Chapter 3
Saturday came.
Emily and I met at a restaurant in the mall.
She got there before me.
She had taken a table by the window.
There were two glasses of water on the table in front of her.
"Sunny!" she called out.
She stood up and waved me over.
She was smiling from ear to ear.
I walked over and sat down.
"It's been ages. You've lost weight," Emily said.
"Work's been busy," I said.
"Don't run yourself into the ground over a job. Your health comes first," she said.
She poured me a cup of coffee and slid it across the table.
I took the cup from her.
"What about you? How have you been?" I asked.
"Same as always," Emily said with a smile. "Home with a kid."
"Wait, you have a kid?" I said.
She paused for a moment.
Then she smiled, and the smile didn't sit right.
"Yeah, I'm watching a friend's little boy for her. He's just over three," Emily said, and her voice came out a little too smooth.
"He must be cute," I said.
"So cute. And a total handful, never sits still," she said with a laugh.
She picked up her cup and drank.
Her fingers tightened around it.
I didn't press her.
We ordered our food.
As we ate, Emily kept the conversation going.
She talked about work, the weather, and gossip about the friends we had in common.
I listened and answered when I had to.
Her phone rang twice.
The first time, she glanced at it and sent the call to voicemail.
The second time she picked it up, looked at the screen for two seconds, and typed a fast reply.
I couldn't read the screen, but I caught one detail.
The first suggestion above her keyboard was Pete.
Her phone had learned that name from use.
When we finished eating, I offered her a ride home.
She waved it off.
"It's out of your way. Go on home," she said.
"It's no trouble, you're right on my route," I said.
She hesitated for a moment.
"Don't bother. I'll grab an Uber," Emily said.
"I drove today," I said.
Her expression slipped for a second.
Then she pulled it back.
"All right. Just drop me at the subway station," Emily said.
I got behind the wheel and started driving.
At the intersection she told me to turn left.
But Golden Oaks Residences was actually to the right.
"Isn't it the other way?" I said, keeping my voice light.
She turned to look at me.
"What?" Emily said.
"Oh, I thought you lived over there," I replied.
"I moved," she said.
She said it fast, the way people do when they want a subject closed.
I let it go.
I drove her to the subway station.
Before she got out, she glanced at me.
"Sunny, is something going on with you?" she asked.
"No," I replied.
"You're really quiet today," Emily said.
"Just tired," I replied.
She nodded.
"Get some rest when you're home," Emily said.
She closed the car door.
She walked a few steps away.
Her phone rang.
She answered it.
I rolled the window down an inch.
Her voice carried back to me.
It was barely above a whisper.
"Yeah, we're done... She dropped me at the station... No, she doesn't know anything... Relax, Pete," Emily said.
She had called him Pete.
I rolled the window up.
I started the car.
On the drive home, something came back to me.
The date was February 14, 2019.
It had been Valentine's Day.
Peter said he had to work late and told me not to wait up.
The next day he came home with nothing in his hands, no flowers and no gift.
He said, "I'll make it up to you."
But he never did.
That same night Emily posted a photo on Instagram.
It was an enormous bouquet of red roses.
The caption said: [Someone remembered.]
I even liked her post back then.
I commented: [Wow! Who sent those?]
She replied: [That's a secret.]
Then there were Peter's bank records.
One line was dated February 14, 2019.
He had sent seven hundred dollars.
The memo line said: [Flowers.]
I got home.
I parked the car.
I sat in the driver's seat without moving.
I stared at the steering wheel for a while.
Then I pulled out my phone.
I opened my contacts.
I scrolled until I found Julia Carter.
She had been two years ahead of me in college.
She was a divorce attorney.
I sent her a message.
[Hey Julia, do you have a minute? I need to ask you something.]
Three minutes later, she replied.
Julia: [Go ahead.]