The rest of dinner passed in silence, which I was grateful for. I hated this place. The house felt big and cold when I was growing up here, and it had only grown colder now that I was an adult. Sometimes I wondered why I hadn’t moved someplace far away.
I collected the dishes and carried them into the kitchen, where Monica was pouring after-dinner coffee for my parents. “Your father has been difficult lately,” she said.
I kissed her on the cheek. “Lately? Try the last twenty-nine years.”
She laughed, and for a few seconds the house felt warm and full of love. Monica had been working for my parents since I was in diapers, and she was like an aunt to me. Or a much older sister. If not for her, I probably wouldn’t come home for Friday night dinners at all.
Then she carried the coffees out of the kitchen, and the coldness returned.
I said my goodbyes and drove home to my apartment downtown. These days, it felt just as cold as my parents’ house. With one big, fluffy exception: the Bernese Mountain Dog that came running up as soon as I walked inside.
“Who’s my good girl?” I laid on my back on the ground and let Bernie wiggle all over me excitedly. I didn’t even care that she was getting slobber on my suit and vest. I could always buy another. “Did you miss me? I bet you missed me. I know, it sucks Mom won’t let you come over for Friday dinners. She doesn’t like all the dog hair. As if she doesn’t have a dedicated maid clean the house for her.”
Bernie responded by rolling onto her back and sticking her legs in the air, demanding that I rub her belly.
Not bothering to change clothes, I grabbed the leash and took Bernie down to the little fenced in dog park on the first floor of the apartment, next to the lap pool. Bernie was five years old, so she only needed about ten minutes of ball time before she was good and tired. I took Bernie back upstairs, fed her, and then settled into my gaming chair. Michael was already online, so I put on my headset and logged in.
“You’re at home playing videogames on a Friday night?” I said on the voice chat. “What a fucking loser.”
He laughed. “I’m past the age where I want to go out on the weekend. I like coming home and relaxing.”
I snorted. “Jesus Christ, Mikey. You’re not even thirty. You’re too young to act like an old man. You should be hooking up.”
“Like you? Where’s Adriana?”
“Eh. Adriana’s on the way out. I’ve been ghosting her.”
“That’s too bad. I liked her.”
“You like how she looks, you mean. You should try talking to her for more than five minutes. She’s like a golden retriever: she’sverypretty, but there’s absolutely nothing going on upstairs. But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking aboutyou. Have you installed Tinder yet?”
“Tinder? I thought you hated technology.”
“I hate it for me. But it’s valuable for you.”
“No, I haven’t installed Tinder yet,” he admitted. “I’d rather meet a girl the good old fashioned way.”
“An excellent idea,” I said. “Which is why you should ask that girl out. Ginny. The one who made you bleed all over the conference room.”
Michael laughed. “I don’t even know her.”
“Thengetto know her, dummy.”
“We’re going to be colleagues. It’s messy.”
“If you don’t ask her out,” I teased, “then I might.”
There was a long pause on the voice chat. “You’re an extra layer removed from her, so it’s less problematic.”
“Ah hah!” I said. “You hesitated before answering! You don’t like the idea of me asking her out either!”
“In both cases, it’s a bad idea. It’s a conflict of interest.”
“That’s what makes it so hot!” I argued. “Forbidden fruit! Besides, it’s not as bad at an NFP. There’s not a big corporate ladder for her to climb. She can’t sleep her way to the top.”
“Ginny hasn’t even started yet,” Michael replied. “We don’t even know if she accepted the offer letter. How about we give her a chance to do her actual job before you start thinking about other stuff?”
“YAWN,” I said. “You’re boring.”