Disappointment coursed through me as I sat on the couch. It was 9:00 p.m., and Brody hadn’t shown. Not only had he not shown, he hadn’t even texted or called. And when I texted him, there was no response.
The doorbell rang, and I got up and walked over. Marcia stood there, along with Shantal
Lilian and Shantal. Shantal was holding up a bottle of wine in her hand.
“Hey, girls. Come in,” I said as I ushered them into the apartment.
“You okay?” Marcia asked, looking at me with a worried expression.
“I’m fine. You could’ve used your key, you know. You could’ve just come in.”
“I didn’t want to intrude.”
“You live here.”
“I know, but I’m barely over here anymore, and I’m sure you just don’t expect me to come in.”
“It’s fine, Marcia. Your name’s on the lease as well.”
“I know.” She grinned. “You okay?”
“I’m okay.” I nodded. “Let me go and get some wineglasses and a wine opener.” I headed to the small kitchen and grabbed our supplies before heading back to them. I handed it over to Lilian, who gave it to Shantal, who opened the bottle of wine. She generously poured the red liquid into glasses, and I took two deep gulps.
“Did you hear anything from him?” Lilian said.
“Nothing. I don’t know if he’s playing some sort of game or what.”
“You sure he’s okay?” Lilian asked. “You think he would’ve texted that something came up or something.”
“I think he was paying me back. He was calling me Saturday night, trying to talk, and I turned off my phone. And now he did the same thing to me.”
“That’s so immature, though,” Marcia said. “Why would he do that?”
“Come on now, Marcia. The one thing we know about Brody is that he’s immature.”
“True, but—”
“But nothing. It doesn’t matter anyway. Obviously, he’s letting me know exactly what he thinks about me and our friendship, and he just doesn’t care.”
“That sucks. I’m so sorry,” Shantal said. “Why do guys have to be such dickheads?”
“I wish I knew,” I said.
“I could call Finn and ask if he’s heard from him,” Marcia told me, and I shook my head.
“No, I don’t want to get Finn involved. Plus, I don’t want him to get upset at Brody and then cause drama. It is what it is, right? I don’t care.”
“You do care, though, Susie.”
“It’s fine. Yeah, I thought he could possibly be a nice guy. I thought that there could be something there. Yeah, I liked him. I liked talking to him. I think he was handsome, but obviously it means nothing. He didn’t show up, so whatever. Let’s talk about something else.”
“I don’t suppose you want to go dancing again?” Shantal asked, and I shook my head.
“No, I really don’t think I’d be up for that.”
“Makes sense,” Lilian said. “So guess what I did.” She held up her tote bag.
“I don’t know. What did you do?” I didn’t really care, but I had to pretend.
She pulled out four rectangular envelopes. “We’re going to do face masks.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
“And”—she pulled out a box—“this is a board game.”
“Like, what, Monopoly?”
“No, it’s called Lords of Waterdeep.”
“Lords of who?” I stared at her, confused.
“It’s kind of a riff on Dungeons & Dragons.”
Marcia’s eyes widened. “Say what? We’re not teenage boys, you know.”
“No, trust me. It’s not an actual D&D game. It’s really fun. I think you’ll like it. Plus, it will keep your mind off everything.” She looked at me. “And that’s what we want right now. We don’t want you to have too much time to sit around moping and thinking about you know who.”
“I guess, but I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie on Netflix. Or I know—the new season of Love is Blind is out.”
“The last thing you need to watch is a reality TV show about dating.”
“I’ve actually seen some of the season,” Shantal said, “and the guys are total jerks. So perhaps it will make you feel better.”
“Or worse.” I made a face. “I don’t want to deal with anymore jerks. I just want to meet some guy that makes me believe in true love and that there’s going to be a happily ever after.”
“Well, you’ve met Finn,” Marcia said.
“Yeah, Finn’s great.”
“Why does it sound like you don’t actually believe that?”
“No, I do. He’s great and I’m happy for you, but how realistic is it going to be that I’m going to also meet a handsome billionaire that wants to whisk me away and marry me?”
“I know, right?” Lilian said, shaking her head. “Let’s be real. We’d be lucky to meet guys that can pay their own rent.”
