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That’s how Michael felt to me. Someone I was in a relationship with. During our daily lunches in the conference room, we talked about pretty much everything. Struggles growing up, and adjusting to a more stable lifestyle. Football, even though I barely knew the first thing about sports. He was passionate, and thoughtful, and I could listen to him talk for hours.
I felt the same way about August, for that matter. He was an important part of my life. On Thursday, he swung by my office with a huge grin on his face.
“I heard about the house! Are congratulations in order?”
“Not yet!” I quickly said. “I submitted the offer on Tuesday, and they haven’t responded. My realtor says that could be a good thing, or bad.”
“Well, I’m psyched for you. I’ll give you a big high-five and a bottle of whiskey or some shit when you close. And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll help you look for another place.”
“Is that what you want to do?” I asked. “Help me look?”
He shrugged casually. “Sure. And if anything saucy happens during that process…”
I giggled, then glanced at my computer. “Have you heard from Michael? He hasn’t been online in two days.”
“I talked to him on Monday, I think. That’s when he told me about your house.” He scoffed loudly. “He gets sick every single year, without fail. I guess all those muscles steal valuable blood flow from his immune system.”
“I don’t think that’s how that works,” I said.
He gave me a smug look. “Excuse me. I have a degree in Finance from the University of Chicago. I think I know a thing or two about infectious diseases.”
“I don’t think those two things are related. “
“Oh, they’re related all right.” He tapped his temple. “Think about it. And let me know when they accept the offer so we can celebrate!”
Yet as important as August and Michael were in my life, I felt the same way about Kai. Our Friday meetings were fun and adventurous and pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone. I was making more thantwiceas much money now than I was before he joined me. It was thanks to his help that I was even able to afford the pink house at all.
It was crazy when I thought about it. Three months ago, I had nobody. Just my parents. Now, these three men were important pillars in my life. They held everything up. Without them, the struggles of the world would have collapsed on me.
At least, that’s how it felt.
But it’s not meant to be.
Doubts swirled in my head as I sat in my office. One of the men was literally being paid to have sex with me, although indirectly rather than outright prostitution. And the other two men were my bosses at work. I could never publicly be with one of them—let aloneboth. Like Kai, I wanted to be judged for my skill and knowledge. Nobody would ever take me seriously if they knew I was with Michael and August.
I wondered if I should look for another job. Then we wouldn’t need to hide things. But that only shifted the problem ofhowto be with them, towhoI should be with. I couldn’t keep hooking up with August and Michael together. Eventually, I would need to pick one of them. And since they were best friends, that could blow up in our faces. I wouldn’t want to break up a friendship, and I definitely wouldn’t want to begin a relationship based on such a split.
But those problems all faded away when I got a call from my realtor that afternoon. I immediately ran into August’s office. He was on a conference call, but he muted it to pay attention to me. And when I told him the news, he gave me a big high-five and a swirling hug.
After work, I drove straight to my parents’ house and picked them up. They bombarded me with questions while I folded my dad’s wheelchair in the trunk, but I waved them off and insisted they wait until we get there.
The pink house looked exactly the same as it did the last time I saw it, but it felt different today. I helped my dad into his wheelchair and then we carried him up the steps of the front porch.
“Isn’t this house amazing?” I said while showing them around.
“My old boss lived in this neighborhood,” Dad said. “He loved it here.”
“I cleaned a house down the street once,” Mom chimed in. “Very nice. But too big. So much space to clean. How can anyone live in a place so big?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. “But we’re going to need to figure it out.”
Dad’s eyes widened. Mom took a minute longer to understand. “Huh?”
“On Tuesday, I put an offer on this house,” I said. My hands were shaking. “This afternoon… the offer was accepted! We still need to get an inspection done and everything, but this house ismine. What do you think?”
“It’s too much space for you!” Mom immediately said. “How will you keep it clean?”
“It’s not for me,” I said. “It’s for you, too. All of us will live here. Together.”
