(Almost) Happily Ever After

by Annabelle Costa

  “Yeah,” I say. “I can see that.”

  He shakes his head. “Honestly, I have no idea what I ever saw in her.”

  “She does have huge breasts,” I say.

  Will finally laughs. “Yeah, that’s true. Also…” He hesitates. “I liked her passion about her career. You have passion too… when it comes to your dream of becoming a vet.”

  My stomach sinks. Will has no idea how horribly I’ve been doing in my biology class. With everything going on, there hasn’t been an opportunity to tell him.

  No, that’s not true. The truth is, I haven’t told him because I’m ashamed.

  “Anyway,” Will says, “thank you for supporting me. I know you love animals and it’s a hot button topic, so it means a lot that you’re standing by me on this.”

  “Of course,” I say.

  Obviously, I haven’t told him about the rally. I can’t. He wouldn’t understand that this is something I have to do. It doesn’t have anything to do with him.

  Will is quiet for a minute as he fingers the hem of his T-shirt. He looks up at me. “Do I really look like shit?”

  “No, of course not!” I say. He actually looks adorable right now, in his old Columbia T-shirt with his hair tousled by the wind just the right amount. He does look tired though—like he always looks these days. “You do look like you could use one good night’s sleep.”

  “That would be nice,” he agrees.

  It takes another ten minutes to get to the front of the Shake Shack line. Will promises he’s not upset about what just happened, but he doesn’t bother to order his peanut butter milkshake, which sort of makes me wonder.

  Chapter 18

  My second midterm is in two days and I can’t see how I can possibly pass it.

  There’s so much material to study. And… I don’t know, I think I might have ADHD or something. I really do. I should probably see a doctor and get Ritalin, because every time I get out the book, I just can’t focus. I even made flash cards like Reid recommended, but it isn’t helping.

  I can’t stop running through the material in my head as Will and I try to eat dinner together at the dining table. We got Indian delivery—vegetable korma for me and chicken tikka masala for him. And lots of rice and naan bread for both of us.

  “You want a bite of my chicken?” Will asks me.

  I glare at him. “I told you, I’m a vegetarian now.”

  “I thought you just don’t eat mammals,” he says. “A chicken isn’t a mammal.”

  Is it? No, it’s not. I used to know these things. That’s what this class is doing to me—not only am I not learning the new material, I’m forgetting the stuff I used to know. But a chicken is definitely not a mammal because it doesn’t have nipples. It’s confusing though—I mean, how could a chicken not be a mammal but somehow a whale is one? That doesn’t seem right somehow.

  “Have some chicken,” Will says.

  I put down my fork. “Why is it so goddamn important to you that I eat meat?”

  Will is quiet for a minute. “I don’t know. I guess because I’m not entirely sure why you stopped. And… I’m worried it has something to do with me. And you being angry that I’m still working on this case.”

  I’ve noticed he’s been more subdued since our encounter with Stephanie last week. We haven’t seen her again, but anything involving the Hanford Corporation or my eating habits has become a touchy subject. The truth is that I might have lost a little respect for my fiancé because of this whole thing.

  But I couldn’t say that to him.

  “I’m just…” I hesitate. “I’m worried about my midterm in two days. I don’t want to bomb it.”

  “Why would you bomb it?” He looks genuinely mystified. “You know everything about animals.”

  No, I don’t. A minute ago, I couldn’t even remember if a chicken was a mammal. “It’s not about animals,” I say. “It’s about cells. Everything you could think of about cells.”

  “Oh.” He scratches his head. “Do you want me to test you? I saw you made those flash cards.”

  I shake my head no. “Will, you’ve been working your butt off all day. You should relax.”

  He grins at me. “I wouldn’t mind. It might be fun.”

  “I doubt it.”

  But after dinner, Will transfers to the couch and I sit at the other end so that I can’t see the card he’s holding. Also, he makes me put my feet in his lap so he can rub them with free hand. Will is definitely in full-on good boyfriend mode.

