Junie has always been career first. She was my role model of independence, reminding me of my momma in the way she purposefullyavoided dating while focusing on her career. Turns out, she wasn’t.
“I really like him. Well . . . I kind of . . .”
“Youlove him?”
“Yeah. I do.”
She won’t look at me, but the soft grin on her face makes me melt. My bestie is in love, and I had no idea. “I’m so happy for you.”
She bats a hand against my arm.Can’t let a boss bitch get mushy now, can we?“You could have that too, you know.” I swear she wants me to be with Liem more than we want to be with each other.
“How tall is Sean? Like six foot ten?”
“Six eight. Don’t change the subject. I want you to be happy. You are not happy. All this dread over entering your thirties is casting this awful shadow over you, and I hate to see it.” She’s right. “Shake it off. Do what makes you happy. Be with him.”
If only it were that easy.
~
With Junie off to her dream vacation with her dream man after having her dream sex, I sit on her couch, counting the minutes that have passed since Liem was set to be off work.
Finally, my phone vibrates with a call.
“There you are.”
“Hey, sorry, I just left work.”
“It’s almost eleven!”
“I’m telling you, work is insane.”
“I’m so sorry, Hoodie. I have good news, though.”
“One sec, I’m getting in the elevator.”
Now I have to wait longer to tell him about the email.
The countdown is a screaming clock. Every day, time pushes me closer to the edge of my twenties, threatening to shove me into the empty chasm of the thirties, naked, unskilled, and unhoused. All thatwill keep me from spiraling out on the day is the party Keisha insists she is planning. With Junie and her big job, Keisha and her big jobandher baby, and all our friends who are exactly like them, I am going to be ugly crying in all my pictures. This isn’t where I wanted to be at this stage in my life and I have no one to blame but myself. I’ve felt so close yet so far from the dream I’ve been chasing. Until I got this interview.
The video call request comes through. His gorgeous face makes me miss him even more. “You look tired,” I say. “Fine as hell, but tired.”
He can’t even muster a blush at my compliment. That, or he’s used to it. “I’m exhausted, but thank you.”
“You’re working too much.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“Can I give you some good news?”
“Please do.”
“I got an interview!”
He perks up. “Really? Where?”
Where? He doesn’t know it isn’t in LA, and I don’t want him to know yet either. “The firm of that woman I met at the gallery event when you were here.”
The uncomfortable memories must hit him too. It takes him a beat too long to say, “I’m really happy for you. And I’m one hundred percent sure they are going to love you.”
