by K. C. Crowne
“Sam Shaw,” I said, giving him a back-slapping hug. “Good to see you.”
“Likewise, my man!” he said, grinning. “Stoppin’ in for a drink or two?”
I nodded to Andrew. “Something like that. I’m here with my brother.”
“Well, holy hell!” Sam exclaimed. “Both Pitt brothers! Good to meet you, bro!” He stuck out his hand to Andrew, who regarded it like he had no idea what to do with it.
“Um, nice to meet you.” He shook Sam’s hand in stiff and awkward a manner. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at how uncomfortable Andrew was with people who weren’t fellow members of the upper crust.
“Listen,” Sam said, turning his attention back to me. “I don’t wanna crash your party here, Doc, but I’d kick myself if I didn’t come over here and thank you personally for gettin’ my boy in last minute the other day. The wife was freakin’ out about his fever, and you sure took a load off her mind.”
“Happy to do it. How’s Mick doing?”
“Much better – just a few sniffles now. And thanks for askin’.”
“Glad to hear he’s feeling better,” I said.
“Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your family time here. Good to see you, Doc! And first round’s on me!” He gave me one more slap on the shoulder before going back to his group.
The bartender approached with a grin. “You heard the man,” he said. “What’ll it be?”
“Pitcher of Bud,” I said. “And two glasses.”
The bartender nodded before setting two empty glasses in front of me and Andrew, who took his and regarded it with some skepticism.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s dirty.” He raised his hand to flag down the bartender, and I quickly placed my hand on it and lowered it. “What are you doing?”
“Andrew, you don’t ask for a clean glass in a place like this. That’s a good way to get your ass beat.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
I laughed. “You suck it up.”
My glass was cleaner, so I passed it to him. “There – problem solved.”
“Well, I already had a beer,” he said. “And a better one than Bud.”
“Bud’s just fine,” I said, pouring the pitcher out for the two of us once the bartender brought it. “It’s the king of beers, after all.” I took a sip of mine, letting out an ahh and shaking my head at how damn good it was. “Perfect. Didn’t realize how much I needed that.”
Andrew was still confused. “Would they really beat my ass for asking for a different glass?”
I laughed again. “Nah – figure of speech. These guys look rough, but they’re all good dudes deep down. Might get you a rep as a softie, though.”
“Just because I like clean glasses doesn’t make me a softie.”
“Sure, sure. So what’s up with you, bro?”
“The usual. Busy at the office but making good money.”
“There you go. Give it a few decades and you’ll be able to pay off that law school debt.”
He allowed himself a small smile at this joke. “Funny. But I want it paid off sooner than that. And if I make partner in the time they’re thinking I might, let’s just say I won’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t forget, money’s not everything,” I said. “Hell of a lot more to life than that.”
“Says the man who built a small fortune by thirty-five.”
“Right, but money wasn’t the reason I did it.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Andrew said. “You did it because you wanted to help people. I forget how noble you are.”
“That’s why I got into medicine,” I defended. “And the more I got into it, the more I realize I could do more good going the route I did instead of staying a local GP. The industry’s ripe for change, and I’m going to be the one to bring it.”
“And if you make a hundred million in the process, so be it?” he asked.
I smiled. “Something like that. But trust me – you get a few million and that’s nice. But there are only so many fancy restaurants you can eat at before the novelty wears off, you know?”
“Now that’s a problem I look forward to coming across on my own,” he said.
I grinned. “I’ll drink to that.”
We tapped glasses and sipped.
“And what about your love life?” I asked. I scolded myself for bringing it up. You couldn’t fucking resist, could you? I asked myself as I took another sip of beer, this one nice and long.
“Love life?” he asked, scoffing. “Are you serious? As if I have time for dating. And besides, I’m already making enough money to know that most women in our circles are total gold-diggers. They see your car and your suit and that’s all they can think about.”
“A little shallow of you,” I commented. “And they’re not all like that.”
Something about my comment knocked him off-kilter. He was doing some serious thinking.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Annie.”
And there it was. At least he’d been the one to bring her up instead of me. “Annie?” I queried, getting ready to lie my face off. “You ever miss her?”
“It’s complicated. At the time, I was certain, just certain I’d made the right decision. She was a good woman, but she took up far too much of my time. But now I’m thinking about all this, what we’re talking about.” His tone was even and calm, and he didn’t betray much. Andrew was stiff, and he knew when to play things close to the chest. His heart could’ve been broken in a million pieces and I never would’ve known it.
“What do you mean?”
“The gold digger thing, for example. Annie’s not like that – she never was like that. She always wanted to pay for her own meals, to have her own money. If I were still with her, I’d never have to worry about her only seeing me because of what I had. After all, she dated me when I barely had a penny to my name. And no doubt in my mind, she wouldn’t take me to the cleaners if things didn’t work out.”
“That right?”
“Sure. For her, the idea of getting rich off someone else’s work would be unthinkable.”