  “Okay,” he says, “what is the… phospholipid bilayer?”

  “It’s the plasma membrane that’s composed of phospholipid molecules.”

  “Right,” he says. “And do the polar heads face the outside or the inside?”

  I stare at him blankly.

  “The outside,” he says.

  “Oh.”

  He taps the card against my toes. “Think of it this way. Polar is like cold. So colder things are on the outside.”

  “I don’t think that’s what polar really means.”

  “I’m just giving you a way to remember it.”

  I lean my head back against the sofa. “This is hopeless.”

  “You’re not giving up already, are you?” He seems taken aback. “We’ve only done one card.”

  I can’t say what I’m thinking, which is that I’m worried when he sees how little of this information I know, he’s going to think I’m a complete idiot.

  “Let’s just watch television,” I say. “I feel like my brain is fried from all the studying.”

  He raises his eyebrows. “Are you sure? Because I’m totally pumped to quiz you.”

  I smile at him. “I’m sure. I think it’s easier on my own. And I can bug my TA tomorrow.”

  “Right, your TA…” Will seems nonplussed. I think he blames Reid for my newfound vegetarianism. “I really don’t mind doing this. I want you to succeed. I mean, this is your dream, right?”

  He’s right. Once upon a time, this was my dream. But right now, it feels much more like a nightmare.

  _____

  I’m working in the morning when Reid is holding his pre-exam office hours, but he tells me that all afternoon, they’re going to be working on plans for the rally at the apartment he shares with Josh, and that a few other friends will be there. He says if I come by, he can help me out.

  It’s not exactly ideal, but I know I need the extra studying time with Reid, so I decide to go.

  Josh and Reid apparently share a one-bedroom apartment in SoHo. When Reid lets me in, he explains apologetically that the living room also doubles as his bedroom. That explains the futon mattress on the floor that makes my back ache just looking at it. There’s a weird peacock pattern on the bedspread, and hanging above the bed is something that looks a lot like a giant bra. I can’t even begin to imagine what that thing is.

  The theme of the room seems to be bean bags. There’s a giant orange bean bag in one corner of the room, where Josh and a friend of theirs are sitting. There are also several smaller bean bag chairs, some of which are occupied. One neon green beanbag in the corner is occupied by a tiny woman with huge tits and a giant pouf of orange-red curls.

  What the hell is Stephanie Zimmer doing here?

  “Libby?” Stephanie seems as shocked to see me as I am to see her. She struggles to stand up from the beanbag—it takes her several tries. “What are you doing here?”

  “Libby is in my biology class,” Reid explains. “We were going to go over some stuff. But also, she’s been incredibly helpful in planning this rally.”

  “Really?” Stephanie peers at me through her spectacles. “Is that so now?”

  I want to hide under a beanbag.

  “Steph is an attorney who’s been working on the case against Hanford,” Reid explains to me. “She’s planning to speak at our rally.”

  “You should speak too, Libby,” Stephanie says to me. “That would be incredibly powerful.”

  Reid beams at me. “Would you
like to do that, Libby?”

  “No, thank you,” I mumble.

  Reid looks disappointed, but I’m not going to explain why there’s no way in hell I’m speaking at this rally. I’m taking a big risk by even going. “Would you like something to drink, Libby?”

  “Some water would be good,” I squeak.

  Reid starts toward their tiny kitchen, but before he can get there, Stephanie grabs my forearm with her fierce little hand and says, “It’s okay, Reid. I’ll help Libby in the kitchen. I’m thirsty too.”

  The last thing I want is to be alone with this woman, but it looks like I don’t have a choice as she practically drags me into the kitchen. The only good thing about it is there’s a curtain and a wall separating it from the rest of the apartment, so I don’t think we’ll be easy to hear in here. Especially with the jazz music playing outside.

  Inside the kitchen, Stephanie turns to face me. Up close, she seems older than I originally thought—maybe late thirties. Probably Will’s age or maybe a bit older. Her green eyes are as vivid as her crazy red hair, even behind her glasses.

