Page 18 of The Rebound
A mistake.
“What the hell did you do?”
Jess.
“Why did I have to find out from Alicia—Alicia—that you left New York? I thought you were just sulking.”
“Sulking? Losing my job and my apartment is sulking?”
“I mean, God, if you’re going to be dramatic about it.” She pauses. “What do you mean you lost your apartment?”
“It was one of the MacFarlane lofts.”
“I thought you were moving out of—”
“I said I wasgoingto,” I interrupt as her voice rises with each word. “But I didn’t see the point of tying myself to a lease when I was up for a promotion. They might have relocated me. Obviously, in hindsight, it was not the best decision.”
“But why didn’t you askme!” she exclaims. “You could have stayed with me!”
I don’t have an immediate answer for her. Why didn’t I ask Jess if I could stay with her? Stay in her beautiful Upper West Side apartment with her red brick walls and her many green plants and her expensive furniture designed to look cheap. She would have said yes in a heartbeat. But even now the thought makes me embarrassed. I’m not used to relying on other people for help. Even when I need it.
“How long are you staying there?” she continues when I don’t say anything.
“I don’t know. A few weeks? Or until my sister kicks me out. I’ll find some temp work to keep me going.”
There’s a long pause on the other end of the line. And then: “Oh my God, Abby.”
“You’re making it sound worse than it is.”
“You’re going off the rails. I’m going to have to call an intervention.”
“I’m visiting my sister! That’s allowed!”
“Your sister who youhate? In the town youdespise? To do somefreaking temp work?”
“I don’t hate her. We’re just very different.”
“Screw Tyler,” she says suddenly. “Screw him. This is all his fault. I’m going to beat him up.”
“Please don’t.”
“I’m going to punch him in that smarmy face of his. In that goddamn perfectly symmetrical face.”
“Did you call just to yell at me?” I sit on a nearby bench, suddenly tired again.
“A little bit,” Jess mutters. “I don’t suppose I’ve magically convinced you to come back, have I? You can stay with me, I mean it. I’ll put in a good word for you at work.”
“I don’t want to work in real estate.”
“But you want to worksomewhere, don’t you? You’ve gotta keep moving.”
“I am moving. Do you seriously think I haven’t applied for everything under the sun? There’s too much competition. It’s like the Hunger Games out there.”
“Maybe Alicia can get you a job,” she says, sarcastic. “Seeing as you two are so close.”
“She found me crying in the ladies’ room, okay? That’s the only reason she knows.”
“Whatever. The point is I’m coming to get you. I’m coming to get you and take you out of there even if I have to drag you by that pretty brown hair of yours. Why didn’t you call me?”
