Derivation (Start-up #2)

CHAPTER 1

Sarai laughed and picked up her beer bottle.

“Hey, you’re out. Want another one?” Gabi asked.

Sarai looked down at her bottle, realized it was empty, and said, “I shouldn’t. I’ve had three already. I was supposed to be the designated driver, but I guess we’re all going to have to take a car home because I didn’t cut myself off at one.”

“I can take you all home if you want. I’ve been nursing this beer for over an hour,” Gabi offered.

“No, you don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind.” Gabi shook her head. “Besides, Arlowe looks like she’s had a few too many already.”

“How can you tell? She’s busy making out with someone right now,” Sarai said, nodding in Arlowe’s direction.

“That’s how I can tell. I don’t make out with random women at bars unless I’ve had one too many.”

Sarai laughed because Arlowe was, in fact, known for making out with random women at bars and being completely sober while doing it.

“Do you?” Gabi asked.

“No, I do not, unfortunately,” she replied and pushed her empty beer bottle away. “Enya is sober.”

She nodded to Enya, who was sitting at the booth with Violet and Stella. Sarai and Gabi were standing at the bar, and they’d been there for a few minutes now, trying to get their check since Stella and Violet were ready to leave, but the bartenders had been busy and hadn’t gotten to them yet.

“How can you tell?”

“She had one glass of wine about two hours ago. She’s not a big drinker. I can also tell because she’s looking down at her phone. My guess is that she’s working.”

“She’s working?” Gabi asked. “At a bar?”

“She’s Enya.” Sarai shrugged a shoulder.

“You all have really lived together since you and I met in Amsterdam?”

“Not exactly, no. Initially, we all went our separate ways when we got back to the US, but we kept in touch. We were all seniors, so when we graduated, we came up with this idea for the business. Vi was going to grad school, so we kind of just worked on it when we could, but she’s very smart, like Enya, and graduated in two years.

It was a three-year program, by the way.

She’s just that big of a business nerd. When she finished, we went into it full-time, moved into the house, and we’ve lived there ever since.

I’m thirty-two years old, single, with three roommates. Very successful, huh?”

“Two roommates now, right?” Gabi asked.

“Oh, yeah.” She looked over at Violet, who was giving Stella sex eyes, and added, “We need to get this check soon. They’re about to have sex in that booth if they don’t get out of here fast enough.”

Gabi laughed, and Sarai looked over at her. She couldn’t believe how much Gabi had changed but was also still exactly the same.

Daughter of a diplomat, Gabrielle Durand had been living in Paris, having just graduated from an international high school for diplomats’ kids, and she’d been on a gap year before she’d planned to go to college in Paris as well.

Sarai didn’t remember what Gabi had been planning to major in, or even what college she’d planned on going to, but she remembered her father calling her back then and mentioning that a friend of a friend had a daughter who would be going to Amsterdam for the first time and could use someone to show her around.

Sarai had been annoyed because she’d only had five months there, and she’d be giving up one of her precious weekends to hang out with some eighteen-year-old kid, but since she’d always had a hard time saying no to her father, she’d agreed and met Gabi at Amsterdam Centraal, the main train station, on a Friday after her last class of the week.

Gabrielle Durand hadn’t been what Sarai had expected, and for a moment, when she had been walking toward Sarai, who’d been holding up a sign with her name on it just outside of the station in front of the canal, Sarai had actually wished Gabi were a little bit older because she had been pretty: long black hair, deep brown eyes, beautiful tan skin, and the brightest smile that Sarai could still remember wanting to fall into, which wasn’t a thing, and she knew that.

Gabi had also been tall, about Sarai’s height of 5’8”, and when she’d walked up to her that day, she’d held out her hand like she was in a business meeting with an important client.

“Hello. I’m Gabrielle Durand. You must be Sarai Kaplan,” Gabi greeted her.

Sarai shook her hand and said, “That’s me. Nice to meet you. Do you have all your stuff?”

“This is it,” Gabi replied, pointing to the regular backpack she had over her shoulders.

“You only brought a backpack?”

“It’s just a weekend. I leave on Sunday.”

“If I were going to Paris for a weekend, I’d have a backpack and two roller bags. I’d want to be prepared for anything.”

“Like what?” Gabi asked, looking confused.

“It’s Paris. You never know.”

“Have you actually been to Paris?”

“No.”

“It really is just a normal city. I mean, there are things to see, but you can plan them so that you’re prepared.”

“You’re only saying that because you live there,” Sarai replied. “Has the shine worn off?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Have you ever been to Amsterdam?”

“No,” Gabi said.

“Do you think it’s just a normal city?”

