Gennie had a great time at Valben. It seemed odd going to a restaurant and tasting her brother’s food, but he was an excellent cook and seemed to have improved since she last ate something he made. She spent the whole time conversing with Rory, but just before they left, she informed their waitress to tell Ben she was there. When he came out, he looked shocked to see her with a guy.
“No Page?” he asked her.
“Nope.”
“What happened to her? Did she fall off a cliff? You guys are usually joined at the hip.”
“Honestly, I don’t know where she is.”
“Are you on drugs?”
“No,” Gennie replied, smiling, “though I think Page is.”
“Well, something must be going on because you’re wearing a dress and having dinner with a guy. What gives?”
“This is the dress Colleen bought me for Christmas two years ago,” Gennie said. “I finally have an excuse to wear it. By the way, this guy with me is my friend, Rory Fox.”
“Nice to meet you,” Ben said and they shook hands. “Don’t mind the sweaty hands. It’s a hundred and twenty degrees in that kitchen.”
“I don’t mind,” Rory replied. “By the way, this food is excellent. Is this how you always eat, Gen?”
“Well, I used to,” Gennie replied.
“Must have been nice.”
“Yeah,” Gennie said. She turned to Ben. “How are you doing? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“I’ve been working day and night here,” Ben replied.
“How is Val?”
“She spends most of her day either adding up receipts or doing errands. I only see her when it’s time to go home.”
“You guys have to take a vacation.”
“We’re working on it.”
“The place will survive while you’re gone. I don’t see why you don’t do it.”
“Maybe when it slows down.”
“That doesn’t look like it’s happening any time soon. Every time I drive by here there’s a line out the door.”
“It will eventually,” Ben said and sighed.
“Good luck,” Gennie said.
“Well, I have to get back to Hell’s Kitchen. It’s been great meeting you, Rory. I hope you guys have a nice night.”
“We will,” Gennie replied.
“Do you want to go and see a movie?” Rory asked after they finished.
“Sure,” Gennie said.
“There’s this new film that’s just been released, called Seconds. It sounds really interesting. Do you want to see that one?”
“I heard about it too,” Gennie said. “Yeah, I’d like to see it.”
They walked down to the new Cineplex, where it was playing. They both really enjoyed the movie. When they drove back to the campus, they spent the whole time in the car talking about it.
“I had a great time,” Gennie said, when they reached the entrance of Page’s apartment building.
“Me too,” Rory replied.
They stood there not knowing what to do. Finally, Gennie gave him a hug.
“Thanks for taking me out,” she said.
“No problem,” Rory said. “Besides, I learned something I didn’t know before.”
“What? How to change a head gasket?”
“No, I learned that Foster must be a really stupid guy. I can’t imagine why he would dump someone like you.”
“It’s a little complicated,” Gennie said.
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad he did it, because now I have you all to myself.”
Gennie chuckled. “You’re too much.”
“Goodnight, Gennie.”
When she entered the apartment, she found Page lying underneath her blankets, sleeping. She stirred and opened her eyes when Gennie came into the bedroom.
“Where were you?” she asked.
Gennie set her purse down. “I could ask the same question. I didn’t see you at all last week.”
“Why did you go AWOL at the party?”
“Foster was there. It was uncomfortable and I thought the best thing to do was to leave.”
“Oh yeah, I noticed the jerk. Only had one beer. What a dork. Did he say anything bad to you?”
“No.”
“So, where did you go?”
“I went back here and fell asleep. Where were you?”
“Oh brother,” Page said. “What a night. Well, basically, I was a little too smashed and stoned to walk uptight, so I just stayed there. The party went on for about four days straight, and I was just having too good of a time to leave. You won’t believe what happened.”
“What?”
“Last night I just hopped in any old bed I could find on that floor and passed out. Well, this morning I woke up with the worst headache of my life and guess who’s in bed with me?”
“Who?”
“Freddie Bandura. He was spooning me. Yuck!”
“Did you guys…you know…”
“Hell no! As far as I can remember, at least.”
