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“Okay, well whatever it is it’s working for you.” Ellie smiles.
We go to the counter to checkout and the woman rings everything up. It’s a little more expensive than I thought it would be but I knew it would be a good amount to get a new wardrobe. Eleven hundred dollars’ worth, to be exact. Ellie’s eyes almost pop out of her head when she sees me pull out a card and not bat an eye at the total. I can tell she has a million questions running through her head but I don’t bother asking what she’s thinking. I don’t know if I’ll be able to answer everything.
“Did you get a new job?” Ellie asks once we get outside.
“I did.” I nod.
“What is it? Because if they’re hiring let them know I’m interested.” She laughs.
“I’m just tutoring more kids than I was.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. I’m just not ready for Ellie to know the truth yet.
“Oh gotcha.” She nods.
“Do you want to grab some coffee?”
“I’d love to but I have to head into work before my boss has my ass.” She hugs me goodbye and I watch her walk the opposite direction to the subway.
Heading to Grand Central with all my stuff, I get on the train to Eternal Port Valley in Upstate New York. It was a quick forty-five minute ride back to school. Sara hates it, but I love the train. It is peaceful and quiet, reminding me of being home. Speaking of which, I have been playing phone tag with my sister all week. I call again but she doesn’t pick up. I don’t blame her, not only is there a time difference, but she has my niece Leanne to worry about on top of running her own business. I try not to take offense when she doesn’t pick up my calls. Even though I do miss her. It is one of the only regrets I have about moving so far away from home; being so far from my twin sister. But it is also for the best if I ever want to be my own person.
I had grown up mostly in Reagan’s shadow and that meant everyone assumed I was just like my sister. She and I got along well, and she always included me in things but it was hard to feel like anything was justmine. Then when my niece came along, it was even more evident I’d be the forgotten one. So I moved to Eternal Port Valley to go to school and start over. Which I’ve never once regretted. Although NYC was a bit of a culture shock at first, it all seems to have worked out.
“Ticket, miss?” the train conductor says, and I let him scan the app on my phone. Much easier than using those outdated machines in the station.
“Thank you, have a nice day.” He tips his hat and smiles at me. Something I haven’t had men do in a long time. I have to wonder if it is the new clothes or the confidence behind the clothes.
By the time I get back to the apartment, Sara is in the middle of doing yoga in front of the TV. She’s wearing barely any clothing and is stretched out on her yoga mat. Sara smiles and waves at me when I come in but doesn’t break from whatever kind of pose she’s in. I shuffle inside with all my bags and head to my room. I still needed to find something perfect to wear with Dylan tomorrow night.
Madame Angelica had called and told me all about the night Dylan needs me for. Apparently it’s a work event so we can’t discuss money being exchanged or the fact that I’m an escort, which is more than okay with me. Sometimes I have a tendency of forgetting it myself. It’s a dressy casual event which means I should wear a dress and heels but not anything too fancy. Not that I actually own anything too fancy, but I guess I should start looking into buying fancier clothing too.
“Hey, I heard you got asked out again. Congrats, that makes you look really good to Angelica.” Sara comes in the room with a towel around her neck and wipes her forehead.
“Thanks, yeah the female Dylan I was telling you about asked for me,” I say proudly. It feels like I am succeeding at this job. Like I know what I am doing even though I am still a newbie.
“That’s really good, do you like her? Like as a client?”
“I do, she seems really cool,” I admit. She isn’t like some of the men I have started to see. She doesn’t seem eternally lonely or boring, she just seems like a normal woman. One I might even see myself dating had the roles been different when we met.
“That’s good, one time I had a client keep requesting me but he had the worst bad breath I’ve ever smelled and he was a close talker so it was like the worst experience I’ve ever had. I finally had to request not to see him anymore.” She laughs.
“Do you ever regret telling people what you do for a living?” I ask Sara. Obviously this is asked with no judgement, just curiosity.
“I mean you know my dad still won’t speak to me because he thinks I’mdisgusting.” She puts up air quotes around the last word.
“But what about your friends? Your mom?” I prompt.
“My mother and I don’t speak about it but at least she still speaks to me.” She pauses. “Some of my friends are kind about it. They took the time to ask questions and understand what it is that I do, while others were judgmental and didn’t take any time so I no longer speak to them.”
“I see.” I pause.
“You’re thinking about telling your family or your friends?” Sara raises an eyebrow.
“My friends. I don’t think my family would understand and I don’t want to disappoint them, even if it’s something that isn’t disappointing.”
“But you think your friends will understand?”
“I mean, you know Ellie and Morgan, they didn’t judge when they found out you did it. And we’re a ton closer than you guys are so I don’t think they would.”
“That’s true.” She nods.