“No, it’s Amsterdam.” Gabi smiled. “I can’t wait to explore it. I have a list, and I made a reservation at the Anne Frank House months ago. I didn’t know I’d be staying with you. I thought I’d go alone, so I just got the one ticket.”

“It’s okay. I went there when I first arrived.”

“You did?”

Sarai pointed to herself and said, “Sarai Kaplan. Jewish.”

“Oh, right.” Gabi nodded.

“But you’ll like it. What time is your ticket for?”

“Tomorrow at two.”

“Okay. I’ll take you over there and hang out until you’re done. What else do you want to do while you’re here?” she asked.

Gabi gave her a very long list of sights to see, museums to visit, and parks to check out.

“What about tonight and tomorrow night?” Sarai asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Bars? Nightlife?” she said, nodding toward the tram stop that they needed to get to in order to buy Gabi a ticket.

“Oh, I don’t care. Whatever you suggest.”

“Not a big nightlife person?” Sarai asked her.

“Not really, no. But I want to experience the city.”

“Okay. Well, let’s get on the tram, and you can drop your stuff off at my dorm.”

Years later, Gabrielle Durand still had that long black hair, but it was pulled up and in a single braid that landed at her shoulder blades. She was even more beautiful somehow, wearing dark-rimmed glasses that only brought out her deep brown eyes, and she didn’t look like a kid anymore at all.

“How long have they been together again?” Gabi asked of Stella and Violet.

“Over a year. They hated each other when we were all in school together,” Sarai replied with a laugh, and one of the bartenders finally walked over to them. “Can we get our check, please? And can you put it all together? Her drink, too.”

She nodded to Gabi.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s no problem.”

They didn’t talk for a moment while they waited for the check, and when the bartender returned, Sarai handed him her credit card. He swiped it right away, Sarai signed the receipt, and then, without a word, they walked back over to the booth full of Sarai’s friends.

“Hey, you two, just because Enya isn’t paying attention to you doesn’t mean the rest of the bar can’t see you fondling each other under the table.”

“What? We’re holding hands,” Violet said with a laugh.

“We’re all paid up. Does anyone want to go tear Arlowe away from whoever’s mouth she has her tongue in right now?” Sarai asked

“Not it.”

Violet raised her hand and looked at Stella.

“Not it?” Stella asked more than said.

“Not it,” Sarai added and pointed at Enya, who looked up at them.

“Huh?” Enya asked, oblivious.

“You’re on Arlowe duty. I’ll order us a car.”

“I can take you all home, Sarai,” Gabi offered again.

“Stella’s got me, so you only need those three,” Violet replied.

“That would be great. Thank you,” Enya said and then climbed out of the booth. “Arlowe, come on. We’re going home. Don’t make me get the hose.”

Gabi laughed and said, “Your friends are funny. I mean, they were back then, too, but they’re still funny.”

“Still annoying,” Sarai replied.

“We’re going home. See you all on… Monday?” Violet said.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Sarai asked.

“Or warning us?” Arlowe said when she approached the booth.

“How drunk are you right now?” Sarai asked her.

“Not very. Why?”

“Because you made out with that woman before and said she was a terrible kisser, but you’ve been attached to her face for the past half hour.”

“Practice makes perfect?” Arlowe replied.

“I guess I’ll see you all on Monday,” Violet told them. “And that’s weird…”

“No, it’s not. You’ve been living with Stella for months now and just working from the house or stopping by for dinner.

We’re ready for you to leave the nest, dear Violet.

So, fly, fly away,” Arlowe said, mimicking a flying bird with both of her hands, and Enya moved to stand next to her just in case.

“She’s very drunk,” Sarai said to Gabi out of the side of her mouth. “Arlowe, Enya, let’s go. Gabi is driving us home. And, Arlowe, I swear to God, you will not puke in her car.”

“I don’t puke when I’m still drunk. It’s only when I’m hungover.”

“So, I should get you all home fast, then?” Gabi replied.

“Not too fast. We should drive safely,” Enya added.

“Yes, Enya. I’m sure she’ll drive us there safely,” Sarai said, rolling her eyes.

“Gabi, why are you here again?” Arlowe asked.

“Come on, buddy.” Sarai wrapped an arm around Arlowe’s shoulders. “Let’s get you home and in bed.”

“I want to work,” Arlowe argued.

“Not tonight. You need to sleep this off.”

Then, all six of them walked out of the bar, and Violet and Stella said goodnight before they turned right, while the rest of them turned left to walk to Gabi’s car.

“I miss her, Sarai,” Arlowe said softly so that only Sarai could hear.

