Back at the apartment Ally paced the floor, her mind feverishly trying to make sense of the incredible events that had taken place earlier in the day. It was too unbelievable to be true, and yet it had happened. Next Monday she would be starting a whole new life. Gladys had given her all the instructions. Ally was provided with a storage address that would keep her belongings while she was in training. Afterwards her possessions would be relocated to her new apartment that would be procured by her new employer, provided, of course, that Ally successfully completed the training. Of the latter Ally had no doubts: she had graduated from Duke with a double major in engineering and physics. How hard could on-the-job training be? She was going to ace it. She had no choice but to ace it.
She was not to tell anyone about her new job or where she would be going for training; the latter part wouldn’t be hard since she had no idea where this training facility was. She was given a name of a cover entity she was to list as her employer instead. All she knew was that on Monday morning she had to report to the same building where she’d met with Marion earlier today. Ally had less than a week to prepare for the training and her new life.
Ally was thinking about how she was going to break the news to Maddie. Maddie had been Ally’s rock during this extremely difficult time, and Ally felt like a traitor, bailing out on her friend on such short notice. But at the same time Ally knew that she couldn’t depend on Maddie forever. At least now she’d have a job, and Maddie would no longer have to foot the rent and the food bills.
Ally was surprised by the sound of the front door lock being opened. It was only three p.m., way too early for Maddie to be back from work.
“Hi, there! I didn’t think you’d be home,” Maddie said, kicking off her shoes.
“You’re home early,” Ally remarked, thinking of how best to break the news to her friend.
“I’ve got some news,” Maddie said.
“Me too.”
“You go first,” Maddie said.
“No, you go,” Ally stalled. The problem with her news was that she couldn’t exactly reveal it to Maddie.
“Skip proposed,” said Maddie, looking away.
“Did you say yes?”
“Yes.” Maddie held up her left hand, which was adorned by an enormous diamond.
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you, Maddie!” Ally hugged her friend with relief. This was going to make telling her news so much easier.
“Really? Because you know that this means that I’m moving to Boston,” Maddie said guiltily.
“I know, and I couldn’t be happier for you if you’re sure that Skip is the one.” Skip Prendergast had been Maddie’s high school sweetheart. They had dated on and off during the first and second year of college, after which Maddie had broken it off, claiming that a long distance relationship wasn’t for her (Skip had gone to Princeton), and that she was ready to see other people. Just like the Graystones, Skip’s family was based in Boston. His father owned an investment advisory firm. Mr. Prendergast had gone to college with Mr. Graystone and they played golf together almost every weekend. It was Mr. and Mrs. Graystone’s dream to see Skip and Maddie married, which Maddie spurned with vehement determination. Yet somehow despite the numerous exotic boyfriends that Maddie had had since, which included a guitar player of some obscure punk band, a starving artist, and a poet, Maddie would mention Skip occasionally. The two of them continued to run into each other at family functions, and even after Maddie had insisted that it was over between them, Skip asked that they remain friends and would meet her for lunch occasionally. Despite the fact that Maddie’s mentions of Skip were filled with ridicule of her mother’s marriage plans for her, Ally often wondered if Maddie was really as indifferent about Skip as she claimed to be. Ally had only met Skip a few times, but she had liked him right away. He had light brown hair, intelligent gray eyes, and was well-built, but most of all Ally liked the way Skip’s eyes lit up every time he looked at Maddie. Personally, Ally thought that they looked great as a couple.
“You know, I think he is.” Maddie smiled. “But please don’t think that I’m saying it because I failed in New York.”
“Who says you failed? Just because you finally admitted your feelings for the guy you loved since high school doesn’t mean you failed—”
“I got fired today. That’s why I’m home early,” Maddie groaned. “I’m a total and complete failure!”
“That’s a load of crap,” Ally snapped. From what Maddie had told her about her job, it was a complete nightmare. The hours were long and the assignments tedious, most of which included running errands for more senior staff. Maddie had dreamed of working with creative free spirits, but instead she was faced with the reality of a highly political office atmosphere filled with huge egos, cutthroat competition, and veiled insecurities. And then there were the financial hardships. As someone who had always led a sheltered life, Maddie found the reality of living on a fixed income trying to say the least. While planning her life in New York, Maddie had assumed that her trust income would continue to supplement her starting graphic designer salary, but Mr. and Mrs. Graystone clearly had other plans, cutting Maddie’s allowance.
“I finally got an account, and after I was finished with the first round of design, they gave it to another designer. She just finished her graphic, which was a complete rip-off of my idea. When I went to see my boss—excuse me, my ex-boss—about it, she told me that if I wasn’t going to collaborate, I was welcome to look for a job elsewhere. So I told her that she could take her collaboration and shove it.”
“So you see, you didn’t get fired!” Ally cheered her friend. “You quit.”
“No, I got fired. My boss—excuse me, my ex-boss—told me so, the witch. After all the crap I took from her. I have one little blow-up and she just fires me! Serves me right for being such a pushover. The only reason I had the guts to stand up to her in the first place was because I’d met Skip for lunch. He’d come down to New York and he asked me to meet him. I didn’t want to tell you about it. Anyway, we meet at this French café in SoHo, nothing fancy or anything, and he tells me over the onion soup that it’s time we stopped playing games. I asked him what he meant by that, and he said that cutting off one’s nose to spite somebody didn’t make sense. I said ‘Huh?’ So he just smiled and pushed this small velvet box across the table and told me to open it. I tell you, Ally, my heart just started fluttering because deep down I knew what was going to be inside that box. So I opened it and took the ring out. ‘Will you be my wife, Maddie?’ he asked me, and I said yes.”