  “Does William know what you’re doing here?” Stephanie asks me.

  I hesitate for a beat before I shake my head no.

  She nods in the direction of the living room. “Do Cheech and Chong out there know that William is your boyfriend?”

  Another negative.

  “Oh boy…” Stephanie laughs to herself. “That is just… awesome.” She looks me up and down. “I have to admit, when I met you the other day, I thought you were a meek little blond, shikse airhead that jumped whenever William snapped his fingers. I had it all wrong. You are one devious bitch.”

  “I’m not a devious bitch!” I say. “You’re the one who cornered him at the Shake Shack while he was trying to get some lunch with his fiancée.”

  “I notice you didn’t defend him…”

  My cheeks burn. “You shouldn’t have done that. It was a terrible thing to do to him—he didn’t deserve that.”

  “I disagree,” Stephanie says sharply. “I think the terrible thing he’s doing is far worse than my embarrassing him a bit when he’s out with his little girlfriend. I think he very much did deserve it.” She narrows her eyes at me. “In fact, I think he deserves everything he’s got coming to him.”

  “Will is just doing his job,” I say.

  “Right. His job.” She snorts. “I assume you know what the Hanford Corporation does to those animals, don’t you?”

  I do. Since I started working with Reid and Josh, I’ve done massive amounts of research into the atrocities committed by this company. A few times, I’d be reading an article about what is done to animals on their farms and I’d find myself in tears. How could anyone torture a poor, defenseless pig just to make a few extra bucks? Okay, a few billion extra bucks. Still. For Christ’s sake, how much money do people need?

  And it isn’t just the pigs that get abused. Reid was right when he said that the employees of the Hanford Corporation barely eke out a living wage. And the pollution caused by the farm has resulted in a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses in the neighboring towns.

  How could Will defend a company like that? It’s not “nuanced.” It’s just wrong.

  Yet. I love him. And even though I know in my heart that I must fight to undo these wrongs, I still feel a jab of guilt every time I work on the rally.

  “Attack him in court then,” I say. “Don’t mess with his personal life.”

  “Excuse me?” Stephanie raises her eyebrows. “You act like I’m evil incarnate, but aren’t you the one lying to William’s face?”

  She’s got me there.

  “I…” I swallow hard. “This is something I have to do. I think he’d understand.”

  “Would he now?” Stephanie grins as she digs around in her purse for a second before triumphantly pulling out her cell phone. “Well then, it just so happens I located William’s cell phone number. He doesn’t know mine, so I’m sure he’ll pick up. And then we can tell him what you’re doing here, because he’ll just be so understanding.”

  “Please don’t,” I gasp. Bitch. She’s got me. “Fine. You’re right. He won’t like it.”

  Stephanie cackles to herself. “Yes. I thought not.”

  I glare at her. “What do you want from me?”

  The smile fades from Stephanie’s face. “You know, I’m not the enemy here, Libby. I’m on your side. I want the same thing you do—to get William off this case.”

  She’s making nice with me. Except I don’t buy it. There’s something about Stephanie Zimmer that I don’t trust at all.

  “What’s the difference?” I shrug. “Even if he stepped down, some other lawyer would take his place.”

  She studies me carefully for a minute. “I don’t want to go against William in court. He’s… hard to beat.”

  “Really?” I’m surprised to hear this. I know Will is a good lawyer, but he’s still young and has far less experience than most of the senior partners.

  “Well, first of all, there’s the obvious sympathy he gets straight off the bat,” she says, ticking it off on her finger. “Second of all, he’s good at speaking. Very personable, very likable. Third of all, he knows everything. He’s got that damn photographic memory and he’ll pull cases out from like fifty years ago that you only heard about once during your first year of law school because he remembers everything.”

  I frown. “Will has a photographic memory?”

