Chapter 5: One Last Drink

Grace had a bounce in her step as she headed toward Gwen’s house. She checked the time on her phone. She was told to come strictly at five. She increased the volume on her headphones as she dodged the pole in the middle of the sidewalk. She came to stop as she spotted an apartment that had its door wide open. It was a very unusual sight in the middle of a busy city/suburb. The entryway was pitch-black. To her own surprise, she took a step forward instinctively, but thought better of it and kept walking. Another trick of the light.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked for a few five minutes before she reached Gwen’s place. It was quaint, with a master bedroom on the second floor, a spacious living room, and a tiny kitchen. There was also a picturesque garden outside, with a pool and red rose bushes lining the walls.

Grace took off her headphones and knocked on Gwen’s door. She stuffed her phone back into her bag when she heard Gwen’s footsteps.                                                                                           

  “Coming!” Gwen opened the door and almost tripped over her own door stop.                                                                                                                                                                       

  “You okay, over there?” Grace asked as she took a step back.                                                               

“Yes, fine, perfectly peachy.”                                                                                                                                

 “I can see that, but I am curious as to why?”                                                                                          

  “Ouch, am I not allowed to be happy?”                                                                                                   

 “Not unless I am around,” Grace walked into her house.

“Surprise!” People popped up from behind the couches and tumbled out of the kitchen.  Grace screamed, as she threw up her hands defensively and Gwen closed the door while everyone laughed at her reaction. “It’s a celebration party,” Gwen said. “Created by yours truly, to celebrate your promotion!”                                                                                                                                                              

 “You set all of this up in one day?” Grace tapped a shiny red balloon that was floating toward her.

“Yep. I wanted to ask Tim, but… He said he was busy. He’s upstairs right now.” 

 Grace’s heart sank a little. She knew he didn’t like it whenever she made a big deal of her success. He would normally just give a half-hearted ‘great job’ and continue with whatever he was doing. She let his behavior slide because he had been feeling down about being stuck in a rut. She tried to be understanding of his frustration, but that didn’t mean that she was going to let his disappointing response get her down. While they were on the topic, Grace saw Tim walking down the stairs. He looked half asleep and somewhat hungover. “Hey,” he gave her a quick wave. “Congrats.”          

“Thanks,” Grace smiled at him.                                                                                                                      

“I’m a really tired babe, we can talk later, okay?” he grabbed some snacks from the counter and quickly walked back upstairs. Grace wasn’t expecting much enthusiasm, but that was a sucky reaction.

Whatever. She was going to enjoy her night with the rest of her friends and family. She turned to address the room.

“Thank you, guys! This is so great! Gwen, you really didn’t have to do this.   

“Come on, you know I will find any excuse to throw a party.”                                                                

Grace smiled and her favorite type of music started playing. She squeezed Gwen’s arm in appreciation and made her way to the punch table. 

“Congratulations on your promotion, sis,” Corne said from the corner of the room.                         

“You almost made me proud.”                                                                                                                         

“And you almost made me happy,” Grace laughed. “How’s business going?”                                       

“It’s running, like a tortoise, but hopefully it will beat the hare one day,” Corne shrugged.

“What can you do? Some you win, some you lose.”

Grace remembered Gwen’s request and turned to see her chatting away with one of the other girls. “By the way, Gwen told me to ask you-”                                                                                                     

 “Let me guess? That denim jacket?”                                                                                                               

“Yeah…”                                                                                                                                                                  

 “I did it to freak her out. Do you really think I would lend her, of all people, my favorite jacket?”

“You are a horrible human being,” Grace poured the two glasses full of juice.                                                                                                                                                                        

“What can I say? I like to watch people suffer. You can tell her I am very distressed about the loss, and if she wants to make amends…” Corne sat and thought for a good long while. “She can make those thick and creamy cappuccino muffins that she always makes for you.”                                      

“So, bribery?”                                                                                                                                                       

“Yep,” he said.                                                                                                                                 

 “I’ll relay the message,” Grace said with a smirk. 

 When the guests finally left, it had already become late. Grace started removing the decorations after the last guest left when she heard the stairs creaking. “Hi,” Tim took a couple of steps forward before he fell back on the couch, clasping his phone in his hands.

Gwen took one look at him, then at Grace. “I’m gonna go get my bag… maybe buy some ice cream. Later guys.” Gwen signaled that she would be waiting outside and closed the door to give them some space.

“Is everything okay?” Grace asked.                                                                                                                    

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Tim muttered. “Things are just rough, as always.”                                     

“Your interviews?”                                                                                                                                                 

“Nada, nothing,” Tim shrugged.                                                                                                                         

“Why?”                                                                                                                                                                   

“Cause I didn’t go,” he responded.                                                                                                             

Grace gave a frustrated sigh. “You know that you won’t be able to get out of your current job without going to interviews for new ones, right?”                                                                                           

 “Like you would understand,” he remarked sarcastically.                                                                               

“Excuse me?” Grace walked towards him.

“You got your job handed to you on a silver platter. Wasn’t your dad a friend of the director or something?”

“No,” Grace said. “I earned my job through a competition that I won back in college, where I proved myself. Guess why? I actually showed up!” Grace slammed the basket down on the table.                                                                                                                                                           

“Chill, there’s no need to get so emotional. You must be so happy right now.”                                                                                                                                                                       

  “I would be happier if my boyfriend supported me.”                                                                             

“Yeah, well. Sorry that I’m going through something and that you still expect me to be perfect. You don’t even know how easy you have it.”                                                                                                         

“How do I have it easy?” Grace asked. “I work so hard -but then I come home to a mess, and when I want to talk to you, all I hear is the same soppy story about all your problems!”                                                                                                                                                              

  “Sorry I am such a burden to you.”                                                                                                                           

   “You are not a burden, Tim. I said I would support you through the ups and downs, and I meant it.”

“You did, but how come only you have the ups, and I only have the downs? It’s so unfair,” he bit out

. “You don’t seriously expect me to have less success in my career than you, just to satisfy your ego? What if I turned down my promotion, would that make you happy?”                                            

“Well…” Tim thought. “No,” he stood up. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe, this is a sign that we need a break. I need time to I focus on my own things without getting distracted by you, and then we can see how things go from there.”                                                                                                                           

“A break?” Grace laughed at his audacity. “No, this is it for us. I've had enough."

Grace grabbed her bag. “I want you gone by the time we get back.”                                         

“Fine, good riddance,” Tim muttered, still playing his game.                                   

She gritted her teeth, he didn’t even have the decency to look up from his phone. She walked out of the door. Gwen was sitting on the porch steps, waiting patiently.                                                                 

“Ice cream?                 

Grace gave a solid nod. “Ice cream.”