There was a long silence, during which Gina pretended to be surveying the menu intensely. When she eventually looked up to meet my eyes, she said in a barely audible whisper, “I thought there wasn’t anyone else.”
“I thought you didn’t know what I was talking about,” I snapped.
“Look, I did not come in there with the intention of ruining things for you and whoever this girl is. I was, however, curious to find out if there was anyone at all. Because despite of what deal I tried to make with you, I guess some part of me wanted to believe that we could be a real couple one day, which would be impossible if your heart was someplace else.”
“Why? Why do you even care, Gina? You never loved me, by your own admission. And you know what, maybe I would have agreed to whatever you had to say, if I had gotten the chance to explain it to Ar – the girl – before she saw it the way she did. That made the decision for me. You kind of brought this onto yourself, you know?”
She started tearing up upon hearing those words. “Yep, which is why I have spent extra time bawling my eyes out the last few days. I figured it was something like that. But like I said, I wasn’t putting on a show for her, I was just testing to see if you were lying about there not being anyone else.”
“And you caught me, hoorah!” I said angrily. “Hope it was worth it.”
She was openly crying, which made me want to just walk out of the restaurant and never see her again. But I had to be careful, if I wanted my mother on my side.
“Look, I am sorry, Gina. Mostly because for once in our lives, you were being honest with me when you proposed that deal. It was a refreshing change to see you so candid. But I am afraid it can’t work out. I know you need money–”
“More… than… you…realize…” She sniffed tearfully. “I’m losing my house. It was the only thing my parents left for me and it’s getting foreclosed on, and I thought maybe if we could strike up a deal, I could save it, and in return you get peace from your mom. And perhaps when she, you know, passed on, we could go our separate ways and we would both have gotten something out of it.”
“Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?” I said, a brilliant plan finally playing out in my mind. This was going to be much simpler than I had thought; in fact, I was disappointed in myself for not thinking of this sooner. It was the perfect solution, and I felt a surge of relief spread across my whole body as I spoke again, “I will make you a deal. Another one, but I think you will be quite pleased.”
After explaining to her that I would pay for her house if she signed the divorce papers, she looked considerably cheerful, and was almost too eager to accept.
“Thank you, Zayden! You are actually a pretty good guy, you know?” She said, wiping her face with the napkin on the table.
“No need to fawn all over me, I am doing this because I have something to gain from it as well. Pull something like you did in my office the other day again – or do anything at all to upset me and the deal is off.”
“I won’t! I will be gone forever, Zay, if that is what you want.”
After another few minutes of hearing the needless words of gratitude, I paid the check and got up to leave.
“Just one question, Zayden, before you leave,” Gina said right as I was inching towards the door. “And it is personal so don’t feel obligated to answer. I am just really curious because I have known you for so long, but I have never seen you do so much for just a girl.”
“What are you trying to get at, Gina?” I sighed.
“I don’t know. I am just wondering… are you in love this Aria girl?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” I said without thinking and walked away. It was true, love was not something I had ever experienced in my life before, so even if I felt it somehow, I would never recognize it. Nor was there any reason to recognize it. Love was probably just a word invented for the weak in order to justify the extremely stupid things they did. I was neither stupid, nor weak.
---
Next order of business was dealing with my mother, and if all went as planned, that was bound to be a piece of cake. I still couldn’t get over the fact that this idea hadn’t occurred to me sooner. It was so simple and brilliant. I should have thought of it the day Gina had made me that offer; she only needed money, after all.
Unsurprisingly, my mom came into my room at about 8 that night looking completely horrorstruck.
“I just,” she said almost hyperventilating. “I just got a call from Gina. Oh Zayden, I am so sorry.”
She was obviously on the verge of tears, and for a split second I almost felt guilty for pulling this off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked innocently looking up from my laptop. “Is she okay?”
“She is fine… I think,” my mom said in a shaking voice. “But – but – Zayden, I am sorry for all of this.”
“What do you mean? What are you apologizing for? Is everything okay, Mom?” I was trying hard to sound genuinely curious and concerned, but my insides were jumping in joy; the plan had obviously worked fantastically.
“No, no, no, no!” she exclaimed dramatically. “Nothing is okay, and it’s all my fault. I did this to you. I am so, so sorry, son.”
“For what?” I eyed her quizzically.
She waited a few minutes before speaking, as though her next words held a lot of we