him in grad school, when he was just finishing his residency.
Once he opened his own general practice office, he asked me to work as his office assistant.
I was thrilled, although it was definitely not a good use for my accounting degree, but I’d wanted to build something together.
But the years passed, and he didn’t propose.
Last week, we were supposed to go on our most romantic trip yet, to Maui.
We were celebrating our anniversary. I’d hoped he was going to take the hint and propose.
Three weeks before we were supposed to leave, he said that he couldn’t be with me anymore.
I’d felt as if someone hit me in the face with a baseball bat. I left that very evening, packing all my clothes and fleeing from the apartment we’d shared. He didn’t even try to stop me.
“So, what’s the bad news?” Veronica asked with trepidation. “Is something wrong with the house?”
I shook my head. “Not exactly. Marshall is back in town.”
“He come back rested and tanned from the trip?” Veronica asked with a snort.
The trip had been prepaid, and we had zero chance of getting the money back. I wasn’t even mad that he still went on it. I didn’t have any energy left to be mad. Besides, it wasn’t as if I would have gone anyway.
That was the last thing on my mind. I’d been too busy figuring out a way to live and where to work.
“Something like that. He wants to meet with me,” I said.
Veronica snapped her head up. “Oh hell no. I hope you told him no.”
I sighed. “I didn’t.”
“Why not? Come on. You’re going to take a look at that guy and cry your eyes out again for weeks.”
“I don’t think I can cry any longer.” She scoffed, and I rolled my eyes at her. “Really! I have zero tears left. I promise. I’ve been trying to cry the past few evenings, and nothing comes out.”
“Fuck him. Why does he want to meet?”
“I’m assuming he wants to discuss the sale of this place. We’re both trapped making mortgage payments until we can get rid of it. And now he’s paying rent by himself for his apartment and—”
“Please tell me you don’t feel sorry for him.”
I shook my head vehemently. “No. Honestly, not even one bit.”
He’d hurt me too much for that.
“I don’t love you anymore, Phoebe. I haven’t in a while. I can’t be with you anymore.” It was a day I’d never forget.
In hindsight, I could see red flags everywhere. We’d grown apart quite a bit. We were bickering more often, going to bed without touching each other. But I thought it might be just the stress of buying this place.
I’d been so damn wrong.
“Anyway, we haven’t had any inquiries. I’m sure we’ll have to lower the price.”
“Even your realtor said the price was too high. Marshall was the one who set it anyway. Why the hell does he have to talk to you? He should talk to the realtor.”
Veronica had lost her cool completely. I didn’t have the energy to be angry anymore. I simply felt drained and overwhelmed at the prospect of having to start over, not only on a personal level but on a professional one.
“How about I come with you?” she offered.
I smiled nervously. “I was going to ask you to do that.”
“Fantastic. I’m going to tell that guy to shove it.”
“No, not to the actual meeting,” I corrected before Veronica got all geared up. “I was hoping you could hang out at the bar while he and I talk.”
“Where are you meeting him?”
“The Loft,” I said.
Her eyes bulged. “Really? You’re living in this dump, and he wants to splurge at The Loft? I hope he’s buying.”
I laughed. “If he doesn’t, the joke’s on him. I’m so broke, I can’t even afford an olive at that place. But I didn’t want to go back and forth with him when he suggested it. I just wanted to end the conversation.”
“I don’t blame you. When is it?”
“Tonight.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. Way to spring this on me, girl.”
I sighed. “He called last night, but I didn’t have any energy left to call you.”
“All right. Let’s do this,” Veronica said.
I loved her so much. She was like the sister I never had.
I was a single child. Mom and Dad suggested that they could move back here temporarily after Marshall and I broke up, but I assured them that I could do this on my own.
They were in Montana, taking care of my grandparents, who were in their late nineties.
When I was growing up, they lived here, too, in the house next to ours. It had been a big dream of mine to have a child while they were still alive so they’d meet their great-grandchild. But that ship had obviously sailed. I was never becoming a mother. The thought punched a hole in my chest.
Veronica shifted her chair closer to mine. “You know what? Let’s go to my place, spend the day there, and raid my closet for a hot dress for this evening.”
“Thanks! I’d love that.” Most of my stuff was still in bags. I didn’t have the interest to put them in these musty old dressers, afraid they had bugs in them. Besides, it would do me good to wear something new. Well, new for me. I had zero budget for shopping, so Veronica’s offer was amazing.
We used to do that a lot in our college years. We’d been so broke that we kept swapping clothes to keep our outfits “fresh.” A day away from this dump with my best friend was exactly what I needed.
Veronica tilted her head. “You know what would be great? If we conjure up a hunk for you tonight. Just to rub it in Marshall’s face.”
I laughed. “Oh, Veronica. I trust that you have many skills, but even you can’t pull that off.”
She sighed wistfully. “I know I can’t. But it’s nice to dream, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t argue with that.
She snapped her fingers, as if she’d just had a brilliant idea. “I know exactly what dress you’ll be wearing tonight. You’ll look like a rock star.”
I grinned. “I can’t wait.”