Page 4 of The Second Ending
She glanced down at her phone to see a text notification. It was Liora, her best friend. They had met on the very first, terrifying day of law school, but had only been casual, if friendly, acquaintances until after they had both qualified and started working. By coincidence, they had both been at the same weekend professional development conference once, and recognising each other, had sat together. That was the first time they’d really exchanged anything more than a couple of words, and they quickly became close friends. From then, hardly a week passed without a phone chat or a coffee date, and they’d seen each other through some rough times.
This, Ashleigh conceded, might turn out to be one of them.
She returned the text with aHi, and waited for the little bubbling dots to resolve into words.
I need retail therapy. Join me and I’ll treat you to dinner.
How could anyone resist? Ashleigh made the expected token protestations, that it was her turn to pay, but Liora wouldprevail. She always did. Liora had, after all, taken the expected route and was now partner in a large law firm, with the salary to match. A dinner that would take a bite out of Ashleigh’s budget wouldn’t make a scratch on Liora’s. Liora never mentioned this. She just had her credit card ready, and told Ashleigh she could treat the next time.
They met at an upscale suburban mall, their usual spot.
“You look rough,” Liora tutted by way of a greeting, as the two exchanged their usual hug and cheek kisses. “Talk now, or later?”
Ashleigh stifled a groan. “Later. Preferably with wine.”
“Oh. That bad? Then it’s definitely my treat. Now, shop first, weep and wail later. Okay?”
Ashleigh let herself laugh. Liora always made her feel better. “Definitely okay. What’s our mission, O great leader?”
“I need shoes for my cousin’s kid’s bar mitzvah. I’ve got a dress, but if all the relatives are going to be nagging me about why I’m not married yet, I need to look spectacular when I tell them it's none of their business. That means at least three-inch heels.”
Another reason to smile. Liora was already tall, a good three inches above Ashleigh’s average height, with long, elegant limbs and short spiky hair that went so well with the chunky jewellery she liked to wear. When the women had met, Liora’s hair had also been bright pink, but she’d reverted to her natural dark brown as her one concession to the corporate world.
After nearly two hours, and more shoe shops than Ashleigh had known existed, their mission was accomplished, and the two friends were seated in a quiet booth in one of the restaurants that called the shopping centre home. A plate of bread lay between them, the golden crust peeking out from under a dark red linen serviette, a small dish of soft butter at the side. Eachhad a glass of red wine, and the rest of the bottle was there, waiting. Their food would be along in a few minutes.
“Enough about me,” Liora said as the waiter walked away with the menus. “What’s up? Is it work?”
“No. Yes. No. Well…”
“Um, Ash, it is or it isn’t. You want a coin? We can flip it to find out.”
“Silly! No, it’s not really work, but related to work, sort of… someone at work.”
“Not one of your legal aid cases? I know those can be rough, especially with the domestic abuse cases you tend to take.”
“It’s not that. I’m being silly. It’s like I don’t even want to say his name.”
Her friend peered at her with a furrowed brow. “Who? The only time I’ve seen you this kerfuffled is when you talk about… what was his name? Mark? No, Marcus. What, him?”
Ashleigh nodded. “In the flesh. And decidedly unhappy to see me. For a moment, I thought he was going to turn around and walk right out, except that his EA already started talking to my client.”
“Wait? His EA? I thought you said he was in the trades, and that he could hardly afford a phone number. How did he get an executive assistant?”
“It seems he’s made something of himself. What did I tell you?”
Liora shrugged one shoulder. “Not a ton. Just that you’d been together and had a bad break up, which is why you weren’t interested in dating that guy from the other company. What else should I know?”
“I’d better start at the beginning. I met Marcus when I was in the last semester of my undergrad degree. I spent quite a lot of time in the large common room with that coffee shop—you know the one? It was a good place to study, and the coffee wasexcellent. Marcus also liked to sit there and read. He always sat at a small table near the back, where it was always bright and a little bit quieter.”
“Let me guess,” Liora’s hazel eyes lit up, “it was a perfect meet-cute, just like in a romance novel. You tripped and spilled your coffee on him, and he swept you off your feet, right?”
“Well, something like that. Except that I spilled it all over his notes, and he was angry, but then I noticed he was studying something I’d read in my first year. I offered him my notes, and we started talking. I’d thought he was a TA or a young professor, because he was older than most of the students, but he was just starting.”
“See, that’s a meet-cute if ever I’ve seen one. And I wasn’t even there. Keep going.”
Ashleigh clucked. “You’re a nudge. Fine. This is where the tricky bit starts. He had gone straight to work after high school. His uncle had a small construction business, and Marcus worked for him. But after a while, the company started having trouble keeping up, and Marcus realised they needed to focus on the business end of things as well. So he went to university as a mature student. He’d just started a business degree when we met.”
“And it was love at first sight,” Liora sighed. “How romantic.”
