Epilogue. New Year’s Day
Epilogue
NEW YEAR’S DAY
Usually, he’d be ecstatic for his friends. He’d be the first one to cheer on their romances and the happiness radiating from their every pore. But there was something about New Year’s that had him swapping his pom-poms for a heavy dose of self-pity.
Liquor washed away inhibitions, “Auld Lang Syne” played overhead, and while everyone coupled up, he sat aside wondering when it’d be his turn.
The loathing, the malaise, the bitter taste of beer on his tongue …
it was nothing new. He experienced the same feelings every year—even last New Year’s Eve when he had a girlfriend.
Because he had barely celebrated seeing Aditi for a few months before Cory was blowing up his phone at a quarter after midnight, passing along the news that Tabby had said yes.
Which—he was thrilled.
Ecstatic.
But New Year’s meant different things to different people and his friends were all relishing the coming months of change. The first year of marriage, the last year of a master’s program, the last edits on the first book.
A first, a last, and for Drew, a nothing.
Because nearly five years out of school, it was starting to feel like nothing ever changed.
He sat in the sand and watched the crashing waves, his damp jeans clinging to his skin. The ocean had a haunting quality about it, the blue waters as dark as the night sky until they bled into one seamless expanse, an infinite blank canvas.
The beach was peaceful. It was one of the reasons he loved Elswick so much.
When someone sat beside him, he didn’t look up until Cory said, “You’re quiet. That’s weird.”
“You four were occupied. Danny and Camille were one wrong move away from making out, and if Morgan hides her screen any longer, I’m going to think she’s dating a princess,” Drew replied. “But … your call with Tabby was quick. Why?”
“It’s midday in Tokyo and she’s not working today so … I didn’t want to interrupt her sightseeing.”
Across the sand, Camille let out a girlish cry, curling into Danny’s arms as he whispered in her ear. She smacked his thigh, her cheeks red in the moonlight.
“Does it … ever bother you?” Drew turned to Cory. “That. Them.”
“No. Why would it? I got my girl.” Cory leaned back on his elbows, eyes to the sky. “Danny called me in July. We talked for a long time. I’d never thought about the two of them together, but … once he put the idea in my head, I knew how the summer was going to end.”
“I didn’t know he—” His phone vibrated, and the text notification lighting up his screen had him seeing red. “What the fuck.”
“You good?” Cory asked.
Andy—Happy New Year. I know our offices are closed, but it’s already the afternoon in Sydney and Clark is presenting on Jan 2. Can you—
“He always calls me fucking Andy!” he spat. “My name isn’t Andy. Nobody calls me Andy!”
Cory glanced at his screen. “Donald Rollins?”
“Managing director. There’s some Australian telecom startup shit they’ve got us involved in. I’m expecting a trip there before we wrap up Q1.” He groaned, throwing his head back like a child. “I refuse to read the rest. I know him, and I know it’s going to require me to work today.”
“It’s the same everywhere. Those geriatric fucks never sleep.
They hate their wives, they hate their kids, and so, they hate their lives.
Then they take it out on us.” Cory straightened, brushing the sand from his arms. “I … was hitting ninety-hour weeks before the holidays. Some of the guys who started beside me are doing a hundred.”
“Ninety? Are you fucking with me?”
“No.”
“And I thought my hours were bad! How the hell do you even see Tabby? How do you balance a marriage with that schedule?”
Cory rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging. “It’s not without sacrifices. We’ve had fights about it. Dinner plans canceled. Trips rescheduled. But … we love each other, so we make it work.”
Drew turned back to the others. Morgan was still chatting away with her unnamed lady, and Camille had ditched the guitar, instead leaning into Danny’s chest, his arms around her.
“I had that sinking feeling,” Drew said, focus returning to the sand, “that comes when you think too hard about work. You know, eating Christmas dinner with my parents and sister, and realizing I see them a couple times a year, but I spend sixty, seventy hours a week either traveling to meet with clients or dealing with assholes like Donald Rollins breathing down my neck.” He ran his hands through the sand, coming up with two fistfuls.
“And the few days I’m lucky enough to be home, I’m greeted by my empty apartment.
No pet. No girlfriend. It’s just me and my fucking thoughts.
Then Sunday night comes around and I’m packing another bag to be gone until Thursday.
Maybe it’s the Carolinas. Maybe it’s Texas.
Maybe it’s Arizona. Who knows? It all blends together now. ”
He laughed. “When I feel especially lonely, I try to comfort myself with the fact that you met Tabby with an insane schedule. But then I remember she literally fell into your lap. You walked out the door and bam, there she was!”
A meet-cute worthy of the rom-coms Camille and Morgan couldn’t get enough of. Tabby’s cousin lived six doors down from Cory, and one fateful day, Tabby’s family visit culminated in her colliding with Cory in the building elevator.
“I don’t have the energy for the apps anymore, and my last date ended with me being called silly in front of a sushi restaurant.
So.” Drew shrugged. “I don’t know. Is this the part where you all start settling down, and I’m the man-child uncle who your kids call by his first name?
” He stilled. “Oh god. It’s going to be Andy, isn’t it? ”
“Children? In this economy?” Cory patted his back. “You’re usually the poster child for optimism, so relax. Have a beer. If this is about being single, don’t stress. You’ll meet the girl of your dreams one day, and the fact that you haven’t just means she’s still out there for you to find.”
Drew watched Danny and Camille, whispering as they cuddled. “What if I have met her?”
Cory followed his line of sight. “Are you saying Cam—”
“No!” When Cory laughed, Drew rolled his eyes and said, “I just mean … They’ve known each other for going on nine years now! What if I’ve met my perfect woman and I let her pass me by?” He sighed. “Maybe something is wrong with me. I’ve been called many things. Too loud. Too obnoxious. A tryhard.”
“There’s nothing wrong with trying.” Cory squeezed his shoulder. “Maybe this is your year. Big things, right? Five years at Farley means—”
“—a five-year bonus and my 401(k) being fully vested.” He lifted his hands in mock celebration. “Exciting times!”
“Believe me,” Cory replied, “you need to celebrate the small wins and find your existence off the clock. That’s the only way things get better.”
“Right.” He forced a smile, his gaze back to the ocean. “I guess it’s a new year, new me.”
“And if all else fails,” Cory joked, “you can get your MBA when I do—”
“Christ, not you too! It’s like a cult!”
“—or,” Cory continued, grinning, “you can always run away to Elswick like Cam did.”
“Yeah.” Drew laughed, even though the suggestion wasn’t so much funny as it was … encouraging. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
As Camille let out a squeal of delight across the sand, Danny whispering god knows what in her ear, Drew couldn’t help but wonder if running away was exactly the change he needed.