Chapter Fifteen

Missy

Getting off the plane back in New York was exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time. I was finally feeling like my old self again—no, actually better than my old self, but I was the only person that knew there was any difference. This had been the first time in my life I had met someone who forced me to change the way I thought about life, love, and relationships. I was hoping that with this change also came better friendships with the people in my life like Eliza. I hoped that it would allow me to open up and have a little more free time. I had big aspirations for this change of thought, but I knew I had to take things one step at a time, starting with Mason. All of this had come about because of him, and I needed to make sure it was still intact before running off to begin my “new life.”

I made my way off the plane and into the airport, grabbing my carry-on and heading for the doors. There were taxis lined across the sidewalk as usual, and I took a deep breath of the cool New York air before stepping inside the smelly cab. I gave him the address to Mason’s apartment and watched as we pulled away from the airport. I instantly remembered why I loved the city so much. There were so many different types of people—so much life, love, sadness, anger, and happiness. At any one time, you could see a homeless person on a bench just three feet from a bride and groom and just in front of a grieving widow. There were businessmen, musicians, artists, tourists, and everyone else in between.

When we pulled up in front of his building, butterflies fluttered loudly in my chest. I could almost hear my heart beating in my ears with every step I took toward the lobby. I had so much to say but didn’t know where to start. Maybe I should have taken some of that time on the plane to think about it. I shook my head and took in a deep breath as I pulled open the lobby doors and walked over to the desk. The man knew my face and smiled kindly.

“I’ll call up for you,” he said as I smiled.

I walked away from the desk and wandered through the lobby, waiting for word from Mason.

“Just wait here, they will be down in a moment,” the desk clerk responded.

I smiled and shook my head, thinking it was strange that he would have me wait in the lobby. Maybe the desk clerk hadn’t told him who I was, or maybe Mason thought it better to grab some coffee like we always did. Either way, I was extremely excited to see him and finally get all of this stuff off my chest. I heard the elevator doors open behind me and turned around smiling, my smile quickly fading. In front of me was the blonde girl from the studio, her hands in front of her, her feet bare, and walking toward me. My stomach dropped and I froze, unable to even think about why she would be coming from Mason’s penthouse not wearing shoes and looking so damn smug. I cleared my throat and smiled fakely, waiting for her to get closer. Over my shoulder, I heard someone come in the door. I glanced over at a tall Italian-looking man with wide eyes and a nice smile. He scrunched his forehead but stood to the side.

“Hi,” the girl said excitedly. “I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Sarah. I take your afternoon Bhakti yoga class.”

“Oh,” I said, shaking my head. “Um, yes I remember you.”

“So sorry for coming down not put together,” she said, giggling. “We weren’t expecting you. Mason is, um, busy, but I thought I’d come down and see if there was anything I could do for you.”

“Mason—he’s up there?”

“He’s so busy all the time with work and travel.” She laughed. “He never gets to just relax. I was just putting some of his things away from my apartment that he’d left. He’s such a forgetful person.”

“Really,” I chuckled uncomfortably. “He always seemed pretty on target to me.”

“Yeah, well, I guess when you know him like I do you see a different side,” she replied. “But I didn’t know you did house calls for yoga. That’s so good of you to come all the way from the Art District. I’ll have to let the girls at the club know. I’m sure they’d love for you to come to their homes.”

“Yes, please do,” I said, feeling a mix of emotions. “So is Mason not available?”

“No,” she said firmly. “Is there a message I can give him? I mean, he had me over to help organize and such, and you know, he’s indisposed at the moment.”

“Yeah, I have a message for him,” I replied, my eyes burning with tears and my hands shaking with anger. “Tell him not to worry about his classes—I’ll cancel them. And that my number is no longer in use, so don’t call.”

“I will tell him,” she said, looking me up and down with a sly smile.

I turned from her and took a deep breath, stepping forward without even looking. I ran straight into the Italian guy, who was standing near us. He grabbed my shoulders and looked down at me with care.

“Are you all right?”

I shook my head, ran my hand across the tears that began to spill down my cheeks, and pushed past him. I couldn’t believe what had just happened, and all I wanted to do was get out of there as fast as possible. I shoved past the man and grabbed my bag from the ground, rushing toward the door and out into the fresh air. I filled my lungs as I bolted across the sidewalk and hopped into the first cab that I found.

“Where to?”

“1703 Trinity, in the Art District,” I replied, holding back my tears.

