When Camila said Seth was “rich as fuck,” Zach thought she was exaggerating. So he was unprepared for how ridiculous this house was.
“This house is absurd. You really live here by yourself?” Zach asked, peeking his head into the basement movie theater. He returned to the adjacent bar and set his whiskey sour back on the coaster on the granite countertop.
Seth lined up a shot at the pool table. “Just a while longer. Era and I haven’t decided whose house we’re sharing, actually.”
Zach would sell his sister to live here. Aside from the theater and game room, he’d also gotten the tour of the Nancy Meyers-movie kitchen, three guest bedrooms, and a glimpse at Seth’s bedroom. Everything looked like it was straight out of Architectural Digest.
He had texted Seth to let him know he wouldn’t be able to make it to the bachelor(ette) party, but that he’d love to take him out for drinks beforehand. Instead, Seth said Zach could make it up to him by coming over for his pre-wedding, guys-only hangout that was totally not a bachelor party.
Taking a look at the polished wood accents and tasteful leather furniture, a bewildered Zach asked, “I know you run a foundation and everything, but … how?”
Seth shrugged. “Family wealth. When you have money, it’s easy to make money. I was lucky. I made even more money investing. And then I decided to do something not evil with that money. And yeah, running the foundation, I don’t get a huge salary because we’re nonprofit.”
“So, why the foundation?” Zach worried he was being too nosy, but he was fascinated.
“Aside from wanting to use my luck to do something other than buy crypto and party in Dubai, like every other rich guy I know? I’m dyslexic and have ADHD,” Seth said. “School was important to my parents. They weren’t about to let me coast off their money, which is a good thing. I had incredible teachers and tutors, all the support I needed, access to meds without people in my life giving me grief about it. So now, I give other people access to the resources I had, and support people who are doing these really amazing things in education. Like Era.”
“Is that how you met?”
Seth’s smile was broad and unguarded, and Zach felt thrown off by how much naked joy was there.
“We met at a networking event. She thought I was a pompous ass and wouldn’t give me the time of day. She was fully immune to ‘do you know who I am?’” Seth said proudly.
“And now look at them,” Liam said, strolling up to the bar. “And as far as this house goes, you haven’t even seen the gym.” He was adding a cherry to his whiskey cocktail. Liam wasn’t really his type, but he had to acknowledge the dude was damn attractive, and the accent did him all the favors.
“Oh yeah,” Seth said. “I got a new piece of equipment I’m really excited about.”
“Should have kept my mouth shut,” Liam muttered.
Seth led them through a door that had blended in seamlessly to the wall, like a secret passageway. Suddenly Seth’s physique made a lot of sense. Half of one wall was lined with dumbbells in different weights next to a bench, and there was a treadmill, a stationary bike, and a stair climber. Their host stood next to a medieval torture device, gazing at it with the adoring look of a proud father.
“I got a salmon ladder!” Seth said, giddy.
Zach approached the contraption like it might bite him. “How do you use that thing?”
“Haven’t you ever seen American Ninja Warriors?” Seth asked, confused.
Zach dug deep into his memories and could vaguely remember the obstacle courses and excitable hosts.
Liam took a seat on the bench, handsome and bored as a TV villain. “You know you’re going to show us, so just do it already,” he said.
Standing in front of the metal structure, Seth grabbed the horizontal bar like he was going to do a pull-up. Instead, he jumped into the air, lifting the bar out of the notches and landing one notch higher. He continued this movement, jumping up notch by notch and then reversing the movement. His breathing had barely sped up by the time he got down.
Mesmerized, Zach had forgotten Liam was even in the room until he spoke, drawing Zach’s attention to where he was now lying on the bench, scrolling through his phone. “Are you quite done?” he said, not looking at Seth.
“Why are you all so … active?” Zach asked, feeling self-conscious. His idea of strenuous exercise was a long hike or a bike ride, or shopping at Giant Eagle on a Sunday morning.
“I’m not,” Liam offered reassuringly. “It’s just Mila, Ivy, Rahul and this one. Once Seth challenged Ivy to a push-up contest.”
Zach tried not to bristle at Liam’s nickname for Camila, the one he didn’t hear anyone else use. “Who won?” Zach asked.
“Ivy,” Liam and Seth both said.
“That tracks.”
“So,” Seth said. “Do you want to try it?”
“I would sooner die.”
They went back to the game room and picked back up on their game of pool. Rahul arrived a bit later with a stack of pizzas. Seth insisted he try the salmon ladder, and he was even better than Seth.
“We’re going to have to get one of these at the gym,” Rahul said. “Come on, Zach, at least give it a try.”
Zach protested, but Rahul and Seth ganged up on him. “Fine,” he said. “Show me again and tell me what you’re doing.”
Rahul demonstrated the way he combined a pull-up with an upward, swooping movement. Zach managed a pull-up and a swing forward, but didn’t time the swing right and ended up dangling.
“You should come by the gym,” Rahul said. “I’ll train you right up.”
Once they’d downed a couple of boxes of pizza, they took their drinks into the theater for the main event — Seth’s screening of a Star Wars film. He had the titles of every film in the franchise entered in a randomizer app on his phone. Everyone groaned when the spinner landed on The Phantom Menace.