“Good traits, sure.” My replies were bland. But deep down, his newfound apprehension at breaking up with Annie made me ill at ease.
“It’s…I don’t know. It’s making me wonder if I screwed up in ending it with her.”
Shit. Shit-shit-shit.
“No, you didn’t,” I said the words without a moment’s hesitation and needed to back them up.
“How do you mean?”
“I’ve been around the block a few times, bro. And something I’ve learned is it doesn’t do you a damn bit of good to second-guess decisions.”
“Hmm,” he said, turning his eyes to his beer. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am. Trust me.”
He smiled. “Probably right. Grass is always greener, you know?”
“Oh, I know. But you can’t live in the past. The future’s the only thing we’ve got control over.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Just pointlessly thinking.” He shook his head, snapping himself back into the moment, and I felt like a real dick. “And what about you?” he went on. “You seeing someone?”
“Yeah, sort of.” Little did he know we were talking about the same woman.
“Sort of?”
“We’ve been on a few dates. And she’s great. Not a gold-digger in the slightest. Smart, funny, talented. I’m really into her.”
“Well, that’s good. Hopefully she doesn’t turn out to be different that you think. You at the point when you want her to meet the family?”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “Meet the family? No way. Too soon for that.”
“But you’re thinking it’ll happen,” he said with a smile. “You know Mom would be thrilled if you found someone. Big brother, finally settling down.”
“Too soon for that,” I said. I had never met our biological mother and I had no
intention of it any time soon. I was still of the mind that my mother was the woman who raised me. I took another long pull of my beer.
“Well,” Andrew said, lifting his beer. “Cheers to you meeting the love of your life.” He raised his glass and I just stared at it for a long moment. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just kind of intense to think of her that way.”
“But you are thinking of her that way, right? I mean, I doubt you’d be wearing that look on your face if you weren’t.”
“Like I said, it’s too soon.”
Andrew gave me a curious look. “Whatever you say, big brother.”
Shit was getting complicated. And while I was confident, part of me worried I was getting in way, way too far over my head.
Annie
“Are you freaking serious? You got it?” Gia’s voice was enthusiastic and loud.
“I got it.” My hand was shaking. I could barely hold the phone through the excitement.
“OK, I’m coming over right freaking now. And I’m bringing some bubbly. So get ready to get tipsy, because you and I are celebrating.”
I was grinning ear-to-ear as I spoke. “See you soon.”
I hung up the phone and screamed exuberantly. It hadn’t been the first time that day I’d done it. Then I threw my phone on the couch and danced around, balling my hands into fists and pumping them in front of me as I ran in place. I probably looked like a total maniac, but I had every reason in the world to be bouncing off the walls.
And the reason was that I, Annie White, was officially employed.
I still couldn’t believe it. Earlier in the day I’d had an interview with Martin Mass, one of the top editors for Classical Monthly. The interview had been over the computer since the head offices were in New York. But that didn’t make it any less nerve-wracking. Mr. Mass was nice, but he really knew his shit. And he made it very clear from the get-go that he was looking for the best of the best for his magazine.
Good thing for me that I knew my shit too. I answered all the questions he threw at me about the finer points of classical music. I played the violin for him too – an added pressure I hadn’t expected. Telling him about my side job playing for children at the hospital had been what really won him over, however.
Really, the whole interview had passed in a total blur. So much had been on the line, and in the back of my mind all I could think about was how so many other people more qualified than me had probably applied for the job.
But I’d gotten it. A few hours later, I received an email from Mr. Mass letting me know he thought I’d be perfect for the job, starting that next Monday.
I was going to be a real-life journalist writing about a subject I loved. It was too good to be true.
After a quick change of clothes, the buzzer to my apartment sounded. I opened the door and there was Gia, a bottle of something sparkly in her hands. She let out a scream as soon as she laid eyes on me, and I did the same as she hurried over to give me a big hug.
Gia, as excitable as ever, wrapped me up in her happiness. Whatever fears I had about my success were blown away as she ran into my apartment.
“You did it!” she said, letting me go and backing up, taking a look at me as if she hadn’t seen me in years. “You’re a freaking writer!”
“Something like that,” I said, laughing.
“Something like that,” she mimicked, shaking her head as she opened the cupboard and took out two glasses. “Annie, you’re getting paid to write about your passion. Most people would kill for a job like that.”
She popped open the bottle and hurried to the couch, glasses in hand. I sat down next to her.
“It’s only a foot in the door,” I said. “Not like it pays a ton.”
Gia set the glasses on the coffee table and waved her hand through the air, as if swatting away my concerns. “Does it pay enough?”
“Well, sure.”
“And does it have benefits?”
“Believe it or not, yes.”
“Then you’re golden. All you have to do is kick ass like I know you will, and you’ll be running that place before too long.” She handed one of the glasses to me before taking one for herself. Then she raised it into the air. “To your amazing, super glamorous new career as a journalist.”
