Page 65 of Night and Day
“Of course I’m upset!” she shouted. “I have trouble producing tears but I’m not a robot! You broke up with me and didn’t even tell me.”
“You’re the one who flew across the world and didn’t even ask me to come with you.” His voice was laced with hurt, the first glimpse of something real, and it kicked her in the gut. In her hurry to leave the country, she hadn’t really talked to him. But crossing national borders didn’t automatically invalidate a relationship, did it?
“Did you want to come with me?” she asked.
“Well, it wasn’t the best timing for me, with the business and all, but I would have appreciated the gesture.” His voice sounded dark and far away, even though the connection was crispy clear. “But I moved on. I won’t let relationship stuff get in the way of my goals. As I’m sure you won’t either.”
“What goals? I don’t even know what I’m going to do...”
“As I said, we need a product manager, or chief evangelist, or whatever you want to call yourself. Pick a title. Help us prep for Slush.”
“I don’t know,” she said quietly, discomfort twisting its way through her gut. “Wouldn’t that be weird? If we’re not together anymore.”
“Only if it’s weird for you. I think everyone’s gotten used to the new normal over here.” Mikko flashed her a deeply uncomfortable smile, and Mia automatically held her breath.
“What new normal?”
Mikko looked away, stretching his words out like they were escaping involuntarily as he tried to reel them back in. “The new normal where I’m dating one of the developers, Carlotte. She’s Portuguese.”
He added the nationality as if that explained everything. Maybe it did. Mia paused for a moment, waiting for the wave of emotion. What was she supposed to feel? Betrayal? Jealousy? Only a weak bout of nausea rippled through her, leaving a trail of emptiness. Relief. That’s what he’d been like. Her reliable, if a little boring, long-term boyfriend had only been waiting for her to leave the country so he could jump in the sack with someone else.
She’d always thought his one-note personality and laser focus meant he would never betray her, that he didn’t even notice other women. Their relationship may have lacked spark, but they’d been a team, encouraging each other to get ahead. Even if Mikko’s idea of success for her equalled a career in his company. One that was still on offer, as odd as that sounded.
“Great,” Mia finally replied, battling her mouth into a smile of sorts. “I’m happy you’ve found someone. Wouldn’t it be weird for her if your ex-girlfriend shows up at the office?” She shook her head. “Seriously, Mikko, it doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
Mikko huffed. “Think about it, okay? We’re recruiting, but it’s so hard to find anyone not useless.”
“I’ll think about it,” Mia promised, her stomach lurching at the thought. “Gotta go now, it’s pretty late here.”
They ended the call, and she collapsed on Izzy’s bed, hugging the phone to her chest, staring at the ceiling. What did this all mean? She had a job to get back to, but no boyfriend. She was free, and apparently full of tears that bubbled up just under the surface. They’d come out, she felt it. Believed it. Wanted it. With Izzy, she could feel the tears right there, like a layer of soot had been wiped off, leaving her soul bare and fragile in the bright New Zealand sun.
Mia gathered herself from the bed, trying to organise her thoughts. Did it really matter how things had turned out? The only thing that rattled her, made her sick to her stomach, was the impending flight home. If she didn’t think about that, she had everything she’d ever wanted right here.
She had Izzy.
Her feet moving before her mind caught up, dressed only in her underwear and Izzy’s T-shirt, Mia rushed out of the bedroom, looking for him. The basement was empty, so she climbed the stairs, poking her head in the kitchen – empty – and finally Deke’s room, where she found his flatmate asleep in his bed. Where was Izzy?
Mia tiptoed through the dark upstairs rooms, explored the worn out lounge that smelled like a summer cottage after winter, and stepped through the double doors onto the empty deck. As she peered into the darkness lit only by the nearest street lamp, she noticed Izzy’s car was missing from the driveway. She padded into the overgrown garden, wondering where he’d gone.
That’s when headlights swept into the driveway. Izzy. She ran to the car and opened the driver’s door before Izzy could step out, causing him to burst out laughing. “Is this payback?” He scooped a paper bag off the front seat and climbed out.
“No, I was just waiting for you.” Butterflies, or maybe mature glow worms, danced in her stomach as she waited for him to look at her.
Izzy stood in front of her, suddenly quiet, his gaze resting on her face. “Why?”
“Because I wanted to kiss you,” she whispered, biting down on her lip, unable to contain the thrill that surged through her, tugging her mouth into a grin.
“You talked to your... boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
She could have sworn the air crackled between them. Izzy stared into her eyes, holding the paper bag. “So, you’re single now?”
Mia felt heat working its way up her neck. “Turns out, I was single all this time. Mikko thought we broke up, and he’s sleeping with someone else.”
“What?” Izzy took half a step back, his arm frozen in mid-air. “Did he just forget to tell you?”
“I really don’t know how... I said I needed a break. I think he took that to mean we should break up.”
