Chapter 13
The next few weeks went by in a flash. There was so much to do.
In the whirlwind, Dot often pinched herself. Was this really happening? Was she really going to break up with her boyfriend, jump off her career track, and move to the middle of nowhere for a passion project, of all things?
The impulsivity of her decision to take Kitty Bell up on her offer felt exhilarating, which was certainly not her natural state.
She’d always been so methodical—she liked to have everything planned out and just so.
That said, the feeling of excitement wasn’t unwelcome.
To the contrary, she felt invigorated. She felt alive.
There were so many decisions to make and things to do before she, Harper, and Mary moved to Wisconsin for the year. To keep track of everything, Dot took to writing and rewriting her to-do list. It felt like every time she crossed one thing off, another two things came up.
First up—telling her parents. She agonized about this. She worried they’d think she was cracking up, losing her mind, or even worse, being irresponsible. She tied herself in knots going over the conversation. When she finally got them on FaceTime, she thought she might vomit from her nerves.
Her parents surprised her when they immediately said, “Good for you! This is so exciting. And a great time in your life to do something like his. We’re so proud of you!”
Chalk that up to another lesson learned—she’d been so concerned about what her parents would think, and imagined that it would go badly, that she’d wasted all that time worrying for nothing.
Her sister Anne had a similar reaction. “Wow. I didn’t think you had it in you to be so adventurous. It’s brave, what you’re doing. And maybe you’ll meet some hot guy there.”
“Fat chance. I’m going to focus on work completely,” she replied.
Dot got a boost of confidence with her family supporting her decision.
Her parents even offered to take over the co-op fees and utilities for the year, since they both loved the city, and they already had a long list of things they’d do on the long weekends they planned to spend in Manhattan.
“Broadway, museums, restaurants, lectures. I can’t wait,” her mom said.
That done, Dot then had to resign from her job.
She planned out her side of the conversation and thought it was generous to offer a month’s transition, through to Christmas.
She knew she wouldn’t miss her clients or the horrible SVP, but she’d miss her tiny office with the view and the younger staff that looked up to her.
The managing director of the firm was understanding and kind.
“You always have a place here, if you want to come back,” she said. And while Dot didn’t plan on ever returning to high-tech PR, she was glad that she hadn’t burned a bridge. At least with the top boss.
“This is a risky decision, Dot,” the SVP said. “You know it’s not likely to work, right?”
“What’s not going to work?”
“The Democrats are hopeless. Their brand is toxic. Eighty percent of the country can’t stand them.”
Dot swallowed her initial reaction to fight back with statistics showing the Republicans were also underwater with public opinion.
“We’ll see.” That was her go-to answer to prevent an argument. She avoided him for the rest of the month and knew she’d never miss him.
She would miss, however, her friends, her apartment, Albert, her runs in Central Park, the neighborhood dogs, the bodega owner on the corner, and Freddy, her regular coffee cart guy. She’d miss the subway, Fifth Avenue, the High Line, and more. She’d miss all of it.
The closer she got to her departure from New York, the more she loved it. She did one last run the day before they left and stopped at the northern end of the Great Lawn to take a selfie with the skyline of Central Park West behind her.
“NYC is the best boyfriend,” she captioned the picture on her story, making it clear to all she was no longer with Ryan, who’d unfollowed her soon after the breakup. At least she knew the park would be right where she left it.
Before returning to the apartment, Dot stopped by Blank Street Coffee and got an Americano for Albert, and a latte for herself. She handed it to him when she arrived.
“Cheers, Albert.”
“Here’s to you, Dorothy. You’re following your dreams. Your grandmother would be proud.”
“You’ll be here when I get back?”
“I’ll always be here.”
And they clinked paper cups and sipped.
HARPER HAD SO many reasons for wanting to leave New York City, starting with her terrible, leaky apartment.
To get that behind her, Mary sent a harshly worded complaint to Harper’s landlord. She signed it, “Mary Russo, Esquire.” After she emailed the letter, she called the landlord to confirm he’d received it.
“To confirm, Harper Adler is free and clear of her lease?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you’ll be issuing her a check with her full security deposit?”
“Well, I don’t know. There’s a leak that needs fixing . . .”
Mary cut him off. “The leak came from the apartment above hers. When will you have her full security deposit available for her to pick up? This afternoon?”