“I know,” I said with a laugh. “But I can’t talk, because I can’t even pay my own rent myself.”
“Oh yeah,” Marcia said. “By the way…”
“What?”
“Finn wants to know if you can start on Monday.”
“Oh, the training position?”
“Yeah. Heads up, though. Gloria is the one that’s going to be doing your documents.”
“Oh no, not the Gloria that was the HR rep you dealt with.”
“Yep. She’s okay, but…”
“No, she’s not.” Shantal said. “I can’t stand her.”
“Me neither,” Lilian said. “But I guess it’s a rite of passage when you work there. You have to deal with Gloria.”
“Oh, yay. Well, I don’t have any other good offers right now, so I guess I’ll take it. I mean I’d rather work for Finn than listen to guys jack off all day.” I sighed. “Okay, shall we go sit at the dining room table and play this board game?”
“Yep,” Lilian said. “And trust me, it’s fun. If you’re not enjoying it after twenty minutes, we’ll watch TV or something.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan.”
“I’m kind of hungry,” Marcia said. “Can we order pizza?”
“Ooh. Yeah, let’s get Italian,” Shantal said. “I really want spaghetti and meatballs.”
“I can just make some spaghetti and meatballs,” I said, shaking my head.
“No, you’re not going to cook for us. We’re playing a game, and you’re getting over your disappointment,” Marcia said. “I should’ve known that Brody was going to be an asshole. I feel so responsible for this bullshit. I’m sorry.”
“Girl, it’s not your fault.”
“It is. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gone. And if it weren’t for me dating Finn, then he wouldn’t have brought Brody. Then he wouldn’t have gotten your hopes up, and you wouldn’t be sad.”
“I’m not sad. I’m okay.”
“Really?” She stared at the half-eaten box of chocolates that was on the table. “You’re really not sad?”
“Just because I’m eating my weight in chocolates doesn’t mean I’m really, really upset. If I had also eaten two gallons of ice cream, then maybe.”
“So if he does call you, will you speak to him?” Lilian asked curiously.
“No, I’m done. I’m not playing these games with him. In the past, I’ve given guys plenty of chances, and there’s not been one guy that’s been worth it.” I paused. “And after saying all that, if he calls again, maybe I will speak to him because I have a big heart and well, you know.”
“Yeah, I feel you.” Lilian sighed. “I just don’t understand why guys play games. All he had to do was text you and let you know that he wasn’t going to make it.”
“Exactly. Just a little courtesy, a little respect. But no, he didn’t respect me at all.”
“I’m sorry,” Shantal said. “I’ve dated baseball players before. Well, one baseball player in high school, who is now a drug addict, but long story short, he was the same way.”
“What?” Lilian said. “You need to tell us that story.”
“He played on the varsity baseball team. He was really, really cute. His name was Cameron. He kind of looked like… Oh my God, what’s the actor’s name?”
Lilian frowned. “Ryan Reynolds?”
“No, not Ryan Reynolds. Does Ryan Reynolds look like a baseball player to you?”
“I don’t know.” Lilian shook her head. “Bradley Cooper.”
“No, not Bradley Cooper. This guy has dark hair.”
“Henry Cavill?”
Shantal laughed. “I wish.”
“Ben Affleck?”
“No, Ben Affleck’s old.”
“Well, you’re not that young yourself.”
“I’m not in my fifties.”
“Neither is Ben Affleck,” Lilian said. Marcia and I just looked at each other and smiled as the two babbled on about different actors.
“You sure you’re okay?” Marcia said softly as we moved the board game to the table.
“Yeah. I’m a little upset and disappointed, and I guess I’m confused, but who understands men, right? Sometimes I really do feel like we’re living on two different planets. And it sucks because I really thought that he and I were finally going to make some headway, you know? I thought that my friendship mattered to him, but obviously it doesn’t. If it did, he would’ve showed up or he would’ve contacted me.”
“I think he has a lot of growing up to do,” Marcia said. “And while that’s generally the case for all men, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be maturing anytime soon. I think you’re smart. Just ignore him if he messages you again. We’ll find you a much better guy.”
“Thanks, Marcia. You’re great.”
“No, girl. You’re great. Now come on, let me beat you at this board game.”