  Stephanie snorts. “God, yes. You didn’t know that? It was annoying as all hell in law school. Whenever we did a mock trial, he’d crush us. And it’s demoralizing to study with the guy who knows everything.”

  “Oh,” I say. I did notice that Will seemed pretty good at remembering things, especially for a guy, but a photographic memory? I had no idea.

  “Tell me something, Libby,” she says thoughtfully. “When I showed up at Shake Shack the other day, did I get to him? Was he thrown at all?”

  I hesitate a bit too long before I reply, “No.”

  She smiles. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

  Something about her words unsettles me. I hate the fact that Stephanie knows things about my own fiancé that I don’t know. And she’s right—she does know how to press his buttons.

  “You know,” Stephanie muses, “I’ve had a lot of boyfriends since William. And even one husband. And none of them were as genuinely nice as he is. He’s really a good guy. I was a bitch to him though because I didn’t appreciate it—I didn’t know what else was out there.” She pushes a lock of frizzy red hair out of her face and I can see the light freckles dotting her skin. “He was my first love. My first… everything. And I pushed him away.”

  What do you say to a woman telling you that your boyfriend was her first love? I keep my mouth shut.

  “That’s why I hate seeing him on the wrong side of this,” she goes on. “I want him on our side, Libby. The right side.”

  I spread my hands apart. “There’s nothing I can do. I can’t talk him out of it.”

  Stephanie is quiet, looking at me in a way that makes me uncomfortable. “I think,” she says, “you underestimate how deeply he cares about you. You don’t notice the way he looks at you. I do.”

  I just shake my head.

  “Let me think about this,” she says. “William may be smart, but maybe this one time I can outsmart him.”

  Chapter 19

  When I get home from Reid’s apartment, I’m shocked to see that Will is home. And he’s changed out of his work clothes into a T-shirt and just boxer shorts, which means he’s in for the night. There’s a part of me that hopes maybe he quit or something, but that seems sort of unlikely.

  I don’t see Will in boxers much. Or shorts. His legs are definitely on the thinner side, especially compared with the tight muscles in his upper body. But it’s not something that looks odd at all. If you just looked at him sitting on the sofa in shorts, you wouldn’t guess he was disabled based on his legs. But I’ve noticed he’s se
lf-conscious about wearing shorts, so he hardly ever does.

  “Hey,” he says, his eyes crinkling around the corners. “You’re back.”

  “What are you doing here?” I say.

  “I live here.” He wheels closer to me, grabs me around the waist, and pulls me into his lap. “Actually, I own the place. I think you owe me some back rent.”

  We kiss for several minutes with me in his lap. Feeling his lips against mine eases some of the stress I’m feeling from this test coming up. Going over to Reid’s was a huge mistake, as it turned out—concentrating on studying was an exercise in futility with Stephanie staring at me.

  “I wanted to be here for you the night before your test,” he says. “I thought we could order some pizza.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What kind of pizza?”

  He smiles. “Cheese, mushroom, veggie… whatever you want.”

  “You sure you’re okay with that?”

  “I am,” he assures me. “Honestly, I’m really sorry I was such a dick about the whole thing. If you don’t want to eat meat, I respect that. I admire you for it. Really.”

  I reach out and grab his hand. “Thank you.”

  He nibbles on my earlobe. “And maybe after the pizza, I could do something for you to help you destress. If you know what I mean.”

  “That would be awesome,” I say. “And maybe I could help you destress a little bit too.”

  I start kissing Will all over his face and neck. Even though he doesn’t have any sensation at all below the belt, there are certain areas on his body that I know are more sensitive than on a normal guy. His ears are really sensitive, as well as the place where his neck meets his head. But the money location is his nipples. That’s where I go if I want to really drive him nuts.

  I get Will’s shirt over his head and now I can really go to town on him. And damn, does he have a nice chest. He’s slim, but every bit of his upper body is well-muscled. He doesn’t go to a gym (when would he find time?) but doing everything with his upper body has made him that way. He’s ridiculously strong for a guy who isn’t a bodybuilder.