I laughed. “OK, I’ll drink to that.”
We tapped, then sipped, the wine crisp and fruity and delicious.
“So,” she said. “What are you going to be writing about?”
“They’ll be setting up interviews with musicians around the world. I interview them here and write some articles. Every now and then I’ll be doing reviews.”
“That sounds so freaking awesome,” she said. “And I bet if you do a really amazing job, they’ll fly you all over the country to write stuff like that.”
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but maybe,” I said, excitement running through me. “He did hint they do stuff like that.”
“So cool,” she said. “And to think, Andrew broke up with you because he thought he was going to leave you behind with all his success. And now look at you!”
My face reddened at the mention of Andrew. “You had to bring him up, didn’t you?”
“Shit,” she said, knowing she’d made a mistake. “I didn’t mean to. It’s just…”
I frowned at her; she was acting strange all of a sudden. “What? Just what?”
“It’s really weird. I don’t know how to say it.”
“Try.”
She sighed, setting her drink on the table and wringing her hands. “I saw him yesterday.”
“Andrew?”
She sighed as she looked at me. “He was in town.”
“What? Where did you see him?”
“At Apres Ski Coffee,” she revealed. “I ran in there to grab a mocha and there he was, standing at the counter. I tried to avoid him, but we made eye contact and there was no getting out of it.”
It was enough to make my stomach turn. “What happened?”
“You can probably guess. He came over all smiles – you know that big, toothy fake smile he gets when he doesn’t actually want to talk to someone but knows he should, that pretend friendliness.”
“Ugh,” I scoffed, knowing exactly what she was talking about. “The one where he’s smiling with his mouth but not with his eyes? So freaking creepy.”
“That’s the one!” she exclaimed, raising her finger toward me. “Anyway, he comes over and starts talking to me, asking me how I’m doing and all that. And the whole time I’m just thinking, come on, you don’t give a shit about me – ask what you really want to know about. And then he does.”
“Oh no,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “He wanted to hear about me?”
Gia nodded, biting her lip. “Yep. Such an awkward segue too. I was telling him about work and he’s just like, oh wow, interesting. Anyway, how’s Annie?”
“Smooth as always.” But at that moment there was something I wanted to know, something I wasn’t sure how to ask.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I didn’t tell him anything important, like that you’re dating someone or that you moved.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”
“Of course.”
She shook her head. “But he kept prying, asking about you, trying to figure out if you were seeing anyone.”
“What?” I asked, totally shocked. “He asked you that directly?”
“Not dead-on like that – he wasn’t being that blunt. But he kept trying to bring the conversation back to you, asking if you’d made any new friends in town – that kind of thing.”
“So gross. First, he breaks up with me, then he wants to know about my personal life. That’s so Andrew.” I shuddered. “I mean, that’s my coffee shop. If I hadn’t been doing something else, I might’ve bumped into him and been all kinds of awkward.”
“But you didn’t!” she said, her eyes lighting up and a reassuring smile on her lips. “I took the bullet for
you! Aren’t I a good friend?”
She was being silly, but the answer was a most definite yes. “Thanks,” I said, taking her wrist and giving it a squeeze. “If he knew I was here…”
“Of course,” she replied. “But what do you think he would do if he knew? Like bad stuff?”
“Not sure. More that he likes to keep tabs on people, have them neatly arranged in his mental file. More than anything, really, I just don’t want him to know anything about me. I’d rather just put everything about him behind me.”
“Smart,” she mused. “Because you’re right – you deserve to move on. He had his chance and he blew it.” She grinned brightly. “Now this big fancy doctor guy can have his shot.” Her eyes flashed mischievously as she mentioned Duncan. “So…”
She was fishing for information, and as much as part of me wanted to keep it on the down-low while things were in the just-starting-out phase, she’d earned it by dealing with Andrew for me.
“We’re going out tomorrow,” I confessed. “And he also invited me to a Christmas party at his office in Denver this Saturday.”
“Are you serious? Two dates in the same week, and a Christmas party? Annie, this is huge!” she squealed.
“It’s not that big of a deal, right?” I was trying to convince myself more than anything in some attempt to temper my expectations.
She leaned forward and looked at me out of the tops of her eyes, her mouth flat, everything about her expression saying come on, now. “A Christmas party is huge. That’s him showing you off to everyone he works with.”
“But doesn’t that just make me arm candy or something?”
“No way. Arm candy is some girl a guy takes out for one night, nothing more. You’re something else. You two have gone out a few times, already. And well, you know… you’ve…” She lifted her eyebrows at him.
I blushed at her mention of my sex life. And yeah, it was nice to know I had a sex life.
“Speaking of which,” she said. “How’s all that?”
“Gia!” I said, laughing and giving her a playful little swat to the arm. “Come on.”
“What?” she asked with a shrug. “Just looking for all the info, here. You’re a journalist now, remember? You should get used to prying.”