“Bad Ass Betty is not going to appreciate you leading her brother astray.”
“Tell me about it. Okay, I can vaguely remember flirting with him last time at the dart club, but it was nothing serious. I was only doing it to get closer to Rory, but now that turd is following me like some lonesome puppy dog. He was staring at me the whole time in philosophy this afternoon. I hope this doesn’t go on all year. He’s starting to give me the creeps!”
“Maybe you should give him a chance,” Gennie said. “I know he’s not the best dresser but neither are we. He’s not bad looking overall. Besides, he’s a really nice guy.”
“I’m saving myself for Rory,” Page said. “He’s such a hottie.”
Oh no, Gennie thought, I’m in trouble. She felt like a black hole had opened up in her stomach.
“So,” Page continued, “who were you talking to out there?”
“Uh, Rory, actually.”
“No way! Did he ask about me?”
Gennie sat on the end of Page’s bed and sighed. “You know, uh, I wouldn’t want to hurt you ever, but…I don’t want to lie to you either.”
“Okay,” Page said. She sat up and wrinkled her forehead in confusion. “Go on.”
“You’re going to find out eventually, so I’m just going to tell you right now and get it over with.”
“Rory has herpes?”
“No.”
“Gonorrhea?”
“No.”
“Syphilis?”
“No!”
“Oh…you have herpes!”
“I’m a virgin! How could I have herpes?”
“All right…you’re really a man.”
“Page, you’re totally off the mark.”
“What is it, then?”
“Rory…he asked me to go to dinner with him earlier today.”
Page didn’t reply. She stared at her like she was completely crazy.
“You told him no, right?”
“Uh…not exactly.”
Page looked at her as if she just confessed to murdering somebody.
“You’re kidding me.”
“No, I’m not. We just came back from dinner.”
Page seemed bewildered and her breathing grew heavier.
“Let me get this straight,” Page said loudly. “Even though you knew I had a crush on him, when he asked you out, you decided ‘Screw Page, I’ll go out with him anyway.’”
“I didn’t think that at all,” Gennie said. “It all came out of the blue. Rory was being really nice to me and he said he felt bad for what happened at the party. I think he just asked me out to make me feel better. I didn’t want to upset him, so I said yes.”
“You knew Rory for five minutes and you chose to hurt me instead of him?”
“Page, keep your voice down!”
“Fuck you!” Page said and threw the book that was on the end table beside her at Gennie. Gennie was glad it was a paper
back because it hurt when it hit her in the arm.
“Calm down. This isn’t a national emergency.”
“I’m not going to calm down!” Page said. Her bloodshot eyes were hard with anger. “Get your shit and get out of here!”
“What!”
“You heard me! Now get out!”
Gennie stood up. “You’re being unreasonable. Why don’t we wait a day before we decide what to do?”
“Well, you’re being a man-hogging bitch. And I’m not waiting a friggin’ second. Just leave already!”
Gennie could feel the anger rising within her. Page was acting like an idiot. She was going to set her straight.
“All right,” Gennie said, her voice tight. “I’m leaving right now, but there’s something I want you to know.”
“What?”
“This is the stupidest thing in the world to get angry over. He wasn’t your boyfriend yet, so he was fair game to anyone. If the tables were turned, you would have done the same thing. I hope you get over this after the liquor and drugs wear off.”
Page’s face was crimson.
“For one thing, I’m not stupid and for another, I’m not drunk or a druggie!”
Gennie gathered everything she had at the apartment and put it in her overnight bag. She put on her coat and grabbed her knapsack and purse.
“I’m leaving. Thanks for nothing.”
“Don’t ever come back here.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not coming back. You can spend all your time alone from now on.”
When Gennie left the apartment, Page slammed the door behind her. Then she heard an ungodly wail. She walked out of the apartment building and into her car. After about ten minutes of driving around randomly, she decided to go to Ben’s apartment back in San Francisco. She had a spare key, so even if he weren’t home, she’d be able to get in. She hoped that Page would come to her senses soon.
Chapter 39
What They Left Behind Page 38
