Personal Jurisdiction

by Minot, Diana

  “Just whatever,” Ben said. Whitney did her best not to feel exasperated, reminding herself that he was in a rough spot.

  “I’m just going to poke around and pack some stuff for you, okay?”

  Ben nodded, and Whitney got to work, packing a few business casual outfits and a few casual outfits. Ben’s closet was overwhelming. Whitney decided to pack him a suit, and she was shocked at the number of suits he had. She counted at least fifteen. Whitney only owned one suit. She shook her head in amazement, chose a classic-looking black suit, and carefully placed it in the suitcase. She threw a few pairs of shoes in the suitcase as well, and then went to Ben’s bathroom to figure out toiletries. She found a bag on the counter already packed with travel sized toiletry items and grabbed it. It must have been leftover from his Greece trip.

  When she came back to the room, Ben had kicked off his shoes and fallen asleep. Whitney quietly closed the suitcase and put it on the floor. She turned off the light, then tiptoed out of the room and shut the door. She had to stay. If she did not wake Ben up in the morning, there was a good chance he was going to sleep in and miss his flight. Whitney looked around for a closet that might hold extra blankets, but could not find anything. The only blanket in Alex’s room was the one on his bed, and she did not want to take his only one. So, she just lay down on the couch and used one of the decorative couch pillows as her pillow. She was not going to be sleeping much tonight, anyways. She needed to get up at 5 a.m. to make sure Ben got to his 7 a.m. flight. A quick glance at her phone showed her it was already after 1 o’clock. She set the alarm on her phone and passed out on the couch.

  A few hours later, Whitney woke up with a start when the living room light was suddenly turned on. She moaned and shielded her eyes, groggy, and confused about where she was.

  “Whitney?” Alex’s startled voice exclaimed. He shut the lights back off. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry. I had no idea you were here. What are you doing here, actually? And why are you sleeping on the couch.”

  “I ran into Ben when I was leaving school last night and he was a total mess. His grandma has cancer ,and they think she’s going to be gone within a few days.”

  “Oh, no!” Alex said, walking over and sitting on the edge of the couch. “He’s super close with his grandma. I thought she was doing better.”

  “Well, his family thought so, too. So the fact that she’s on her deathbed now is a big shock, I guess. I found Ben in Levy Mayer hall last night, playing piano and—”

  “Ben plays piano? I had no idea.”

  “Yeah. Me neither. He’s really good at it. He was playing last night, and I found him when I was trying to see who was playing. He wasn’t planning on going home to San Francisco, but I convinced him he needed to. He has a 7 a.m. flight, and I’m afraid if I don’t wake him up he won’t make it.”

  “And you’re sleeping on the couch?”

  Whitney shrugged. “He fell asleep on his bed while I was helping him pack. I didn’t want to wake him up, and I felt weird sleeping in there when we’re…well, I don’t know what we are.”

  Alex nodded. “Wow. I’m so sad for him. Look, why don’t you let me take him to the airport tomorrow? Then you don’t have to worry about it.”

  Whitney shook her head. “I can do it. You’re going to get even less sleep than me if you drive him, since you just got home. Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to get behind the wheel of his Mustang,” Whitney teased, then looked at her phone. It was 3:30. “Where have you been, by the way? You smell like a vat of grease.”

  Alex sniffed his sleeve and made a face. “Yeah, sorry. I went to Bar Review and then to some random diner afterwards. I think their French fries were basically grease with a little bit of potato.”

  Whitney wrinkled her nose at him. “Gross.”

  “I know. Not my best culinary experience ever. Hey, why don’t you at least sleep on my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

  Whitney shook her head again. “No, I have to be up in an hour and a half anyways. You might as well just take your own bed.”

  “You’re so stubborn,” Alex said. Even in the near darkness, Whitney could see the sparkle in Alex’s eyes.

  “Well, I wouldn’t mind a blanket, if you have an extra one somewhere.”

  Alex got up and grabbed the one off of his bed. When Whitney tried to protest, he held up his hand. “No more protesting,” he said, throwing the blanket at her. “Shut up and go to sleep.”