“Ummmm . . .”
“Is that a yes?”
“Okay, yes.”
“Good. Because I was about to call my colleague at the city department of housing.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“I’m glad we understand each other. Goodbye.” Mary hung up and Harper high-fived her.
“That felt good,” Mary said. “More fun than going through SEC briefs.”
“What would I do without you?”
“Make it up to me one day—put me in one of your books.”
“You got it. You’ll make a great character. No one will believe you exist in real life, though,” Harper said.
Aside from her landlord, Harper just had to convince her parents it was a good idea.
To her surprise, it was like pushing on an open door.
“I think it’s great,” Harper’s dad said.
“You’ll see another part of the country, have time to write, and help the Democrats win back the White House.
” He’d stayed somewhat active in the party after his tenure with Obama.
“And you’ll be fine when the year is up.
You’ll have more of an idea of what you want to do. ”
Even her brother was encouraging. “That’s cool. Sounds like fun. And maybe you’ll meet a real man, not like the guys who live in the city.”
“You live in the city,” she said.
“Yeah, but I’m not one of those guys.”
Harper rolled her eyes and tried to imagine a future sister-in-law. Poor girl, she thought.
On her last Sunday before leaving, they all met at their favorite brunch spot in Cobble Hill.
Their orders matched their personalities.
Her brother got a crispy buffalo chicken wrap, while her dad went for the tuna salad.
Her mom ordered the egg-white omelet with veggies and hot sauce, and Harper chose the chicken Caesar wrap.
They shared an order of Greek fries—covered in feta, oregano, and lemon. Endless hot coffee filled their mugs.
“We have a little surprise for you,” her mom said. “Check your Venmo.”
Harper picked up her phone and her eyes widened. Her mom and dad had sent her a nice chunk of money. She was shocked.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” she said, blinking back tears.
“Consider it an advance of an advance,” her dad said.
“We believe in you, Harp.” Her mom hugged her and kissed her on the head.
“Knock ’em dead, kid,” her older brother said, lightly punching her on the arm. She was touched by his kindness. “By the time you get back, you’ll be a Republican.”
“You wish.” She lightly swatted him with the back of her hand. “Maybe by the time I get back you’ll have realized the planet is about to boil over.”
“Tell that to the dinosaurs,” he said, signaling to the waitress for more coffee.
“Exactly!” she said. He was infuriating, but she loved him.
AS MARY EXPECTED, her law firm was fine with her plan, and the head partner, a Democratic donor, was highly encouraging.
“I think it’s great. I wish I’d done something like this when I was your age,” Sofia Garcia said. She’d grown up in Queens and risen through the ranks to the top of the firm. She’d been in the “Top 40 Under 40” of the national law trade for ten years—until this year when she’d turned forty-one.
“I had a good run,” she joked.
“And you think you can handle all of your work remotely?” she asked Mary.
“I do. I have a plan. I’ll be up early and on all the calls. They won’t even know I’m gone.”
“I checked with the partners you report to, and they said you’re hitting all your marks.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“All right. You have sign-off from me.”
“Thank you so much.”
“There’s just one more thing I need.”
“Sure, anything.”
“What’s the name of that lipstick?”
Mary smiled broadly. “Big Apple Red.”
“Nice.”
They shook hands and Mary turned to go, feeling like she really wanted to make Maria Garcia proud.
After subletting her apartment to some tech bro, Mary’s biggest test was still to come.
Her family’s Sunday supper was going to be brutal.
No one in her family could understand why she was going on this wild adventure with her college girlfriends instead of staying home and working on getting married and starting a family.
She’d been bracing herself for days in the lead-up to the feast.
She got to Staten Island at three in the afternoon before the rest of the family arrived. Her Nonna had already been cooking up a storm.
“Hi, Nonna,” she said, wrapping her grandmother in a hug from behind while she continued to make meatballs. “That smells so good.”
“Special gravy for you tonight, my girl.”
“I’m so lucky.” She looked around the kitchen. “Who else is coming—the entire island? There’s enough food here for everyone.”
“I made extra. Going to send you home with it for your freezer.”
“But I’m leaving on a plane tomorrow, Nonna.”
“I know. That’s why I got you an extra suitcase when I was at TJ Maxx.”