The Goy Next Door (Girl Meets Goy #2)

Chapter 11 The last lunch

Leah wished she had extra clothes or at least more comfortable shoes to wear when she trekked back uptown that morning. She rarely stayed at Asher’s apartment on weeknights because of what it meant for the morning.

Multiple times Asher had suggested she plan ahead and bring over extra clothes, or better yet, just leave things there for when she needed them. While Leah agreed it was a great idea, and she should definitely do that, she never did.

But she would think about it more seriously, she told herself as she found herself bright and early that morning wearing her Sandy costume on the uptown subway. She definitely would think about it more seriously.

She pulled out her phone on the subway and saw the text from Gabe. She hadn’t noticed it before and she suddenly felt caught. Caught by who? She wasn’t sure. Caught by Gabe, that she had another boyfriend? Or caught by Asher for possibly harboring feelings for someone else?

She put the phone away and resolved to either ignore it or discuss it with Maya later. Or maybe she could discuss with Brittany, her new friend at work, especially since they would be working more closely.

Leah had decided to tell Tony that she wanted to accept the job at Teen Club. She would tell him that it’s what she always wanted and while she appreciated the opportunity at Club Business and she had learned so much, she really didn’t think it was the right place for her. Surely Tony would agree, especially after what happened.

She got off the subway and rushed as fast as she could with feet throbbing in her red high heels that no longer matched her lips.

“Leah?” she thought she heard, but she kept her head down, until she heard it again. She looked up and there was Gabe in his running gear. He pressed his watch and stopped in front of her. “Must have been a wild party.”

Her mouth dropped and she wanted to cry because surely he knew. Surely he knew she was with somebody else, what other reason would someone slink home early in the morning in the same outfit from the night before?

“It was,” she said as she looked around, hoping the movement would stop the tears from coming.

“I guess Purim is even crazier than Halloween,” he said and when she nodded, he bowed his head, pressed his watch again and continued running toward the park.

With him behind her, Leah felt her tears coming. She had just felt so happy the night before. She thought she and Asher could be happy together, they could be just as in love as Sandy and Danny. But was that real love? Or was it just a high school fantasy that they were holding onto for too long?

It didn’t matter now, because surely Gabe realized now that Leah was not available. That’s what she got for dating a goy who lived next door. She would run into him at the worst times until one of them moved.

She stumbled into her apartment and showered quickly, scrubbing the leftover makeup from her face and the mousse that held her big curls up. She promised she’d bring clothes to Asher’s apartment and give their relationship a real chance in the grown-up world.

Then she hustled back to the subway, her heart pounding at the thought of telling Tony about her decision. But it was a good decision. The right decision, she consoled herself. This is what she’d dreamed about since she was younger. She would be able to make a difference for young people.

She drifted into the office with her head down and checked her emails. When the morning meeting came, she stood quietly while Tony assigned their daily stories—Leah was writing about a company that had filed bankruptcy overnight. The meeting seemed to end quickly that day, there were no tangents about privileged children and stupid trends or anything else that was wrong with this generation. Tony simply got down to business and finished the meeting so fast that Leah wished there was something else to talk about. She waited for him to start one of his speeches, but it didn’t come.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked when the other reporters walked out of Tony’s office. Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure he could hear it, or at least hear how the pounding unsteadied her voice.

“Sure, Rosenberg, what’s up?” He leaned back in his chair and she wondered if she should sit down for this or stay standing. Sitting might drag out the conversation, but she wasn’t sure her legs would handle the pressure.

“I think I want to accept the offer at Teen Club.”

“You think? Shit, Rosenberg, this isn’t because of the stupid loan closing article, is it? That was really no big deal! We run corrections all the time!”

“No, I think this is what is best for me…and for Diamond Media.”

“You think?” Tony asked. “You think or are you sure? Because this is a big decision you’re making.”

“I’m sure,” she responded and the pounding of her heart slightly weakened.

“Well, if that’s what you want,” Tony said while throwing his hands up in surrender. “I think it’s very unfortunate, especially for Club Business, because you are one of the best reporters we’ve had here in a long time. But you have to do what’s best for you.”

“Thank you.” Leah paused and looked around his office. Would she miss this? Would she miss his morning tirades? Would she miss the oddities of the office—Malcolm’s whispered voice, her friends Alex and Mark? “Do I give a two-week notice?” she asked, not really sure how it worked.

“No, you can finish out the day and next week start at Teen Club,” Tony assured her. “Alex and Mark will pick up the slack until we hire someone new. Don’t blame me if they hate you for the extra work.”