  Whitney did as she was told, drifting into a dreamless sleep until her alarm went off ninety minutes later. She went into Ben’s room and shook him awake, then made some coffee while he stumbled to the shower. She poured the coffee into travel mugs for the ride to the airport. She was probably going to need at least three times this much caffeine to make it through the day, but at least this was a start.

  Ben came out of the bedroom, not looking much better than last night. At least he was going to make his flight. He threw a long-sleeved heather gray t-shirt at Whitney. “I thought you might like a fresh shirt to wear,” he said. Whitney nodded gratefully. She took the shirt to the bathroom and changed into it. She felt weird changing in front of Ben right now, even though he had seen her half-naked before. She washed her face and brushed her teeth using her finger and toothpaste from Ben’s bathroom.

  When she came back out, Ben had his suitcase by the door and was ready to go. “I can take a cab, Whitney,” he said. “I don’t want you to have to drive me all the way to the airport.”

  Whitney hesitated. “Are you sure?” She was exhausted, and the last thing in the world she felt like doing was driving to the airport. But she did not want to abandon Ben if he needed her.

  “I’m sure. Stay here and get some more sleep. You’ve done so much already. Seriously, thank you. I would not be heading home right now if not for you. I just hope I make it in time.”

  Whitney nodded. “Okay. Call me if you need anything.” She gave Ben a quick hug. As soon as he left, she went to his bedroom and collapsed into his bed. She inhaled his scent on the sheets and on the shirt she was wearing. Then she looked around the room at his motley collection of artwork. There was so much more to him than she knew. He was an artist and a musician. He was close to his grandmother. And, apparently, he did not function well in difficult situations. Whitney stared for several moments at a drawing of the city of Chicago done with markers, then finally closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take over again. The last thing she remembered thinking was how ironic it was that she was finally sleeping in Ben Parks’ bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  When Whitney woke up, it was late morning. She had missed two classes already, and decided there was no point in going to class at all that day. She tentatively walked out into the living room, but Alex was gone. He was probably at the law school. She gathered up her backpack, stuffing the shirt she had worn yesterday into it. Then she put her jacket on over Ben’s shirt and left the apartment. Thankfully, the door automatically locked behind her. She had not thought to ask Ben for a key.

  The weather was surprisingly warm compared to the day before. Whitney took her time walking to the bus stop, enjoying breathing in the spring air. She felt overwhelmed by the events of the last twenty-four hours. She had learned a great deal about Ben—things that made him feel more human and less like another one of the power-obsessed elite that law school seemed to attract. But, somehow, seeing new sides of Ben made her feel more distant from him. He had never opened up and shared his art or music with her. He had never mentioned his grandmother, or confided in Whitney that she was struggling with cancer. Rather than feeling closer to Ben, she felt further away than ever.

  Ben had good moments. He had given Whitney a birthday party. He had taken her to dinner. He had studied with her and laughed with her. But it was clear to Whitney that he did not love her. Whitney’s ex-boyfriend, Ethan, had acted in a similar way. Whitney had drawn out her relationship with Ethan, convincing herself that he just needed time to fully open up to her. I
n the end, all she had done was waste a year and a half of her life loving someone who did not love her back. She knew deep down that she could not make this mistake again. She had to admit to herself that Ben did not feel for her the way she felt for him. She had to let him go. She could not keep holding on and hoping he would change.

  Whitney got off the bus and stopped at the Walgreens near her apartment building. She picked up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream and a bottle of wine. The wine was a Merlot with a lion on the label. Not the cutest wine label she had ever picked out, but the choices at Walgreens were somewhat limited. She still had not drunk the bottle of wine Alex had given her for her birthday, but he would never speak to her again if she paired that with a pint of ice-cream.

  Whitney got to her apartment and changed into the same fluffy pink sweatpants she had worn constantly when Ethan broke up with her. Somehow, they seemed appropriate now. She opened the wine and the ice-cream, and sat on her couch consuming them while mindlessly watching TV shows on Netflix. Ben’s t-shirt was folded up on the arm of the couch. After her second glass of wine, she glanced over at it. She picked it up and inhaled Ben’s scent on the shirt, then collapsed onto her side on the couch. She buried her face in the shirt and started crying.

