Page 113 of See You Next Tuesday

Gabe [9:54pm]: Sorry, in a meeting

Anya [9:55pm]: I’m gonna change my flight to BWI for tomorrow, and I’ll get a cab to Frederick from there. I’ll coordinate with Hannah to get your key and wait at your place until you’re done with work. Is that okay?

Gabe [9:57pm]: If I say no, will that stop you?

Anya [9:57pm]: Not a chance

Anya [9:58pm]: I’ll see you tomorrow

Gabe [9:59pm]: Ok. See you tomorrow

“Do you want to tell me why you did that?”

“The podcast?” Anya cleared her throat. She couldn’t think of the last time she’d been this nervous to see Gabe. Maybe their first day working together in Vegas—what was that, four years ago?

Now she was standing in the living room of the quaint townhome he’d sublet in Frederick, a charming city in western Maryland. This was her first time seeing his place, and she really loved it. It had crooked floorboards, crown molding, soft chesterfield sofas, and a working fireplace she’d struggled mightily to light before being forced to admit that she did not, in all earnestness, understand how to operate a flue.

She’d arrived a solid two hours before Gabe got home and had spent most of that time pacing and growing increasingly worried. When he finally walked in, looking gaunt and exhausted, she wanted to run to the doorway and launch herself into his arms—but one look at his expression told her that was not a good idea.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Gabe, I am so sorry I hurt you.”

“But not for what you said, right?” He took off his coat and threw it over a chair, but he was still standing just a few feet from the door, arms folded. She rose from the couch and stepped toward him.

“I was doing my job.” Her voice was quiet but firm. “The same way you do.”

“No, not the same way I do.” Gabe sucked in a breath. “Because I am always respectful of Jo. And I don’t think anyone could mistake you for someone who respects Andrew Wheeler.”

“Come on, you know how I feel about him. I’ve said worse about him to you. You’ve said worse about him to me!”

“Not in the media—not when you’re launching a full court press to take us down.”

“And what have you been doing to us?” Anya was incredulous. “You skipped my mother’s yahrzeit to go on Meet the Press and talk about Jo’s viability—”

“And I was devastated!” Gabe yelled—Anya flinched. “Sorry, I’m sorry for yelling. I just— The idea that I was hurting you, that I wasn’t showing up when you needed me? It was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had. And I’m sorry, An, but I’m really not getting the sense that’s how you feel right now.”

“Well, it’s not exactly the same thing, is it?” Anya argued. “It’s not like I bailed on you to do the podcast…I just had to do the podcast.”

“Why?” Gabe pressed. “Why couldn’t Kira have done it, or Simone, or Preethi?”

“It was my strategy.” Anya straightened her posture. “I’m the one writing talking points for Jo every day, I’m the one across the language. It made more sense for me to do it myself than to brief one of them.”

“Oh my god.” Gabe gaped at her. “You wanted to do it.”

“What?” Anya felt uncomfortable. “That’s ridiculous.”

“No it isn’t. You’ve felt this way about Wheeler for years, and you were excited you finally had an excuse to say it. Right?” Gabe looked at Anya expectantly, and she was hit with a wave of guilt. He wasn’t entirely right, but he wasn’t entirely wrong either. “Do you know what it was like at work today? These people already think it was a mistake to let me in the building, and now I’m making them work through Christmas because my bosses are afraid my girlfriend will raise more money than me? I felt pathetic.”

“I’m sorry,” Anya repeated. “That sounds miserable.”

“But it’s not your responsibility.”

“I didn’t say that!” Anya protested. “No, I don’t think I’m personally responsible for your bosses being assholes, but I knew that me being the one to do the podcast would have blowback for you, and I did it anyway, and that sucks, Gabe. I know how much that sucks. But it was my job to say what I thought. And I didn’t exaggerate, and I didn’t lie, and I tried to be as respectful as I could.”

“While insinuating that Wheeler is for sale?”

“While insinuating…that he might be,” Anya admitted.

“Thanks for that.” Gabe clenched his jaw. “Really crucial distinction.”