“He’s straight,” Mikey says. “I mean, as far as I know. And everyone loves Amanda. They’re just upset about the elopement.”
“Is Amanda pregnant?”
Mikey shakes his head. “No, it’s just the whole wedding thing is really important to my parents, you know? They went all out for Laura and Josh—invited basically everyone they’d ever made eye contact with.” He pauses. “Which is probably why Robbie and Amanda bowed out.”
“Probably. Wow.” I shrug. “At least it’s kind of romantic. An elopement!”
“Well, Laura thinks they actually did it because of health insurance. Amanda just turned twenty-six—”
“Right. And she’s working freelance now. That makes total sense.”
“Literally how do you remember this stuff?” Mikey smiles for real. “You know you don’t have to keep tabs on my brother’s girlfriend’s job details, right?”
“Brother’s wife. She’s your sister-in-law now.”
Mikey looks momentarily taken aback. “Yeah.”
“So, not even a tiny wedding, huh?” I lean onto my pillows, holding the phone aloft. “No first kiss, no cake? Nothing?”
“They can still kiss and eat cake.”
“True. But. I don’t know. Aren’t you a little sad you don’t get to watch Robbie’s face when Amanda walks in? That’s what I’d do—”
“I know,” Mikey says. “You sent me that BuzzFeed list four times.”
“And I’m going to keep sending you grooms blown away by their beautiful brides until you actually start appreciating them.”
“Is that a threat?” He wrinkles his nose and smiles, one of my all-time favorite Mikey expressions. But a moment later, his face falls. “I can’t believe there’s already family drama. I’ve been home less than twenty-four hours.”
“Well, if you ever need an escape from the drama, I’m here.”
Mikey just looks at me.
“Okay, fair enough. But if you want different drama . . .”
The front door of the apartment thuds shut.
I glance up. “Jessie’s back!”
A moment later, she’s in my doorway, holding a giant double-chocolate cookie in one hand and a white paper bakery bag in the other. “Arthur, you will not believe who I just saw at Levain Bakery.” She scoots in beside me, eyes landing on the screen of my phone. “Oh! Hi, Mikey.”
“How’s it going?” He shoots her a stilted half wave.
“Good, good.”
I smile back and forth between them. God, I love awkward people. I think I collect them.
Jessie hands me the bag, and I inhale happily. “This smells. So good.”
She pats my shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
“So who’d you run into?”
“Right.” She nods quickly. “Namrata.”
“At Levain? No way! I thought she was living downtown these days.”
“Who’s Namrata?” asks Mikey.
“She was one of the summer associates at the law firm when I worked there. But she’s a real associate now. Wow, Jess, what are the odds of you running into her the day before you start work?” I shake my head, smiling. “Way to go, Universe!”
“Anyway, I’m gonna go eat this.” Jessie jumps up. “Cookie lunch?”
“Cookie lunch.” I turn back to Mikey. “I should probably go, too.”
“Warm cookie. I get it,” he says.
I smile. “Keep me posted on your parents and Robert?”
“Deal.” Mikey pauses. “I miss you.”
“Miss you too, Mikey Mouse.”
I hang up and head out to the living room, where Jessie’s settled in at the dining table with her cookie and two glasses of milk.
“I fucking love you, Jessie Franklin,” I say.
She smiles up at me. “You didn’t tell me I’d need a spoon for this cookie.”
“A spoon? Toughen up.” I plop into the chair beside her and bite into my cookie like a hamburger. It’s so warm and gooey and rich. So New York. And here I’ve been living off Usdan Marketplace dining hall cookies for a year. “You have no idea how much I needed this.”
“Had a feeling.”
“I can’t believe you saw Namrata. How’s she doing?”
“No clue.” Jessie shrugs. “I didn’t see her.”
“Wait—”
“I saw Ben,” she says plainly.