you seemed to swoon when talking about Mr. Pearson. But now, I can’t understand the hate I see from you. To me, it’s very sad to see love give way to hate.”
If it was possible, Neville and Victoria felt lower than they ever had before. They wanted to slither off their chair and crawl underneath them to hide from the disappointing stare of Mr. Niroki.
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe that I can entrust my product to two people who fight like children. I’m sorry. You may both leave now.”
The twenty-foot walk to the door seemed to go on for miles. Disbelief sat on each of their faces like a mask, warping their normal features into bleak facades of hopelessness. They knew that there was no one to blame but themselves. They rode the elevator in silence, left the building, and went their separate ways, knowing that they would never see each other again.
23
The next couple of weeks came and went and, as far as Neville was concerned, were such a blur that they may as well have not even happened. Not leaving the apartment was the easy part. Accepting that life as he had once known it was forever changed, now that was more difficult to deal with. But he coped with it the best he could. Not having known such disappointment before, Neville was ill-prepared for the onslaught of disparaging emotions that flooded his mind.
There was nothing that could soothe a troubled soul like endless amounts of Chinese food and binging on ice cream sundaes. Ben and Jerry’s might have gone out of business had it not been for Neville losing his job.
It wasn’t necessarily the embarrassment of Neville getting the ax from his own father that drove him to his current depths of sadness. It wasn’t the fact the Sammy used Neville’s hard work and research to secure the Niroki account for himself that forced his unhealthy consummation of ice cream and wontons. But losing Victoria was a blow that he wasn’t able to recover from.
Without experiencing love from his father, or anyone for that matter, the time that he had had with Victoria filled a hole in him that was now gaping wider than ever before. Her absence was an absence of light, of joy, of truly unbridled happiness. Although life had been empty before Victoria, that chasm of loneliness was now accentuated because he had experienced her love and then lost it.
Even walking out the front door of his house had taken on new meaning in this sullen world that he now lived. Looking back, he couldn’t help but wonder when his stay in that posh sanctuary would come to an end. No job meant no money. No money meant no home.
With a sigh of resignation, he began his trek to the little grocery store down the street. The usually busy New York City streets were bustling at an unusually rapid pace, or so it seemed in his depressed state. Everything seemed to move faster than him these days; faster, yet without passion or flare. The bright lights of the city had lost their luster. Nothing was exciting. Everything was without passion.
St. Vincent’s Episcopal Church was up ahead; its doors flung open, people spilling onto the sidewalk, which probably meant that it was a Sunday. Neville had lost track of time holed up in solitude. He wouldn’t have even been out and about had it not been for his lack of ice cream. It would be impossible for him to continue his strict regimen of binge eating and self-loathing without the proper tools. And ice cream was essential for both.
Weaving through the crowd of parishioners, Neville shrugged off the stares that accompanied his passing. Since his life had been reduced to eating massive quantities of food
If it was possible, Neville and Victoria felt lower than they ever had before. They wanted to slither off their chair and crawl underneath them to hide from the disappointing stare of Mr. Niroki.
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe that I can entrust my product to two people who fight like children. I’m sorry. You may both leave now.”
The twenty-foot walk to the door seemed to go on for miles. Disbelief sat on each of their faces like a mask, warping their normal features into bleak facades of hopelessness. They knew that there was no one to blame but themselves. They rode the elevator in silence, left the building, and went their separate ways, knowing that they would never see each other again.
23
The next couple of weeks came and went and, as far as Neville was concerned, were such a blur that they may as well have not even happened. Not leaving the apartment was the easy part. Accepting that life as he had once known it was forever changed, now that was more difficult to deal with. But he coped with it the best he could. Not having known such disappointment before, Neville was ill-prepared for the onslaught of disparaging emotions that flooded his mind.
There was nothing that could soothe a troubled soul like endless amounts of Chinese food and binging on ice cream sundaes. Ben and Jerry’s might have gone out of business had it not been for Neville losing his job.
It wasn’t necessarily the embarrassment of Neville getting the ax from his own father that drove him to his current depths of sadness. It wasn’t the fact the Sammy used Neville’s hard work and research to secure the Niroki account for himself that forced his unhealthy consummation of ice cream and wontons. But losing Victoria was a blow that he wasn’t able to recover from.
Without experiencing love from his father, or anyone for that matter, the time that he had had with Victoria filled a hole in him that was now gaping wider than ever before. Her absence was an absence of light, of joy, of truly unbridled happiness. Although life had been empty before Victoria, that chasm of loneliness was now accentuated because he had experienced her love and then lost it.
Even walking out the front door of his house had taken on new meaning in this sullen world that he now lived. Looking back, he couldn’t help but wonder when his stay in that posh sanctuary would come to an end. No job meant no money. No money meant no home.
With a sigh of resignation, he began his trek to the little grocery store down the street. The usually busy New York City streets were bustling at an unusually rapid pace, or so it seemed in his depressed state. Everything seemed to move faster than him these days; faster, yet without passion or flare. The bright lights of the city had lost their luster. Nothing was exciting. Everything was without passion.
St. Vincent’s Episcopal Church was up ahead; its doors flung open, people spilling onto the sidewalk, which probably meant that it was a Sunday. Neville had lost track of time holed up in solitude. He wouldn’t have even been out and about had it not been for his lack of ice cream. It would be impossible for him to continue his strict regimen of binge eating and self-loathing without the proper tools. And ice cream was essential for both.
Weaving through the crowd of parishioners, Neville shrugged off the stares that accompanied his passing. Since his life had been reduced to eating massive quantities of food
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