It was also about this time I was graduating high school and got accepted into the computer science program at college, so it worked out.
As I worked I couldn’t help but think about Sally and all that happened. Despite my guard being up I really did like her and even missed her if I thought about, though I tried not to too much. I also thought about Jessa, at least as far as what she said about how if she couldn’t have me she felt good that no one did. Not only did it show her up to be the borderline psychopath I had been suspecting that she was at least since our disaster of a break up. In retrospect it seemed unlikely that the video was what it looked like. I had a vague memory, somewhere in the back of my mind, of having seen Sally before when Jessa was ordering cakes for her numerous parties. Seemed a bit of a stretch that this would lead to a hug in greeting but as far as I had seen Sally was really sweet and a hug might have been her instinct. I started wondering if I might have been wrong about the whole situation but told myself not to be stupid. I had already been duped by Jessa and videos didn’t lie.
I looked at my watch and decided to quite for the day. I couldn’t really focus and it was nearly quitting time anyway. Taking the silent elevator down to the lobby I thought about what to make for dinner. I didn’t have much back at my condo and would probably need to stop at the grocery store on the way home.
To say that I was surprised to find Reece in the lobby of the office building when I stepped off the elevator wouldn’t be quite accurate. We had no plans to meet and he certainly didn’t have an appointment, I didn’t even have to check to know this, popping up where he was needed, was just something that he did. Like a fashionable guardian angel.
“Hey,” he said.
“What’s up,” I asked, already able to tell that he was there for a reason.
“How are you doing?” Reece asked.
“Fine,” I said.
“There’s no need to like. I really want to know,” Reece said.
“Really?”
“How long have we known each other?” Reece asked.
“Okay, fair point. I guess I’m okay. I’m not about to do something stupid like relapse.”
“That’s good to hear,” Reece said, not making it clear if he was joking or not, “how are you feeling about Sally?”
“What about her?” I asked, deflecting.
“Come on man, I know you two broke up, after a manner,” Reece said.
“How – wait, don’t tell me, Gia.”
“Good guess,” Reece said.
“What did Sally say?”
“I don’t know her exact words. I wasn’t actually there. I only know what Gia told me after the fact. The upshot of which was there is some pretty nefarious shit going on.”
“What kind of nefarious shit?” I asked.
“Again, not a lot of specifics but I know it has something to do with the On the Go app and would wager that you do too with that brain of yours. You were always the smart one. When you were sober anyway.”
“I don’t -”
“I know you have to talk to Sally, now, before you lose her. Jessa is messing with you. Both of you and you are about to make a bit mistake.”
“You don’t know that,” I protested.
“I know you, Gia knows Sally and you know Jessa. Think about it man. You always go on about logic and how to find solutions. What was it Sherlock Holmes used to say?”
“’When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains however improbable, must be the truth.’”
“Right, which seems more probable? That Sally is a plant pretending to like you while fucking your brains out to get information to report back to Sally despite the fact she also fucked you when you showed up out of nowhere and she had nothing to gain or that Jessa, who has a history of being a Machiavellian schemer, now further empowered by her stolen control of On the Go is setting you both up to hate each other and be unlovable due to a manufactured scandal?”
“Well thanks for dropping by, and I’ll think about things. See you at the next Ranger’s game, yeah?” I said, deflecting like mad.
He was right of course, he usually was, we all figured that much out years ago, as stupid and addled as most of us were at the time, though I didn’t want to admit it because then I would feel like an asshole. No one can call you an asshole if you don’t admit it.
“I get it,” Reece said, in that sage way of his, “really I do. All I ask is that you think about it. There was a similar mistake when I first met Gia and I almost lost her. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”