Leah nodded and walked back to her desk. Part of her felt sad. It was strange. She hadn’t wanted to be at Club Business in the first place. She had hated the work at first, but things had changed since she’d started there. She was generally happy with her job, didn’t hate the days or the work, nor did she watch the clock until the day ended. And Tony was a fair boss, he didn’t get overly angry (at her, at least) nor did he ever expect anyone to work a minute after 6:00 PM. It really hadn’t been so bad.

But she had made her decision and now it was time to look forward to her next chapter. Teen Club would never be described as “really not so bad!” It was a dream job! She would be ahead of all the trends and she would write about important issues that mattered to young people. She’d write about things that would have helped her during her teenage years. She could stop people from making the same mistakes she had!

She kept her head down and worked on her article that day. She had lunch at the deli with Alex and Mark and laughed while Alex tested out one his new comedy sketches on them. I told my parents about my plans to be a stand-up comedian and they couldn’t stop laughing. Well, now that I’ve accomplished my dreams, look who’s laughing now! Not them that’s for sure! I wish all my jokes were as funny as my life choices.

Mark talked about the new NYU grad student he was dating—he’d taken her out to a steakhouse for their first date, that’s how much he liked her! He liked her more than a week’s worth of pay in his bank account.

“I hope you didn’t tell her you loved her already,” Alex commented. “No matter how often it happens in books and movies, it’s never good in real life!”

Mark rolled his eyes and assured his friends that they had a second date on the books already and he would wait at least a few more dates before bringing up the L word.

Leah told them about the Purim party she went to and again found herself explaining the “Jewish Halloween.”

“Why have Christians not yet appropriated this holiday?” Alex responded. “Of all the Jewish holidays you’ve celebrated since we’ve been friends, this is the first one where I am actually jealous. Like Hannukah sounded boring, great you get eight presents, but usually we get more. And let’s be honest, I can only eat so many donuts in eight days without getting heartburn. It would be way better for Christians to forget about Hannukah, anyways it overlaps with Christmas, and practice inclusion with Purim! Why hasn’t anyone thought of that?”

“That sounds like the making of your next sketch,” Mark said. “But it needs polishing.”

“If I ever perform for a Jewish audience, this will definitely be my sketch,” Alex confirmed. “But seriously, I would love to celebrate Purim.”

Leah giggled and wondered if this would be her last lunch with her friends. Would they still meet during the day when she was at Teen Club? Or was this friendship purely because of the proximity of their cubicles? Would she have lunch with her new Teen Club colleagues? And would it be even half as entertaining?

She didn’t tell her friends about her move to Teen Club. She wanted to, but the time hadn’t seemed right between the jokes, laughter, and chewing at lunch. She would tell them though.

But she didn’t have the chance. When she got back to the office, Tony called the team into his office for an emergency meeting.

“We have to say goodbye to Rosenberg,” Tony notified the team. “I bought you those Sprinkles cupcakes you kids seem to like. You still like those right? They haven’t gone out of style yet? I don’t understand how desserts go out of style. Do tastes change? Was a cupcake that was the best thing ever one week suddenly become inedible the next? How do trendy desserts work anyway?”

As Tony droned on about the ridiculous dessert trends he’d heard about— my daughter kept talking about a cronut for about a week. Do you know what that is?— the rest of the team shared the cupcakes, which Tony noted he never would have bought for any other reporter.

“Mark, when you quit, you’re getting a bag of M&M’s to split with the entire office! And Alex, well, I’ll probably fire you before you quit, but I’m not investing anything in your send-off! You should probably buy me something for putting up with you for so long! I like simple things like Snickers—do you kids even eat those anymore or are they not fashionable?”

When the last crumb was either finished or stuffed into the carpet, Tony yelled at them to get back to work. “Don’t file your last article late, Rosenberg!” he insisted and Leah assured him that she wouldn’t.

They all went back to their desks and Alex and Mark looked at her quietly.

“We’ll miss you,” Mark said as he sat down at his cubicle. “But I’m sure we’ll see you at the annual holiday party.”

Leah turned to Alex. The mention of the holiday party brought back memories of their kiss in the elevator.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Alex asked quietly. He had a concerned look on his face, one that was unrecognizable from the face he had on before while he practiced his comedy sketch. “It this because of that goy you dated?”

“No! Of course not!” she insisted, but his question made her wonder. Had Gabe had anything to do with her decision? Of course not. How could Alex even ask such a thing?

The concerned look disappeared. “Well, say hi to Brittany for me,” he said with a smirk. Leah rolled her eyes and sat down at her desk to finish her last story at Club Business.