“Oh, Maddie! That’s so romantic!”
Maddie shook her head. “No, it isn’t. It’s not romantic at all. It’s practical and sensible, just the way Skip is. I used to think it was boring, but now I’ve finally realized that that’s exactly what I need. I guess I had to date all those creeps to find that out. I was an idiot, Ally. I used to be ashamed of the fact that I came from a family with money. I thought that in order to prove myself I had to make it on my own. That poet guy I dated, he claimed to only care about art, but he dumped me the minute he learned that I was on the outs with my parents.” Maddie sighed. “The point that I’m trying to make is that I’ve always liked Skip, but I didn’t want to be with him to please my parents. It took me all this time to realize that it doesn’t matter. I’m going to be with him because I want it, not because of what my parents think. Of course they’ll probably think that I said yes to Skip because they’d cut off my trust fund, but I really don’t give a hoot. They can think whatever they want. They may control Ron, but they’ll never control me. Oh, I’m so sorry, Ally! I didn’t mean to bring him up. I’m such a blabbermouth.”
“It’s okay, Maddie. Don’t worry about it,” Ally said. Hearing Ron’s name still hurt, but she wasn’t going to admit it. It was unbelievable how quickly Ron had disappeared from her life. After she had given him back the engagement ring, he had been intent on winning her back, assuring her that nothing would change between them. They had spent an awkward week at Duke leading up to graduation. Mr. and Mrs. Graystone had been there too, and the four of them had several more awkward dinners. Viola had even gone so far as to apologize to Ally. After graduation Ally and Maddie left for New York, and Ron went to Boston to intern at his father’s law firm; he was supposed to start law school in the fall. He had promised to visit often, but every weekend he had tried to come up had ended in a cancellation, as he’d been too busy at work. Slowly, Ron’s phone calls began to grow further and further apart, until they stopped completely. Of course she could’ve called him herself, could have pleaded with him to take her back, apologized to Viola, and eaten humble pie. But Ally wasn’t going to do that. Not because of her pride, but because it hurt too much to know that Ron didn’t love her, not enough to fight for her. Maddie had been furious with her brother, and despite Ally’s attempts to stop her, insisted on yelling at him over the phone and telling him that he was an idiot. Ally was mortified, but she needn’t have worried: Viola Graystone’s grip on her son was too firm for anyone to loosen it. Later on Ally learned from Maddie that Ron had reunited with Annette Beale, the very same girlfriend who had cheated on him while she was away at college, but now that she was back in Boston past transgressions were forgotten.
“Can you believe that I’m going to change my last name to Prendergast? Madeline Prendergast sounds so high and mighty, like some uptight matron from a PBS channel drama.”
“No more so than Madeline Graystone,” Ally teased her. “You don’t have to change your name if you don’t want to, you know. It’s the twenty-first century. I’m sure Skip would be okay with it.”
Maddie grinned. “I’m pretty sure he would be, and I bet it’d tick off my mother. I think I might just do that. Oh, I’m so excited, Ally. I didn’t think I would be, but I am. Skip wants a quick wedding—we’re thinking about eloping. Mother is going to have a fit! You’re going to help me pick out the dress, aren’t you? It’ll have to be something stylish and practical, so that I could pack it with me on the plane. Oh, and I almost forgot—and I won’t take no for an answer—the apartment is paid off until the end of the year, and I’m going to reassign the lease to you. It’s the least I could do. I feel so guilty dumping my friend at a moment’s notice.”
Ally gulped. Of all the people in her life—and there had been many prior to her misfortune—Maddie was the only one who had stuck by her side. And now she couldn’t even tell her the truth about her life-changing news. She didn’t deserve to be Maddie’s friend.
“Oh, Ally, please don’t cry! Things will work out! You’ll get a job soon, and you’ll meet a great guy—someone who will love you and fight for you, not like my bum of a brother.”
Ally shook her head, smiling. Maddie was so sweet. “It’s not that. I’m so grateful to you Maddie, for everything, and I’m so happy for you. I’m afraid I won’t be able to accept your gift though—”
“Ally! I told you I won’t hear of it!”
“It’s just that I’ve got a job and I’ll be moving too,” Ally blurted out before thinking it through.
“You did? What job? When? Where?”
“This morning. It’s for a small consulting firm out in California.” Ally gave the company name that the agency instructed her to use for cover. “They also have a small office in New York,” Ally lied, surprised by how effortlessly the words were rolling off her tongue. “I’m supposed to start training on Monday.”
“That’s great news! I’m so happy for you! We’d better start packing then. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” Maddie drew Ally into a long hug. “California is so far away. Promise that we’ll keep in touch!” She hugged Ally again.
“I’ll try, Maddie,” Ally whispered. After all, this wasn’t a complete lie. She meant every word, but whether she’d be able to keep it wasn’t entirely up to her. “What are you going to do about the apartment?” Ally asked, feeling guilty.
“One of the girls at the office was looking for an apartment after breaking up with her boyfriend, so I’ll sublet it to her. And if she doesn’t want it, I’ll find someone else. This is New York City. People are always looking for apartments in New York. But right now I don’t want to talk about that. I want to celebrate the beginning of our new lives!” Maddie rushed into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “I snuck this into the fridge last night.” She grinned. “I had a feeling that Skip might pop the question, but I had no idea that we’d be celebrating your good news too!” Maddie popped the cork and poured the champagne. “Here’s to the rest of our lives!”
“To the rest of our lives,” Ally repeated, raising the glass to her lips. She didn’t stop drinking until the glass was empty. To her this toast had a different meaning. She was saying goodbye to everything she knew, everything except for one thing: the memory of her father’s name. The beginning of her new life would have to wait until his name was cleared.