to brag or anything, but every Sunday I do the New York Times crossword puzzle, and last week I finished it in under an hour and twenty minutes (my personal best time!). Okay, yeah, I’m totally bragging.
A knock on the door made her jump. Without waiting for an answer, Bridget strolled into her office as if she owned the place. Annie gave the other woman her fiercest scowl. “Haven’t you ever heard of waiting until you get permission to enter?”
Bridget perched her bottom on the edge of Annie’s desk. “How was dinner last night?”
“What’s it to you?”
“I know you think I’m just the heartless office busybody, but I only get involved because I care.” Bridget fluttered her eyelashes in a way that made Annie laugh.
“Right.”
“Did you watch any of the late-night TV shows? Gas Station Sam was on almost every one of them.”
“Nope,” Annie lied. “I went to bed early.”
“Alone?” Bridget persisted.
“That’s none of your business.”
“That means you were alone.”
“Okay,” Annie admitted, “so maybe I watched some late-night TV.”
Bridget smiled sympathetically. “There’s no harm in dreaming, Annie.”
“There is if it interferes with your reality.” She sighed. “So what if I find this guy intriguing? From what I gather, so does the rest of America.”
“True, but there’s no reason you should settle for Mr. Tall Dark and Boring when there are men like Sam in the world.”
Annie chewed that over. Maybe she should tell Bridget about her plan to break up with Walter. She’d find out sooner or later anyway, and Bridget seemed to know a lot about men. Maybe she could give Annie some tips on how to break things off gently. “Walter is making partner at his law firm,” she began.
Bridget faked a yawn. “That’s nice.”
“It means he’s going to have to buy into the firm, which means financially this isn’t the best time to get engaged.”
“Does Walter have any idea when it might be a good time?”
“In about two years.”
“A person could fall in love, get married, and have a baby in half that time.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, you don’t owe Walter anything. Not if he chooses to put his career over you.”
“I agree.”
Bridget nearly fell off the desk. “Did I just hear right?”
Annie swallowed hard. “I’m going to break up with Walter.”
“It’s about time! What brought this on?”
She handed Bridget the letter. “I took your advice and wrote to Gas Station Sam.”
Bridget pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!”
“But I’m not going to mail it. I only wrote it to clear my thoughts. Which it did. So I guess I have him to thank for that. And you. Only don’t get a big head about it.”
Bridget quickly perused the letter. “Mmm … definitely not what I would have written, but you never know. He might find it interesting.”
“That’s something we’ll never find out since he’s never going to read it, because I’m never going to mail it.”
“But—”
“But nothing. For one thing, I have no idea where to send it. Like I said, I only wrote it to help give me clarity. Which it did.”
Bridget pursed her lips.
“Don’t get all pouty on me. I would think you’d be happy that I’ve come to a decision about Walter.”
“I’m happy that you’ve decided to get on with your life. He wasn’t the guy for you, Annie.”
“I agree. Which is why I was hoping you could give me some pointers on how to break up with him.”
“Let me guess.” Bridget gave her a wonky look. “You’ve never broken up with anyone before.”
“Nope.”
“Not even in high school?”
Annie shook her head.
“Middle school?” Bridget persisted.
“Who has a boyfriend in middle school?”
Bridget looked up at the ceiling like she was trying to channel some divine intervention. “Never mind. You’re right. You do need help. You could always ghost him, but I don’t think Walter would notice.”
“Not funny.” Except Bridget might have a point. Walter was always so busy at work, it might take weeks before he noticed that she’d stopped texting him. No, not weeks. Tuesday would roll around and he’d want to know why she wasn’t waiting for him in their usual booth at the diner.
“Okay, so you want to do it publicly,” said Bridget, “like in a restaurant. That way he can’t make a scene. Not that I think Walter will make a scene. He’d never do anything to risk his professional reputation.”
“You think I should break up with him over dinner? Doesn’t that seem a little harsh?”
“Rejection is a dish best served cold.”
“I thought that was revenge,” said Annie.
“Same thing. Breaking up with him is