Page 117 of Come Apart
"You should see the look he gets when you text him. And then he tries to hide it and apologize like I asked him not to have a life."
"Don't start," I say. It's true, technically, but it's only half the story. It's only the part where she pushes me away, not the part where she breaks down and asks me to stay, to spend the night holding her, apologizing again and again for how she ruined my life.
"I tried to tell him he should be spending his time with you. But you probably know how he is by now."
"I'm sure," Alyssa says.
"He's very stubborn."
She nods.
A silence falls over the table. These two might be dead set on derailing dinner, but I'm going to keep the conversation pleasant.
"Alyssa is an actress," I say.
Samantha struggles not to roll her eyes, but she manages. "I'm afraid I'm rather TV illiterate."
"She's also been in lots of films," I say.
"Not lots," Alyssa says.
"She's been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award."
"Luke, it's fine," Alyssa says. "I'm sure Samantha can brag plenty about her law career. We're both more than our jobs."
"No, I'm interested," Samantha says. "What are you doing now?"
"I'm the lead on this cable show. It's niche, but it's doing well."
"What show?"
"It's calledModel Citizen," Alyssa says. "It's a silly premise. I'm an ex-model, and I have no self-control. Always going after something—trying to win a shopping spree, trying to scheme my ex-boyfriend out of his car, trying to sleep with the hot next-door neighbor."
"That sounds interesting," Samantha says.
She's usually better at pretending to be polite.
"It's work. I'm sure you do plenty of interesting work too."
"Not in particular."
"That's a shame," Alyssa says.
It's cold, even considering her distaste for Samantha. I can't blame her. Samantha isn't being quite as polite as she usually is.
I try to step in. "Alyssa is an avid reader. But she's mostly interested in fiction. None of thatFreakonomicsstuff you love so much."
Samantha looks at me. "Let me guess. You finally found someone else who adores John Grisham?"
"He's a best seller. Plenty of people adore him. I don't need my girlfriend to be one of them."
"But he's so overwrought. You're too smart for that bullshit," Samantha says. I know for a fact that she's a closet Dan Brown fan.
"Alyssa reads like an English major."
Alyssa shrugs, smiling.
"I enjoy it."