“Miss who? Vi? We’ll see her on Monday.”

“What? No, not Violet. I mean, I know things are changing, and it won’t be the same, but I miss Eline.”

“You just brought her up.”

“I know.”

“You never bring her up. We bring her up. You get mad when we bring her up.”

“I know, Sarai. Pretty tipsy here, remember?”

“Look her up, Arlowe.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“She’s thirty-three, probably married to another woman by now, who is gorgeous, successful, funny, smart, kind, and other kinds of words that describe things.”

“Are you talking about adjectives?”

“Yes, those. All the good… those things.”

Arlowe rested her head on Sarai’s shoulder.

“Is she okay?” Enya asked.

“She just brought up Eline, so no.”

“Arlowe brought up Eline? On her own?”

“Wait. Eline? From–” Gabi started and stopped when Sarai nodded at her. “Oh.”

“Why did I break up with her?”

“You had your reasons, Arlowe. And they were good ones back then, but I still don’t understand why you can’t just check in on her. Maybe she’s not married. Maybe she’s totally single.”

“Then, wouldn’t she reach out to me?” Arlowe asked as they arrived at Gabi’s car and waited for her to unlock it.

“I’ll sit in the back with her,” Enya offered.

“Arlowe, maybe she doesn’t reach out to you because she thinks that if you were single, you’d reach out to her.”

Sarai carefully helped her very drunk friend get into the back seat of the car.

“But I am single.”

“You are, yes. And if you’re still missing a woman you loved eleven years ago, your choices are either to finally try to move on, or reach out to her and tell her that you still think about her and miss her.”

“No, it would hurt too much when she tells me that she hasn’t thought about me since I left.”

“Eline?” Gabi asked Sarai as Enya also climbed in and closed the door.

“Yeah, same one.”

“They broke up, I take it?”

“Arlowe ended things when the semester was up and she was leaving for home. Eline is Dutch. Arlowe couldn’t see how they could make it happen.”

“That’s sad,” Gabi replied. “She still loves her?”

“I think she loves the idea of her more than Eline herself. She hasn’t seen her since we were all in college. A lot has changed since then for both of them, I’m sure.”

“Yeah. I thought I’d go to school in Paris and live there for a while. That didn’t happen.”

“Why not?” Sarai asked.

Enya then opened her door again and asked, “Can we get her home? She’s passing out on my shoulder.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Gabi replied and hurried around to the other side of the car to climb in.

Sarai got into the passenger seat and turned around to check on Arlowe. Arlowe’s eyes were closed, so she looked over at Enya, who gave her a sympathetic look.

“I know we made a pact not to interfere, but maybe we should look her up. Just to know. If she’s with someone, married or otherwise, we don’t have to say anything,” Sarai suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sarai. Arlowe can forgive a lot, but I don’t know that she’d forgive us for that.”

“We wouldn’t tell her.”

“She’d know somehow. We all know everything about each other.”

Gabi pulled them out into traffic and asked, “Is she going to be all right?”

“She’ll be fine. She gets sad like this sometimes, but she rebounds.” Sarai turned around in her seat. “You’re going to take a left up here and then, the second right.”

“Hey, Gabi, do you want to come over on a night when Arlowe isn’t wasted and Violet isn’t giving us news that she thinks is breaking but actually isn’t even news?” Enya asked.

Sarai wondered where that was coming from because Enya wasn’t the one who invited people over. That was usually Arlowe or her. Enya was the person who only sometimes hung out when they had other people over and mostly stared down at her phone or disappeared at some point.

“We’re watching some game on Thursday night,” Enya added.

“Football. She means football.”

“She doesn’t know what sport you’re watching?” Gabi asked, laughing.

“She usually just shows up and works on her phone. She doesn’t like to miss out, but she also gets bored easily. Right, Enya?”

“Right. And if Gabi is there, I can be there still, but you can all ask her questions and–”

“She can distract us from the fact that you’re not paying attention to the game?”

“Right,” Enya confirmed.

Sarai laughed and said to Gabi, “I’ll give you my number and text you the details. If you’re free, you can join us. It’ll just be people we work with, mainly, and Stella, who kind of works with us, but not.”

“That’s confusing.”

“Tell me about it,” she replied with another laugh and turned her head back to check on her friends.

Noticing Arlowe still passed out on Enya’s shoulder and Enya back on her phone, Sarai smiled at the two of them and turned back around to look out the windshield, thinking that when they got home, Violet wouldn’t be there anymore because she had a new home.

It hit her then. She’d been joking all night.

They’d all thought they were prepared for it.

But she swallowed and wiped a tear from her eye, trying to keep Gabi from noticing.