She appeared in the office a few seconds later.
She looked at the mess on the floor, then at me.
“Rough morning,” I said. “I need this cleaned up and shredded.”
“Can I get you something to drink or eat?” Betty asked. “You look stressed.”
“I am stressed,” I snapped. I put my fists to my desk. “Sorry about that.”
“I understand,” she said. “There’s got to be something I can do.”
“Answer a question.”
“Sure.”
“How long were you engaged for?” I asked.
“What?” Betty asked.
“You and Tom have been married, what, thirty years?” I asked.
“Thirty next year,” she said.
“How long were you two engaged for?”
“A year,” Betty said. “He proposed to me on Christmas Day. We were married in October. So less than a year.”
I nodded.
“Why do you ask…?”
“Just curious,” I said.
I walked around the desk and helped Betty clean up the papers.
“Shred them all?” she asked.
“All of it,” I said. “Make it go away.”
I stood up and leaned against my desk.
“Make it go away,” I whispered after Betty left the office.
Oh, I wish I had the ability to make some things go away…
I was taking notes with earbuds in my ears when I caught sight of something moving from the corner of my eye.
When I saw it was Miranda, I took my earbuds out and stood up.
She ran into my office and threw her bag to an empty chair and slammed the door.
She opened her arms and started to dance.
The smile on her face was contagious.
I started smiling, eyes wide, wondering what the hell was going on.
Secretly, there was a part of me that wished she was going to tell me she quit her job. That she told that old bastard Harry to go fuck himself and that she was done. Now that would have been worth celebrating for sure.
“What’s happening right now?” I asked.
“I got the call,” she said. “We’re going…”
“Going?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. She made a fist with her fight hand and waved it. “We’re going.”
“Where are we going?”
Miranda stopped dancing around. “Are you kidding me?”
“No. What’s going on?”
I kept smiling.
“You know what, Liam? Screw you.”
Miranda moved for the door.
I ran as fast as I could and shut the door as she opened it.
“Hey,” I said. “Wait a second. I’m lost here. Sorry.”
“Lost?” she asked. “I talked to you about this. Boston?”
“Boston,” I said.
“The conference, Liam.”
I shut my eyes for a second. “Shit. That’s right.”
Miranda sighed. “I can’t believe this.”
“Give me a break,” I said. “You mentioned it two months ago.”
“Yeah. And it’s important to me. It was a long shot they’d send me. But they are. We talked about this. You said you were going to go with me. We were going to make a trip out of it.”
“To Boston,” I said.
“You’re an asshole.”
Miranda pulled at the door.
“I’m swamped right now,” I said. “Okay? And I’ve been staying focused on our wedding. I’m not sure if you remember that or not?”
“Don’t you dare try to blame me for you forgetting something important to me,” she said. “I thought I was coming here to celebrate. I guess not. This means something to me.”
“Does it advance you?” I asked.
“Screw off,” she said. “Move your hand. I’ll see you later at home.”
I moved my hand and Miranda hurried out of the office.
I shut the door and put my head against it.
I certainly was an asshole for what just happened.
But I also wasn’t wrong.
I hadn’t seen Miranda lift a finger for our wedding in months. All she wanted to do was work. That I could go along with. And now she wanted to go to Boston for a conference. A conference that was going to do nothing for her career.
I punched the door and turned toward my desk.
There was nothing quite like the feeling that when you left work and went home, you’d be walking right in on the middle of an argument.
Then again, that’s what the entire engagement had been for us.
I walked to the bedroom and got changed without saying a word.
Miranda was in the kitchen with a drink and her laptop.
When I exited the bedroom and walked toward the kitchen, I saw the glow of the screen on her face.
We’ve changed. We’re different. You’re going one way. I’m going another. Is this going to work?
“I just want to know one thing,” she said.
“What?”
She looked at me. “Are you going with me or not?”
“To Boston?”
“No. To fucking Jupiter.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Miranda. I can’t go to Boston right now. I’d probably lose my job if I tried. We’re in the middle of this patent lawsuit and-”
“That’s fine,” she said. She slammed her laptop shut. “I’m leaving. The day after tomorrow morning.”
“Two days away?” I asked.
“Day and a half. I have to fly out at eight.”
“If that’s what you need to do…”
“It is,” she said. “It’s important to me. And, no, it doesn’t advance me. At least not right away. But you know what? My boss decided to send me. That means something to me. And him. I’m sorry that doesn’t fit in with your narrative.”
“I don’t have a narrative, Miranda. I’m sorry I forgot about it. You brought it up a while ago. And I know you didn’t want to talk about it because you didn’t want to jinx yourself. I shouldn’t have forgotten.”
“That’s it?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“You sure? You look like you have something else you want to say.”
“Miranda…”
“Just say it, Liam,” she said.
“We’re both busy. That’s all.”
“Here I thought everything was in the open with us. What I was trying to do. And you’re just always against it.”
“I’m not against anything.”
“Yes, you are. You’re filling out quizzes… lost in the past…”
“It’s called being a part of our wedding,” I said. “You should try it.”
I put my head back after the words spilled out.
Miranda let out a ha sound and walked by me.
“Nice thing to say,” she said.
“What else am I supposed to say?” I asked.
“You know what, Liam? Nothing. It’s all taken care of.”
“What is?” I asked.
I turned my head and watched as