“Come now, must we really endure this?” Liam asked.
“Rules are rules,” Seth said.
“Dude, you made the rules,” Rahul said.
“Just shut up and watch the movie. Don’t forget I’ve seen your ranking. I know exactly where Phantom Menace sits.”
Rahul’s cheeks colored, and judging by how interested he seemed during the run time compared to the rest of them, Seth wasn’t just teasing him.
Whenever Jar Jar Binks came on screen, Zach let his mind wander. He tried to picture himself a year ago, a man who still had two parents, who lived nowhere, who had a few drinks with strangers here and a week-long friendship with a tour group there. He thought once all the travel ended, he’d be back in Philly, back in his old life. Instead he felt like he’d slipped sideways into the life he might have had if he’d never left Pittsburgh. And if he was staying, if Pittsburgh was really happening for him for the foreseeable future, how did he fit into this group? Camila was the life of the party. Seth was the literal cruise director. Ivy was the class clown. Liam had the sarcastic quips. Era was an actual genius in the wardrobe of a Black Stevie Nicks. Rahul, Jason, and all the friends who drifted in and out of the inner circle all seemed to have their roles to play.
But what did Zach bring to the table except for his tragedies and his little snarky jokes? Would these people even want anything to do with him if Camila hadn’t for some reason fixed her attention on him?
By the time the movie was over, he was in a dark mood. He wondered if anyone would think anything of him trying that salmon ladder out again to burn off some rage.
He registered dimly that Seth and Rahul had gone upstairs to bring down mochi for dessert. Liam, who had been sitting at the end of the row of recliners, scooted closer to him, still leaving a chair in between as a buffer.
“You all right there?” he asked.
Zach was about to say something rude, except Liam looked … concerned?
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zach said.
“I know the movie was shit, but it couldn’t have been that bad,” Liam teased.
Zach chuckled. “I’m just really tired,” he said, and he realized he was telling the truth. The past six months had thoroughly drained him, and it was only recently, when he’d started feeling some semblance of joy again, that he’d realized how bad things had been.
“Come on,” Liam said. “Mochi makes everything better.”
* * *
Later that evening, Zach was the last to leave. He’d brought Seth a gift and had gotten so overwhelmed by the social gathering that he’d forgotten to give it to him.
Seth seemed genuinely appreciative as he examined the faceted round bottle of Blanton’s bourbon. “I’ve always wanted to try this one,” Seth said. “Thank you. You should stay and try it with me.”
It had been a few hours since his last drink, so he wasn’t worried about getting home. But he hadn’t shaken off the darkness from earlier. “Oh, thank you, you don’t have to do that.”
Shaking his head, Seth pushed back. “I insist,” he said, already grabbing two fresh glasses and twisting the horse and jockey-topped cork out of the bottle.
“All right, twist my arm,” Zach said. After handing him the glass with the small portion of amber liquid, Seth led Zach out to the patio.
“Cheers,” he said.
“To your upcoming wedding,” Zach agreed.
“You training to catch that garter?”
The idea was a bit ludicrous to Zach. “I think that would scare Jim off,” he said, trying out Seth and Era’s nickname.
Seth sipped his larger drink. “You might be right. Or maybe not. She’s different around you.”
Unable to help himself, Zach asked, “How so?”
“I mean, I’ve known Camila for years now. Before and since the divorce. And I don’t think it’s the kind of thing someone who didn’t know her that well would pick up on, but in the last few years, she’s been … muted. Like she’s always holding herself back. And since she’s been hanging around you, she’s seemed more open again. More like her old self. Which wasn’t all bad.”
Zach nodded as if he knew everything Seth was talking about, hoping he’d elaborate. He didn’t.
“So, you’ll be in L.A. soon?”
“Yeah, for a couple of days. Haven’t seen my dad in a while, so I needed to show my face at some point.”
“How’s the shop doing? I know a lot of businesses in that area have closed or changed ownership recently.”
This was dangerous territory. After telling Camila he’d stay, he’d had a rude awakening of the lack of job prospects for him here. He was worried he’d have to hold onto the store longer than he wanted. “It’s not great. It’s not about to go under or anything, but it’s not worth the work that goes into it.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Seth asked. “I could make some calls, put you in touch with consultants.”
He waved him off. “Thank you. But honestly, what I need is to find something else to do. I’m looking at jobs here. I have feelers out to sell the store. It’s a matter of trying to make a bunch of things I can’t control line up at the right time.”
Seth gave a sad nod. “So what kind of job are you looking for?”
“I don’t know. Originally, I thought I’d go back to Philadelphia and try to get my museum job back.” The arts management jobs he’d found listed so far paid far below what he’d made in Philly. “My backup plan was work for my father’s furniture company. I’m hearing him out when I visit, just to be nice.”
“Furniture? Even I think that sounds boring,” Seth said, and they both laughed. “You’ll figure something out, man. I’m sure Camila will have all the good life advice for you, and if you need a recommendation or introduction or anything, I’ve got your back. Send me your résumé and I’ll keep an eye out.”
Zach felt moved by Seth’s willingness to go out on a professional limb for him. “Thanks, man. And thanks for the bourbon.”
“Hey, you paid for it,” Seth said, tapping his glass before they each downed the rest.