  She cried for the year and a half she had wasted with Ethan. She cried for the months she had wasted pining over Ethan after he left her. She cried for the way Ben used to kiss her, and how much she missed it. She cried for the time she had spent waiting for Ben to call, or text, or even just turn and say hello when he saw her. She cried because she looked for Ben every time she knew he might be nearby, but he never looked for her.

  She cried because she wanted to be okay with being by herself. She cried because she knew she had wrapped up too much of her identity in what Ben thought of her. In fact, she had wrapped up too much of her identity in what everyone at law school thought of her. She sobbed for almost an hour, and she promised herself that this was the last time she was going to let herself cry about Ethan or Ben. One last long, ugly cry, and then she was going to move on.

  The next day, Whitney was scheduled to meet Elise and Jamie for brunch. Whitney had not heard about their trip to Saint Thomas yet, and she was looking forward to an update. When Whitney woke up and looked in the mirror, her eyes were still red and swollen from her breakdown the night before. Whitney took a long hot shower and carefully applied her makeup, but she could not completely hide the puffiness. When she arrived at the restaurant, Elise noticed it right away.

  “Whitney, are you okay? Have you been crying?” Elise asked, her voice laced with concern.

  “Well, I am okay. But, yes, I have been crying.” Whitney answered. She took a deep breath. “I’m ending things with Ben. I’m not even sure what that means since we’re not officially dating, but I’m not waiting around for him anymore.”

  “Oh, Hon, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

  Whitney told them everything. She told them about finding Ben playing piano, about helping him get a flight and pack to go say goodbye to his grandmother, and about the artwork in his room. “I mean, I think he’s a great guy, and I’m sure we’ll remain friends. But I’m not going to sit around wishing that he would pay attention to me. He doesn’t open up to me. He doesn’t love me. That’s all there is to it.”

  Jamie, who was sitting in the booth next to Whitney, reached over and gave her a hug. Whitney took a deep breath and continued. “I wanted to be more confident this year. I wanted to stop thinking of myself as a second class citizen here. And sitting around waiting for Ben does not boost my confidence.”

  “Good for you!” Elise said. “You’re not a second class citizen here. Remember, don’t let anyone make you feel inferior. You worked hard to get here. And you’ve done an amazing job. If Ben can’t see what he’s missing, then good riddance.”

  “It’s kind of like personal jurisdiction,” Jamie said. Whitney gave Jamie a questioning look. Personal jurisdiction was a legal concept they had studied in Civil Procedure class during their first semester. It referred to the court’s authority over a party to a lawsuit. If a court has personal jurisdiction over a party, it has the right to enforce a judgment against that party.

  Jamie continued, “You have to be careful about who you allow to have personal jurisdiction in your life. Don’t let people with no right to make decisions about you have jurisdiction to enforce rules or make judgments over your life.”

  Whitney smiled. “That’s kind of cheesy, but I like it. Thanks. I knew you guys would have my back.”

  “What are you going to tell Ben?” Elise asked.

  “Nothing yet. I mean, we’re not an official, exclusive couple. And he’s off in San Francisco dealing with his dying grandmother, so I don’t want to bother him right now. If past performance is any indication, I’m sure he won’t be going out of his way to contact me.”

  “Just don’t go soft and change your mind while he’s away,” Elise said. “I think you’re making a good decision here.”

  Whitney nodded. “I know. No more personal jurisdiction for Ben.”

  “By the way,” Jamie said. “Have you guys heard about Kate?”

  “No, what about her?” Whitney asked. Whitney had not seen Kate at all recently.

  “She left school. Took a medical leave of absence,” Jamie said, and then lowered her voice. “I heard she was going to a rehab center to be treated for alcoholism and depression.”

  “I hope she’s okay,” Whitney said. She felt guilty now for judging Kate.

