Page 12 of Emergency Exit
“Not gonna lie. I would have agreed for the erasable highlighters,” said Piper. “I’m not even into dudes, but I mean… erasable ink.”
“It makes me happy,” admitted Harper.
“Why do you need ten grand?”
Harper hesitated. “I lost someone’s engagement ring,” she said. It hadn’t ever been on her finger, so she couldn’t say it was hers.
Piper was silent as they waited at the crosswalk. “OK, but whose engagement ring?” she asked as the little green man appeared on the sign.
In her head, Harper could still hear the crack of the bat and roar of the crowd as the batter hit the grand slam. She’d always liked baseball. It was a sport with a lot of stats. The programs came with their own spreadsheet for everyone to fill out. Now, she couldn’t even watch it on TV without cringing. But the worst part had been after they’d gotten home from the ballfield.
Cooper stood in the living room with his arms folded across his chest, two red spots on his pale cheeks, which she knew meant he was mad. He was still wearing his baseball cap backward. His brown hair poked through the hole in a way she’d heard someone describe as boyish.
“All of my co-workers were there,” he said, his tone clipped and harsh.
“I realize that,” said Harper. “I didn’t do it on purpose.” She felt numb.
“You didn’thumiliateme on purpose? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“I didn’t know what you were doing on the floor!”
“A moron would have known what was going on!” snapped Cooper.
“I didn’t! And then I stepped backward into the seat and I lost my balance. I didn’t hit your hand on purpose!”
The little circle of gold and diamond had arced out over the balcony of the VIP box and dropped with all the precision of a line drive into the storm drain.
“Harper?” Piper pulled her out of the crosswalk. “Are you OK?”
“The ring belonged to my ex-boyfriend, and now he says I have to pay him back.”
“What? No. I’m using my Ruth B. Ginsberg powers on that. Strike it from the record.”
Harper laughed at Piper’s unexpected support. “You don’t even know what happened.”
“Last week, you said your ex wouldn’t let you shop at anything but Whole Foods because it was an embarrassment to have lesser grocery bags in the recycling. If it’s the same guy, I don’t need to know what happened.”
“I feel bad,” said Harper. “He thought his life was going a particular way, and it turns out I can’t do that. I feel like I wasted his time. If I pay him back, I will never have to see or think about Cooper again.” Except in her nightmares. “And if Ash sticks to the deal, then I could done with it by Christmas!”
“Do you think this Ash guy is serious? Or do you think he’s just trying to get in your pants?”
“I think if he’d wanted to get in my pants, I would have saidyes,and we’d still be in bed.”
Piper chortled.
“He wasthathot. But I do think he was being serious. He wants someone he knows won’t have a weird agenda, and he wants the freedom to be selfish about his goals. I can understand that, and honestly, I appreciate that he’s saying it upfront.”
Piper made an agreeing but thoughtful noise.
“And I don’t know anyone here. So, at minimum, I’ll have someone showing me around and buying me dinner. Not that Iwantto meet new people, but I know it’s good for me. Like vegetables.”
“That’s what my Mom says,” agreed Piper. “But I have yet to see the evidence that people are beneficial.”
Harper chuckled. “There is actually loads of research tosupport the idea that genuine, in-person, social connecting makes humans happier and healthier.”
“Yeah, but the problem with that,” objected Piper, “is people.”
“Yeah,” agreed Harper. “So why are we bringing the other people in our office coffee?”
