“I know,” I assured her soothingly. “Shane surprised me too.”
She cried harder. “He’s just so amazing. And even though he has lots of school left, things have gotten really serious lately.” She was sucking in short, hysterical breaths as she poured out facts I already knew. “Especially now that I’m not in school.”
“Ad, calm down, babe. You’re going to pass out.”
She turned to face me on the middle of the sidewalk, next to a bench, a trash can that smelled like rotten food, and an irresponsible pile of dog shit. She grasped my hands before I could suggest we keep walking and confessed, “Shane asked me to move in with him last night. And I said yes.”
The world jerked to the side and seemed to send everything around me sliding with it. My brain felt like it been given a gravitational shove so it plastered against the inside of my skull.
“Wait, I’m sorry, what?”
She started sobbing. There were words in there, maybe. But mostly she was blubbering tears and gasping breaths.
Realizing my sweet, sensitive sister was having a hard time being honest with me, I attempted to console her. “That’s great, Adleigh. I’m so happy for you.”
“No, you’re not,” she wailed.
She was right. But just because I loved living with my sister, and her shared rent money made our apartment possible, didn’t mean I wasn’t happy for her. I was also super bummed for me.
“I am,” I tried again, this time adding a smile to my stony face. “Gosh, Ad, that is so exciting. It’s a huge step for both of you. I’m genuinely excited for you to start your life with him. You’re like a legit grown-up now.”
Her public wailing subsided a little, and she wiped at her cheeks with her hands. Her nails were freshly painted and matched her Amazon workout set perfectly. She was so pretty even when she cried.
I was proud of Shane for realizing what he had. For wanting to take their relationship to the next level. I struggled with trusting men. Especially college frat boys on nationally known basketball teams. But he was genuinely sweet. And he took great care of Adleigh.
Unfortunately, my dating experience reinforced what I’d grown to believe about the entire male gender. They were unreliable. Untrustworthy. Unwilling to step up and take responsibility. And when things got hard, they left.
Moments like these, I was jealous of Adleigh’s opposite experience. Not only had she found a solid man but also one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
So yay for them and their fairy-tale ending.
I would keep my bitter, hopeless thoughts to myself and celebrate their true love. Even if her happily ever after left me alone and roommate-less. Like a spinster.
I should put that on my Tinder profile. Ada Kelly, twenty-eight-year-old spinster. The boys will come a-runnin’.
“It doesn’t have to happen like tomorrow or anything,” she assured me, which was hardly any assurance. “I had just mentioned the new lease to Shane, so he wanted to ask me before you got stuck in the middle of the year paying rent you can’t afford.”
Oh shit, the lease. We had to make a decision within the next two weeks and have it signed with our new inflated price by the first of July.
My happiness for the happy couple shriveled into an unhappy raisin.
But to my sister, I said, “Hey, don’t worry about me. I somehow survived for years on my own before you moved in. I can do it again.”
Her chin wobbled again. “But your apartment sucked back then. And you love this place.”
“Adleigh,” I snapped sternly before she could start more waterworks. “It will be fine. I will be fine. I’m making a whole lot more money than I did back then. And even if I have to move, there are a ton of great buildings around here. Please stop worrying about me. I’m the older sister. That’s my job.”
Her lips twitched into an amused smile. “You are a pro at it.”
“I’m a pro at everything I do.”
She laughed, and it felt amazing to hear her happy again. “That’s true. I’ve never met anyone so naturally good at everything they do.”
I shook my head. Her confidence in me was inflated out of love. But I did have a relentless need to master everything I tried. It was like my on switch was broken, and I didn’t know how to relax. All I knew how to do was work and work and work.
It was actually obnoxious.
“Are you up for Pilates still? Because if you’d rather blow it off and grab coffee instead—”
