Never Got Over You

She glared at me and picked up her wine glass. Then she chugged it down.

“Is that a ‘no’ to the statement?” I asked. “Am I leaving out a line?”

“I really liked you, Sean.”

“I’m glad you’re accepting this, you’re referring to us in the past tense already.”

“You didn’t make it easy.” She looked into my eyes. “You were emotionally unavailable for the first three months.”

“And yet, you stuck around for five more …”

“I’d never dated a billionaire before.” She looked somewhat genuine. “You were my first.”

“And probably your last.”

“I can only take half the blame for cheating on you, though.” She looked like she was about to cry, giving me that cue I needed to get the hell out of here. “I honestly didn’t mean to.”

I signaled for the check, and a waiter set it on our table in seconds.

“I’ll email you the statement before I send it to the press,” I said, signing the receipt. “I’ll give you an hour to make suggestions that I probably won’t consider.”

She didn’t say a word.

“Well, the past eight months have been nice?” I paused, I couldn’t even lie. “No, they haven’t been.” I stood up and adjusted my jacket. “Tell John I said, ‘Hello’.”

I walked out of the dining room and into the hallway. I pressed the down button for the elevator and heard Evelyn yelling from afar.

“Sean! Sean!”

I hit the down button again.

“Sean!” Her voice was nearer now. “Sean, I know you can hear me calling your name!”

“I don’t answer to the past.”

“Don’t force me to make a scene, Sean.”

“I think it’s too late for that.” Where the hell is this elevator?

“This breakup isn’t really about me, is it?”

“No.” I refused to play a role in her drama. “It’s more about you fucking someone else behind my back.”

“So, this has nothing to do with Kate?”

“What?” I finally turned around, making note of how many people were around us. How many NDAs I was going to insist that my executive assistant rush over and force people to sign. “I’ve never mentioned Kate to you.”

“You’ve never had to.” She stepped closer, letting mascara run down her cheeks. “For the first three months of our relationship?the months when you were the most unavailable, you said her name in your sleep. At least three times a week.”

“That’s quite a story.”

“You’d wake up in the middle of the night and talk about her meeting you at a lake, sitting in the back row of some recital, or taking some long ride to some place called The Salted Shores Fair,” she said. “Took me long enough to realize that you weren’t talking about us, or me. You were talking about her.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.”

“We both know that I’m not.” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You want to know something else?”

“I’d rather know why the elevator has yet to come.”

“Whoever this ‘Kate’ person is, clearly still has a hold on you.” She was crying now, her chest heaving up and down. “She’s probably the reason why you’re so distant, why I had to go and sleep with someone else because I wasn’t getting enough from you.”

“So, Kate told you to fuck John?” I crossed my arms. “Did you two have this conversation over text messages or on the phone?”

“I used to think that there was something wrong with all the other women you dated. I wondered why they never lasted since you’re such a great catch.” She wiped away a few tears. “But the problem isn’t them at all… It’s you and your failure to see that some cunt you dated however long ago is completely over you, so you should move on and do the same before you end up dying alone.”

The elevator doors finally opened, relieving me from her unwanted spiel.

“I’ll send you a check for this therapy session,” I said, stepping onto the car and quickly pressing the ‘door close’ button. “Thank you for the chat.”

The doors closed before she could get another word out, and I pulled out my phone to send an email.

SUBJECT: NDAS AT THE Chateau and Revoking Security for an Ex

Shannon,

I need this handled within the hour. Also, please send a check to Evelyn in the amount of $250.00. Memo: Therapy time.

Sean Holmes

CEO, Pier Autumn Coffee

I REFRESHED MY INBOX, awaiting her usual “Got it.”

As I stepped off the elevator and headed to valet, I tried not to think about Evelyn’s parting words. Tried to see if there was a hint of truth in any of them.

Nope …

I was long over Kate. She no longer haunted my dreams with her laughter, no longer invaded my thoughts with her broken promises, and no longer caused me to wake up in the middle of the night wondering where the hell she was.

I stopped comparing every woman I dated to her years ago, and moved on with my life. In fact, I’d finally accepted that we were just young and dumb back then, and that she clearly preferred being with someone who was second best.