Elisa by E. L. Todd Page B

theatre. We could take the children then go to ice cream afterwards.
    When I reached for my phone, it rang. It was Ethan.
    “What’s up?” I said.
    “Are we meeting at the apartment or the restaurant?”
    “What?”
    “I called Elisa but she isn’t answering. Sadie and I have been out all day looking at reasonably priced venues to get married. I’m assuming you’re with her?”
    “Uh—no.”
    “Oh, we’ll just meet you there, then.”
    “And where are we going?”
    “Stella’s.”
    “ For what?”
    “Elisa’s birthday part y,” he said hesitantly. “You have a bad memory. My family is going to be there. Well, my brothers at least.”
    “Oh.” I still had no idea what he was talking about. Elisa hadn’t mentioned anything to me about a birthday party. I don’ t know how she forgot about it. “Okay, cool.”
    “See you then.”
    “Bye.”
    As soon as I hung up , I called Elisa. She didn’t answer so I returned the phone to my pocket. It rang a moment later.
    “Hello?” I said.
    “Hey,” she said happily. “How are you?”
    “Good. And you?”
    “Good.”
    “So, do you have plans today?” I waited to hear her response.
    “Uh, I have plans with my brother. We’re going to dinner.”
    She was a horrible liar. I could hear it in her voice. “Just you and him?” I asked casually.
    “Yeah.”
    “Oh.” I couldn’t believe she lied to me.
    “You can come over afterwards though.”
    “Uh, yeah. Hey, I gotta go.”
    “Oh , okay. I’ll see you later.”
    I hung up. I didn’t say bye. I tossed the phone on the table and didn’t look at it. She was having a birthday party with her family and she didn’t want me there—her boyfriend. Why not? Why didn’t she want me to meet her brothers? Ethan obviously approved of me. I slept with her every night. The knowledge broke my heart. And to top it off, she lied to me. It would have broken my heart if she told me the truth but this made it a million times worse. I wasn’t just hurt—I was pissed. I felt like she stabbed me through the heart. I thought I actually meant something to her. I thought I was the real deal. Obviously I wasn’t. Our relationship was over. I loved her and I didn’t want anyone else, but I didn’t deserve to be treated like that. She lied to me. I was done.
    When evening arrived, I walked down to Stella ’s and looked through the window. I searched for a while until I saw them sitting at a table in the center of the room. Becky and Tommy were sitting next to Elisa and they wore party hats. A stack of presents was at the edge of the table. She wasn’t wearing the necklace I got her. The snow fell down around me and landed on the sidewalk. My breath escaped as a heavy fog. I never felt more alone in my life. I couldn’t even talk to my sister because she was sitting at that very table. After I couldn’t stand to watch a moment longer, I turned and walked back to my apartment. Before I walked into the building, I stopped. Instead, I pulled out my phone and pressed the send button.
    “Hey, what are you’re doing tonight?” I asked.
    “John and I are at McGrath’s,” Alex said.
    “I’ll be there in a second.”
    “What? You’re coming?”
    “Yeah.” I hung up and headed toward the bar a few blocks away. When I arrived, I grabbed a beer from the bar then joined them at the table. “What’s going on?”
    Alex clapped me on the shoulder. “Wow. I’m surprised to see you.”
    “Yeah.” I took a drink of my beer.
    John stared at me. He and I went to college together. “You okay?”
    “I’m fine,” I said.
    Alex wasn’t buying it. “Something happened with Elisa?”
    “No. We just broke up.”
    “What? You did?” he asked incredulously.
    “Well, not yet. I’ll dump her later.”
    Alex’s mouth dropped. “I thought this chick was the love of your life? You were going to marry her?”
    “I thought the same thing but shit happens.”
    “What did she do?”
    “I just don’t want to be with her