Up & Out by Ariella Papa Page A

thinks Beth is Italian, but she is first-generation Portuguese. In Beth’s family, her brother Tommy is the star. Their parents are straight off the boat from the Azores, and the only reason Beth was able to move to New York City was because Tommy was going to be here. Her parents assumed he would keep her out of trouble. They never had a problem with my relationship with Tommy, but Beth could never admit to having a boyfriend. She is expected to date the man she is going to marry. It sucks, but luckily she has a good relationship with Tommy and he helps her out all the time.
    “What did Beth have to say about Tommy’s offer?” Lauryn shakes her head and rolls her eyes, so I know that Beth believes I was wrong for even entertaining it. Things were cool between us when Tommy and I dated, but as soon as we broke up, Beth took his side. Even though he isn’t angry at me, it seems like she is sometimes.
    “You know Beth,” Lauryn says again. “What are you going to do about it?”
    “I don’t know. Economically it’s a good choice, but emotionally…”
    “I’ll say. Although Kathy is worried that they are going to do layoffs.”
    “Who?” I ask as I pour some more vodka in my glass. I was far gone now.
    “Indiana Mutual.”
    “I’m sorry, but aren’t you the girl who expressed dissatisfaction with people talking about you behind your back?”
    “Rebecca, don’t worry about it. I realized today as Kathy was telling me how pissed off she is at Beth for not going to the fitting that we just like to talk about one another. It’s part of our friendship. So go ahead, talk about me if you want. My life is an open book.”
    “How generous,” I say. She nods and pours more vodka into her glass. I was never going to get up tomorrow at this rate. “So have you slept with anyone since Jordan?”
    “Well, other than the night that I went out and got completely shitfaced and fucked the bartender at Roxy’s—Rest in Peace?” We give Roxy’s its appropriate moment of silence. Wehad to ban Roxy’s after that. It was a forgivable sacrifice because Lauryn discovered the extent to which Jordan was cheating on her. “This box is locked. I’m done with men until they start acting like the rest of the human race.”
    “Maybe one of those plover lovers in the Vineyard will open it up for you.”
    “Birders are old.”
    “You are a divorcée.”
    “I know.”
    “I don’t get it. Aren’t things supposed to get easier when you’re older? You know, like aren’t I supposed to be nearing my sexual peak?”
    “In like another twelve years. You faked, didn’t you?” She is not exactly accusing.
    “I kept trying to clear my head and get into it, but it was so weird to be with someone new. I didn’t purposely do anything. I just let him believe he was on the right track.”
    “Well, make sure he finds the right track.”
    “I will, when I feel more comfortable.”
    “You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?” She smiles and exhales a smoke ring and I see a flash of one of her old school funny faces. I am going to miss her. She holds up her glass. I clink it.
    “Of course I am. Without you New York’s just a cold, friendless city.”
     
    I regret only getting three hours of sleep after I have to sit through a two-hour meeting with Licensing and Delores Wagner. Why can’t people just do things and make everyone else deal instead of meeting and pretending to care what everyone else said and then just doing what they want, anyway? And because Delores was name-dropping about various executives, all the licensing people felt they had to name-drop, too.
    I hate the outfit that Esme was wearing on the sample plush toy. There is a part of me that is excited that Esme even has a plush toy, but at the same time she looks hokey. And I was expected to be happy that the Esme sample was created by someone who one time cleaned the bathroom for someone who worked on a sample of Snoopy or something.
    The Stoli Vanilla hangover