Lisa Ko - The Leavers

“We should head back to our table,” Angel said to Charles.

Kay touched Angel’s arm. “Angel, we haven’t had a chance to catch up. How’s school? We heard you were supposed to go to Nepal?”

“I was, but I had money stolen from me.”

“Stolen?” Peter said. “In Iowa?”

“Even in Iowa.”

Daniel turned to Charles. “So where are you from?”

Charles laughed, a sharp bark. “Thieves are everywhere. You don’t need to be in the same place as someone to steal from them.”

Daniel drained his champagne.

“How awful,” Kay said. “Did they catch whoever did it? What happened, exactly?”

“Look, Mom, the food is coming.”

“What happened is that the thief knows exactly what he did,” Charles said.

“Oh, he does,” Angel said, her eyes meeting Daniel’s.

Daniel took Peter and Kay by the elbows. “We should sit down before the food gets cold.”

“It hasn’t even arrived yet,” Kay said.

They walked to a table across the room. “That’s so strange,” Kay said. “What Angel and her boyfriend were saying.”

Peter said, “Something about a thief?”

Daniel took off his coat and hung it on the chair next to Kay’s. He took out the forms for Carlough College and passed them to Peter.

“Good,” Peter said.

Kay’s smile was so big, her whole face crinkled. Daniel smiled back. He was still full from last night’s dinner at Vivian’s, but ate marinated olives and arugula salad and linguine and lamb with eggplant, ordered a glass of red wine, another. As the servers cleared away the plates he saw Angel leave the room by herself. Maybe if he apologized to her in person, she wouldn’t tell Peter and Kay who the thief was. He excused himself, taking another glass of champagne as he crossed the room. Angel stood in the front entrance with a short-haired woman in a white jacket, one of the restaurant staff, and he heard them talking about candles and cake.

“Angel,” he said.

She stopped in the middle of her sentence, astonishment flickering on her face.

“Is there a problem?” the woman said.

“No,” Daniel said.

“As I was saying,” Angel said, “we’ll dim the lights, then sing. He’ll like that.”

He waited for her to finish talking, and when she turned to leave with the woman, Daniel blocked her.

“Okay,” she said. “What do you want?”

“Did you get my text?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What text?”

“I’m sorry about everything.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Can you do me a favor? Please don’t tell my parents about the money. Or your parents.”

She snorted. “Why not? You’re scared?”

“I don’t want them to know. I’m working on fixing things. You’ve got to believe me.”

“You want them to think you’re perfect? Then you shouldn’t have screwed up so hard in the first place.”

“They already know I’m a fuck-up. I’m just trying to make things better.”

“You know you can’t please everyone, right? Me included.”

“I swear I’m going to pay you back.”

“You need to figure your shit out, but don’t expect me to do it for you.” She turned and left the room.

Elaine intercepted him as he made his way to the table, said they’d have to set a date for dinner, she would get his number later, at the apartment. His parents were staying over tonight, and they’d have coffee there after the party. “You’ll have more time to talk with Angel once we’re all back at our place. Did you get to meet Charles, at least?”

“He seems nice.”

“He’s planning on law school.” Elaine leaned closer. “You know, I’m sure they wouldn’t want me to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway, because you know me and my big mouth. Your parents are heartbroken that you’re not going back to school. I know it seems like we’re a bunch of old fuddy-duddies, wanting to control your life, but believe it or not, I was young once, too. I know how it goes. But in this case, I must say, your parents know what they’re talking about. But. Have you thought of suggesting to them a school in the city if you don’t want to be upstate? I mean, I love your parents, but I get why a kid your age would prefer to be here rather than Ridgeborough. You could always stay with Jim and me. Think about it, will you?”

He heard Angel’s voice across the room; heard her laugh. He’d have to text her again, keep trying until she gave their friendship another chance. She said he needed to figure his shit out, but wasn’t that a sign of caring? “I’m going to Carlough,” he told Elaine. “For summer semester.” Saying it made his shoulders slump, but too late; he’d given Peter the essay.

Elaine clapped. “Terrific!”

He told Kay and Peter he was sorry he couldn’t join them at the Hennings’, but he had to work early tomorrow, even though his next shift actually wasn’t until Monday.

“We’ll see you soon,” Peter said. “Summer session is in two months, so plan on being home a few weeks before that, to get settled in and squared away. The first week of May would be best.”

Kay said, “I’m glad you’ve decided to do the right thing.”

He had to do as much as he could in the city for the next two months, before he left, starting with tonight. He’d meet up with Roland and his friends. He deserved a night out.

He was almost at the corner when he saw Charles smoking a cigarette in front of a fire hydrant. Angel had always hated smoking, called it gross. She must have changed her mind.

“Hey,” Charles said.

“Hey, man.”

“I want to talk to you for a second.”

Daniel stopped. “All right.”

Charles tossed his cigarette to the sidewalk, ground it out with his shoe, and took a pack of gum out of his pocket, popping a piece into his mouth.

“Can I have a piece?”

Charles tossed him the pack. “Keep it. Seriously.”

“Thanks.” The gum was a green square, slightly bitter with artificial sweetener. Daniel immediately wanted to spit it out, but swallowed it instead.

“I know what you did,” Charles said.

“I’ve done lots of things. You see my show the other night?”

“I respect Angel’s decision not to take this to the courts to try to get her money back, although I don’t agree with her. But you better not try to talk to her again.”

“Wait. Hold on.”

“Are you seriously going to deny this? I know you stole ten thousand dollars from her. She’s the kindest person I know and you took advantage of her.”

“I didn’t steal.”

“So tell that to Angel’s parents. They go on and on about what a good friend you are, how you guys grew up together like brother and sister. It’s disgusting. You should tell them, or I will.”

Daniel took off, half-walking and half-running, toward the subway. He couldn’t please anyone. But he wanted, more than anything, to not feel this terrible about himself.

When he emerged from the station at Canal Street, his phone rang. He scrambled for it, hoping it would be her.

It was Peter. “Your mother and I looked at the forms. What is wrong with you? You know we can’t submit that essay. I don’t even want to go to Carlough so I don’t know why I’m writing this. What is this garbage? We gave you another chance, which you clearly do not deserve, and this is how you repay us?”

Daniel reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Under a streetlamp he unrolled it. The small classes and liberal arts education that Carlough College offers, in particular its top-rate economics and political science programs, would allow me to pursue my professional career goals . He felt disappointment, edged with relief. “Sorry, Dad. It was a joke. Let me run over and I’ll give the real essay to you now.”