Page 37 of One More Weekend

Can’t pull that again, I have to back off.

We kept eating, taking pieces of the flakey salmon.

The plates were devoured in a matter of minutes, despite our best attempts to eat slowly and with intention. I even found space in my full stomach to eat the complimentary oysters.

“I don’t think I’ll ever eat this well again.” Sy groaned as she leaned back in her white, upholstered chair.

Nodding, I laughed. “Me either.”

Picking up a conversation we’d been having for nearly a decade, Sy lifted a finger. “See, this is why when we’re super rich, I wouldn’t want my kids to grow up knowing how wealthy they were. I don’t think they’d appreciate this as much.”

“No, yeah. I don’t think you’re wrong.” I smiled.

It was one of the things I’d grown to love about Sy, every time she had a point – no matter how much she knew I agreed with her – she brought it up as if I wasn’t on the same page.

So I continued, “But this is why I argue you raise them in the middle of nowhere. Then you can be honest about their privilege but still limit the amount they get used to luxuries like this.”

Snapping into a finger gun, Sy laughed. “Exactly. God, I’d love a little farm outside of the city.” Her eyes turned dreamy, longing for a day when she didn’t have to hustle back-breaking gigs and could instead just stay home, write, tend the garden, and raise a few kids.

“How many kids do you even want?” I asked, realizing I’d never asked just how many rascals Sy was signing up for.

“Four at least. One feels inhumane, two is competitive, three is an odd number, and four is just right.” Sy had the answer locked and loaded. “What about you?”

Frozen, I shrugged. I hadn’t ever quantified it. It had been hard for me to even envision kids with any partners I’d had. I’d always felt like a long way off and I never felt like I had a relationship with someone competent enough to handle more than a dog.

But looking into Sy’s eyes, I nodded. “Four sounds perfect.” And it was true if they were hers, four would be no problem.

Shaking my head, I tried to stop myself from picturing her with a toddler on her shoulders running through our garden.I tried not to imagine the way the dirt would smudge her forearms, the way she would smile at me in the kitchen window.

It made my stomach hurt, a clearer vision of what could be than I’d ever had. Back in college, we used to joke about just having kids together, skip all the drama of a relationship and do it just us.

Now I wasn’t sure how much of a joke it was.

25

SY

I could’ve satin that restaurant forever, asking Jenna all the ways in which we could do this, ways we could make it all work without losing our friendship in the process.

But the waiter set a check down next to me and there was no room for hesitation as Jenna’s hand darted across the table to pay the bill.

Grabbing the leather wallet, I slipped my card inside without checking the price. Geo had hooked me up with a good deal and I knew it wouldn’t be anything I couldn’t cover with another shift over the weekend.

“Bastard.” Jenna scowled at me as the check and my credit card were whisked away.

“No arguing.”

Once the card was back in my hand, a generous tip added to the bill, I stood from the table and offered Jen my hand. “We’ve got another stop to make. I didn’t take you here just to eat dinner on the first floor.”

With a shrug, Jenna gripped my hand and stood. “I would have been thrilled even if it was.”

She was sweet like that, always grateful for anything someone did for her – no matter how small. But she deserved all of it and I wasn’t about to miss my chance to do my share.

I watched her dress flow as she walked with me back to the lobby of the Empire State Building. It was easy to forget at the back of STATE that we were about to climb to the top of one of New York’s most iconic buildings.

Sure, it was a bit of a tourist trap if you paid full price. But if you spent the last decade making connections with all of the most important people in the city – the doormen, janitors, waiters, and cooks – you could unlock the true potential of even the most Yelpable locations.

When we approached the security desk again, the guard nodded to us, came out from behind the desk, and showed us to the bank of elevators. “You’re going to 102. There should be an usher up there to show you around if you want.”

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