  “It’s not surprising at all,” Elise said. “I’ve been reading up about this. Lawyers struggle with alcohol abuse at nearly twice the rate of the normal population. Same thing with depression. It’s sad.”

  “I hope Kate gets good counseling. I know she was a little out there, but maybe underneath all the drama is a good person,” Jamie said.

  Whitney nodded. She had no animosity left toward Kate. Law school was brutal, and she could see how someone could easily become depressed and turn to drinking to try to deal with it. It was sad how silently Kate slipped away, though. Alex had not mentioned anything to Whitney about it, but he must have known.

  “Okay, I can’t take any more bad news,” Elise said, breaking the somber moment. “Let’s talk about something happy.”

  “How about your trip to Saint Thomas?” Whitney asked. “I still haven’t heard about it. From the looks of the tan you and Jamie both have, it was a good trip.”

  Elise’s face brightened, and she started talking about their spring break trip. Jamie jumped in to add details to Elise’s stories here and there, and it sounded like the two had crammed plenty of activities into the week. Elise’s favorite story was from the day they had rented canoes and gone paddling around one of the bays. Elise saw a sea turtle swimming by her canoe and flipped out in excitement, which resulted in her tipping the canoe over. She tried and tried to get back into the canoe in the middle of the bay, but could not manage to climb back in until she reached a spot where her feet touched the ground. She had to swim back to shore, pushing her canoe in front of her the whole way, while Jamie had nearly passed out from laughter.

  Listening to Elise’s stories, Whitney once again felt a pang of regret that she had not gone on vacation with the girls. Maybe she had been too stubborn with her refusal to let Elise pay for the trip. After all, Elise had so much spare money, why not spend it on Whitney?

  Elise also gushed about Evan. He had surprised her with a dozen red roses and reservations at The Signature Room, a swanky restaurant in Chicago’s famous Hancock Tower. Elise declared this gesture “totally cheesy” but “so sweet.” Whitney was happy for Elise and jealous of her at the same time. Elise had found a great guy who was working hard to show her how much he appreciated her. When Elise finally took a breather from singing Evan’s praises, she asked Whitney about her trip to New England. Whitney gave them a brief rundown of the trip, telling them about Niagara Falls, the hot air balloon ride, and the brewery tour. El
ise listened with great interest.

  “I think Alex is into you,” Elise said.

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous!” Whitney said.

  “I’m serious,” Elise said. “Back me up on this, Jamie. I mean, he took you on a hot air balloon ride and to a champagne brunch!”

  “Well, it was my birthday. He wanted to make it special,” Whitney countered.

  “Bullshit!” Elise said. “That boy has had his eyes on you since the day he met you.”

  Whitney laughed off Elise’s observation, but when she went home that afternoon, she thought about it some more. Alex and Whitney were good friends, but was he looking for more than just friendship? She had never thought seriously about a romantic relationship with Alex. The closest she had come to pondering the question was when they were in Maine and she had jokingly suggested starting a brewery or hot air balloon business together. Alex had a bit of a reputation as the kind of guy who enjoyed casual sex with friends, so Whitney had always brushed off any flirtations from him as his desire for a bang buddy. But was she willfully ignoring the obvious?

  Whitney shook her head, as if this would somehow settle everything into place and make it clear. She was feeling overwhelmed with what the last few days had brought, and she decided to go for a run to clear her head. Just as she finished lacing up her running shoes, her phone buzzed from its spot on the kitchen counter. Whitney checked it and found a text from Ben. Just wanted to let you know my grandma passed away this morning. Thanks for convincing me to come say goodbye. I’m so glad I did. Xoxo. Whitney sighed. Of course Ben would sign a text with hugs and kisses right after she had decided she needed to let him go. A week ago, she would have analyzed for hours whether the text meant he was interested in escalating things between them. Today, she set her phone back down and headed out the door to the lakefront running path. It had taken her nearly the entire school year, but she was done with Ben for good. Her feet pounded down the path, and she turned up the volume on her iPod, drowning out everything except the burning in her lungs.