Page 105 of The Close-Up
Harper’s gaze softens. “Shit. What happened?”
I spill everything that happened with Simon. When I finish, a confused frown paints Harper’s face.
“So wait...you didn’t even want to try?”
Her words sting like a slap to the face.
“Harper, I’m a disaster when it comes to that stuff. You know that. It would have been the same with Simon.”
“How?” She plants a hand on her hip. It’s her signature I’m-about-to-tell-you-off move and I brace myself because I know I’m in for it. “How in the world do you know that it would have ended the exact same way with Simon when you didn’t even try? He’s a therapist, remember? Not an insensitive douche. He’s aware of how to navigate a relationship in a healthy way.”
“Therapist or not, look at my track record. Every relationship I’ve had has ended in flames.”
“Naomi. Do you honestly thinkyouwere the problem in all of your past relationships? You really don’t think those cheating, insensitive, selfish jerkoffs were the reason things ended?”
I tug a hand through my hair. “Okay, fine, I see your point. But I’m the one who chose them. Clearly I’m the problem.”
“You chose Simon too,” she says without missing a beat. “He’s a pretty quality guy.”
I open my mouth, but I’ve got nothing. She’s right.
“You’ve definitely picked some duds in your life, Naomi. I’ll be the first to tell you that. But you also picked an amazing guy—Simon. That shows howyouhave changed. You’re clearly not going for the same kind of crap-weasel you used to go for. Look how far you’ve come.”
I let out a teary chuckle.
She glances at the window overlooking the San Francisco skyline, shaking her head slightly. “I know this is gonna sound weird to bring up right now, but I swear I’ve got a point.”
“Okay...”
“I quit my job.”
“What?”
She tugs at the hem of the ratty Pepperdine T-shirt she wears to bed almost every night. Then she hops off the couch and heads to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
I follow her. “Harper, are you serious?”
She spins around, hand on her hip. “Dead serious. I gave my two weeks’ notice on Friday.”
My jaw hits the floor. When I can regain the ability to speak seconds later, I’m sputtering. “Wh-why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I needed some time to process the news alone first.”
“Wow. That’s... Harper, that’s awesome.” I let myself smile. This is the first and only spontaneous thing I can ever remember her doing.
“What are you gonna do now?”
“I’m moving to Half Moon Bay.” She gives a shaky smile. Even though I can detect nerves behind it, I haven’t seen her look so excited in forever. Even the puffiness from sleep does little to hide the joy in her expression.
She explains that once she finishes up work, she’s going to rent out her place and head to Half Moon Bay.
“I don’t even know where to start. I’ve just... Okay, so it’s no secret I’ve been unhappy at my job for a while. I felt like I was going through the motions. I used to be so passionate about architecture. I loved going into work and staying late most days to see my vision come to life. But I just got sick of it after a while. The passion faded away. I don’t know when or why it happened, but I guess it doesn’t matter.”
She pauses once the coffee is done brewing. Then she pours us each a mug and motions for us to go sit on the couch again.
“I stayed for so long, longer than I should have. For the money obviously,” she says. “I was able to save, pay off my student loans, and buy this apartment. You know how much that means, right?”
I nod, understanding her completely. Thankfully mine and Harper’s families have never been poor or desolate, but we’ve never been close to rich. We still aren’t, especially not by the insane cost of living standards in San Francisco. Harper is the most financially successful member of our family and even she’s careful with her money. Our grandparents were immigrants from the Philippines who moved to California and worked hard to provide for their families. We never went without, but we never had expensive things. Even though I make well above average with my job, Harper made almost four times my salary. I can completely understand why she stayed at her job for so long. It gave her the kind of financial security we’ve always dreamed about. That would be almost impossible for most people to walk away from.
