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We walked in silence for a while, Buddy sniffing curiously at everything. “Josh,” I said quietly, “do you think I did the right thing?” A slow smile spread across his face. “If you didn’t, would you have done it?” he asked, his eyes twinkling. I met his gaze. “Huh?” He shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Remember that multi–school exam in high school? There was a question on the biology test, everyone knew the answer in the key was wrong. The teacher even admitted it was a mistake, but told us to choose the wrong answer anyway because we wouldn’t get any points if we chose the right one.” He paused. “You were the only one who challenged her. You asked, ‘So, just because we won’t get points, it stops being wrong?‘ And when the same question appeared on the next exam, you still chose the correct answer.” I stared at him, surprised he even remembered that. “So…” he shrugged again, a
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mischievous glint in his eyes, “if you didn’t think it was right, would you have done it?” I looked at him for a long moment, a smile finally breaking through. “Thank you, Josh.”
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Over the next month, Matt apparently started showing up at my old office, waiting for me, sometimes all day. I only found out through a former coworker’s social media post. “This guy is so romantic! And hot! I wish I had someone this dedicated waiting for me.” The picture showed Matt standing outside the office building in a black trench coat, gazing soulfully upward. I snorted. “Idiot,” I muttered. Josh, who was sitting next to me, looked over, curious. “Not you,” I clarified, “him.” Josh just blinked. My cheeks flushed, but he thankfully let it go. “Dinner tonight?” he asked casually. “There’s a new place that just opened. Want to try it?” “Sure,” I replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “I’ll meet you there.” I pressed a hand to my racing heart and looked out the window. A flash of black caught my eye. It was Matt. Josh followed my gaze. “Speak of the devil,” I said dryly.
Matt and I ended up walking along the river, a place we used to frequent. The river was the same, but everything else had changed. “Lily… Ever since you left, there’s been this… emptiness. Like something’s missing. Do you know what I mean?” he murmured. I gazed at the sky. “Missing what, exactly?” “I don’t know… just… everything. Can we go back to how things were? Waking up to breakfast you made, you straightening my tie before work, coming home to the smell of dinner…” His voice was thick with emotion. He turned to me, his hand lightly gripping my sleeve. “Lily, please. Let’s go back. I can’t live without you.” I almost laughed. “You don’t miss me, Matt. You miss having a maid.” I looked at him, my eyes cold. “What, were you planning on bringing me along on your honeymoon
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with Nina? Am I part of your little love triangle now?” He froze, his hand dropping from my sleeve. “It’s not like that… it wasn’t supposed to be like that.” He looked at me, bewildered. “I love you, Lily. I just… I was just trying to help Nina. We didn’t… we didn’t do anything. Why…? Why are we doing this?” I stared at him, this pathetic, broken man. The last vestiges of my feelings for him evaporated. “What about the cat?” I asked quietly, my eyes fixed on the embroidered cat on his sweater. “When did you start liking cats?”
He was silent, the wind ruffling his hair. He looked like a mess. Finally, he spoke, his voice low. “Lily, that was before… besides that, there was nothing… nothing happened, I swear.” His desperation was palpable. It’s funny how people, when they’re desperate to prove their innocence, tend to forget what they’ve already admitted to. I held up my phone, showing him the picture of the trash can. He stared at it, his face pale, then turned and walked away without a word. He didn’t contact me again after that.
