Goodbye Forever, My Cheating Boyfriend

For my birthday, my boyfriend bought only a few pieces of egg cake and some candles.

He said birthday cakes were a trap dreamed up by capitalist marketing, and we'd be better off saving the money for a house.

It stung, but I agreed.

Then, on the day itself, my best friend breezed in, plopped down right between the two of us, and tugged at my arm, all sweet and coaxing.

"Your boyfriend is such a keeper, spending eight thousand to help me rent a place. Getting to sleep in every morning is just the best!"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

To get to the office, I woke up at six, rode the electric scooter twenty minutes, transferred three times on the subway, all because Tristan Swanson said living where we did saved us two thousand a month in rent.

Ding! I glanced down at my phone.

Your bank card ending in 8744 has transferred $400,000 to Cecily Fox. Balance: $400,000.

Tristan had wired every cent of the down payment we'd saved together straight to my best friend.

I looked up, unable to believe it.

He set a peeled shrimp into Cecily's bowl and said, light as anything,

"Oh, that. It's to help fund her grad school."

"We can always buy a house later. Cecily won't have any income while she's studying. Why don't you chip in for her too?"

I looked down at my pajamas, washed so many times the color had faded out of them, and all at once I felt like this ten-year relationship wasn't worth keeping.

"Sure. I'll go withdraw everything in my account right now."

Take out all the money, and cancel any future with him while I was at it.

——

"See, I told you Wallis Cobb always knows the bigger picture. She was bound to agree. Guess you lost the bet."

Watching Cecily glow with delight, Tristan tapped the tip of her nose with his finger, doting.

Cecily made a fuss about getting him back, and, refusing to let it go, grabbed his shoulder and bit down.

"Yes, yes, yes, I underestimated Wallis. Buying a house is her biggest wish, after all."

"That didn't hurt, did it? Because if it did, our Wallis is going to be upset with me."

As they said it, they both turned to look at me,

only to find me sitting there alone, calmly eating my dinner.

Seeing that I wasn't losing my temper the way I had before,

Tristan looked oddly deflated, then said,

"Wallis, you've finally learned to behave. I thought you'd throw a fit like last time. Who knew this birthday would make you grow up a little."

Last time he meant the class reunion, when he and Cecily played Truth or Dare and kissed through a thin plastic card. I'd furiously accused him of having no sense of boundaries, and he'd snapped at me instead, calling me a sore loser, shrieking like a lunatic.

I'd cried until there were no tears left, and in the end I was the one who made peace.

But right now, I honestly felt nothing. It mattered less than the meal in front of me.

I was about to speak

when Cecily gave a little shriek.

Her chair slipped out from under her, and she knocked the small ceramic figurine off the table.

The two little ceramic figures, once locked in an embrace, split apart down the middle.

Tristan lunged to steady Cecily before I could move,

then said, his face tight with worry,

"Wallis, don't make a scene. I'll just buy you another one."

That pair of ceramic figures, wrapped in each other's arms, was the gift Tristan gave me the day we made it official.

"No need. Broken is broken."

I didn't even want the man anymore, so why would I care about a pair of ceramic figures?

Tristan opened his mouth, then thought better of it.

Cecily let out an ow, saying her back hurt,

and Tristan instantly turned to rub it for her.

I dabbed my mouth without hurrying, and stood up.

"You two eat. I'm going to withdraw the money."

I put on my coat and went to the entryway to change my shoes,

when Tristan's hesitant voice drifted over,

"You haven't had your birthday cake yet. Make a wish before you go."

There was no birthday cake.

Just a few pieces of egg cake and candles from the supermarket.