“Well, I try to be on time. I know that doesn’t make a difference though.”
“Maybe you need a different shift,” he suggests.
“It won’t happen. The three o’clock shift is always taken by seniority. I never got there, evidently. Plus, that eliminates any chance of a nightlife too.”
“Have you considered that your nightlife might be the underlying cause of your problem?” Brendan is never condescending, but typically very parental. I’m not sure how his righteous words of advice never piss me off, but he’d have to do a lot to make me mad. I love him too much.
“Possibly,” I confirm.
“Well, there you go. Problem solved. Stop going out every night, and you’ll have less trouble waking up in the morning.”
“That’s great, but I still lost my job.”
“I know, but at least you’ll receive unemployment, so that will buy you a bit of time to find a new job that you’ll be happier at, and you won’t have a dick to look in the eye. Look at this as an opportunity to better your life.” Brendan looks up at the ceiling with a smile and opens his arms. I wish I could see things in the same fluorescent light he does because I can’t understand how he is always so damn positive. How is anyone? It’s not like I’m a miserable person. Actually, I’m fairly upbeat compared to many of the black-cloaked, dispirited city dwellers in this area.
“I’m afraid my glass is definitely half empty this time,” I tell him.
He stands up from the stool and comes closer. “Why is that?”
“Because they offered to transfer me to someplace in South Carolina. Obviously, I said no, so now I’m not qualified for unemployment.”
Brendan’s hands cup around my shoulders. “Oy, Scarlett! Why would you say no to an opportunity like that?”
“I’m not leaving Boston. Are you crazy?”
His big, caramel eyes widen with shock. “Um, are you crazy?”
“I’ve been living here my entire life. I can’t just pick up and leave.” My chest tightens at the thought, and I already feel myself getting worked up.
“That’s exactly why you should go.” I feel every stupid little line in my forehead deepen in response to his unexpected suggestion. “Scarlett, listen, starting fresh might be good for you. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to leave me, but this place has swallowed you up whole in the past few years, and it’s holding you prisoner, which is exactly what you don’t want, right?”
“You make it sound like we’re in the depths of hell,” I say with a forced laugh. “It’s Boston. I love it here.”
Brendan releases his hands from my shoulders and shrugs. “Okay, I was just offering my opinion. I’ll keep you here as mine for as long as you want to be here.”
I narrow my eyes at him, waiting for the “but.” I know him better than to just end a conversation with his simply stated opinion because he rarely gives up when he has a firm opinion on a subject. “So that’s it? We’re going to drop it?”
Brendan combs his fingers through his bronze, bed head, sexed hair (minus the sex part … I think) and closes his eyes. “I’m done,” he says, his short statement trailing off in a high-pitched tone that tells me he’s not done.
“Mmhm,” I grumble with a raised brow. “I’ll be in my room looking for job openings.”
The second I close myself into my room, I hear thuds and shuffling sounds coming from the open area of our apartment. Motherfucker. “Brendan! Do not get those boxes out!”