I looked back at the building, seeing the man walk out looking over at the cab. He looked bewildered and confused, and I didn’t understand why. Did I know him? I shook my head, tossing the thought from my mind. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what I had just walked in on. Sarah was at his apartment, and from the sounds of it, it wasn’t some random drop-in from a friend. I pulled a tissue from my purse and wiped under my eyes. I was trying so hard to keep it together, not wanting to start crying in front of the cab driver, who kept peering in his rearview mirror at me. I pulled my phone from my purse and texted Eliza to meet me at the apartment. She texted back “okay,” and I shoved my phone back in my purse.

When we pulled up out front, I hopped out and made a beeline for the door. I took two steps at a time, fumbling with my keys until I finally got the front door open. I walked inside and shut the door, leaning back against it and closing my eyes. Immediately tears flooded my vision, and I slowly slid down onto the floor, bringing my knees to my chest. I started to let it out, slowly at first but then letting loose and bawling into my knees. I took a deep breath and crawled over to the couch, pulling myself up onto it and laying my head on the throw pillow. I put my hand on my cheek and wiped the tears that steadily streamed down. How could I have let myself get into a situation like this? I had completely let down my guard thinking Mason was safe, and what happened? I found myself face-to-face with Sarah, thinking I was insane.

“Come in,” I said, hearing a tap on the door.

“Hey,” Eliza said, peeking in and seeing me lying on the couch crying. “Oh my God, what happened?”

“Oh,” I said, sniffling and forcing myself up. “I am such a moron.”

“No, you are not,” she said. She sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Clueless sometimes but not a moron.”

“Tell me about it,” I said, laughing through my tears. “I went to Ohio to see my grandma and to try to clear my mind from all this Mason stuff. While I was there, I had an epiphany that I just really needed to let go of my parents’ deaths and start enjoying life.”

“Good,” Eliza said breathlessly. “You deserve that.”

“Yeah, until I showed up to explain everything to Mason,” I said, starting to cry again. “That blonde girl, Sarah from the Bhakti yoga class, was there. She came down barefoot to tell me that Mason was ‘indisposed’ and couldn’t come talk to me.”

“Oh no,” Eliza shrieked. “Oh God, Missy, I am so sorry. What did you do?”

“I left a message telling him his classes are canceled and to never call me again.” I sniffled. “God, I thought I finally was going to be happy.”

“I know,” Eliza said pulling me into her. “But think of it this way. You didn’t waste your epiphany on Mason. You can now go explore your new freedom with anyone you want.”

“But I want Mason,” I cried.

“You think you do now,” she said, pulling back. “But I promise that feeling will go away. Here, let me get the vegan ice cream from the freezer and we will veg out together. That is the best thing for a broken heart.”

I shook my head and watched Eliza bounce from the couch and into the kitchen. I was crying so hard now that I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. I felt like a complete idiot, and I was so embarrassed for thinking that I meant anything more to Mason than being just some flexible yoga instructor he could bang. As soon as I was gone, he had another woman in his apartment, and it didn’t sound like anything new. God, I was so dumb.

We spent the rest of the evening bundled up in blankets, watching chick flicks, eating ice cream, and sipping on cheap wine. I had to admit, between me bawling my eyes out over Ten Things I Hate About You and laughing at Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, this whole broken-heart ritual actually did make me feel somewhat better. By the time the sun had gone down and I was a bottle and a half into the wine, I could barely keep my eyes open. Between that and the plane trip, I was zonked.

When I woke up to birds chirping outside the window and a major ice-cream-and-wine hangover, Eliza was gone. I grabbed the pink piece of paper off the table and squinted my eyes trying to read it. Eliza had written me a note.

Missy,

Don’t worry about the studio, I got you until you are feeling well enough to come back. As far as Mason goes, get your sadness out of your system, but then move on. You deserve so much better than that tool bag gave you. You are my wonder woman, and I know that with this new outlook on life, you are going to be so happy that you don’t have that kind of drama in your life. Now, get up, shower, brush your damn teeth because your breath is probably terrible, and go eat some breakfast in the sunshine.

Love you,

Eliza

P.S. Bring me back a scone, bitch.

I laughed out loud at the last part of her letter—that was so like Eliza. I took in a deep breath and rolled over on the couch, pushing the tissues on the floor. My chest ached from heartbreak, and though I wanted to just lie there and eat more ice cream, I figured I should probably follow directions. Besides, Eliza had been through enough breakups to know what would help. I needed to put Mason out of my mind and move on. I just hoped it was easier than it appeared to be.