The Lovestruck Intern

Chapter Five

‘You’re moving out?’ Greg couldn't believe his ears and certainly wouldn't believe his eyes when Monica began throwing her stuff into a couple of boxes, ready to move into her new apartment.

It was official. Her internship at Max Group came with an accommodation allowance, which meant she didn’t have to worry about rent anymore. The company had already taken care of that.

As unbelievable as it seemed, it was happening. Monica had broken the news on the same day to Ellie and Greg but they had taken it differently. Ellie was over the moon about it.

‘This is such great news, Monica. We should celebrate your house warming party. Virtually, of course.’ Ellie teased. She was well aware that it's been a long time since Monica had a good reason to celebrate and now it was finally happening. A new job with a new apartment, what could be better than this?

Prior to her marriage and relocation to England, she had witnessed a few terrible apartments in New York. They were pricey, out of her style and just plain awful. One of her neighbors at the apartment was a fish monger and came back to the apartment building, stinking up the whole place. Ellie was forced to smell him all day and night. He was a fairly cool dude, but that smell was something she would never be able to erase from memory.

She couldn't imagine what Monica must have been through and to make it worse, she was sharing the same living space with Greg. Yikes!

When Greg got the news, he paused his video games and sat upright on the couch. ‘What did you say?’ He was going to make a big deal out of this, just like every other thing that happened in their lives.

‘It’s about time I ditched living like this, Greg. I deserve a new apartment with better living conditions. I can't even remember the last time there was any hot water available in this stink hole.’ Monica was moving to and fro, sorting out things she needed to take to her new place, and things she considered throwing in a bin and letting it burn. The moving company van, with the driver and accompanying help were patiently waiting outside, but she knew better they would grow tired and irritated soon enough if she wasn't downstairs in a few minutes.

‘No, no, no. You can't be serious. You're going to leave me behind? What sort of girlfriend does that?’

Monica sighed. She was too tired for this. ‘I’m not leaving you behind. I'm only moving out. Besides, it's only twenty minutes away from here.’

‘Twenty minutes? Can you hear yourself?’ He stood up and approached Monica, holding her hands and watching her.

‘OK, here's what we’ll do. I can move in with you in your new apartment then we won't get to be twenty minutes apart from each other. What do you think?’ He knew it was a long shot but he gave it a try anyway. Monica moved away from him offensively, and went back to sorting out her stuff.

‘No, Greg. If you want to move out of here, you've got to find your own place. We can't keep living together.’ She sounded disgusted and this stung Greg’s ego.

‘What do you mean? I love you, Mon. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and you know that. Let me move in with you and I promise I'll find my own place. I'll even get a job, OK? Roscoe is trying to fix me up with something, I promise.’

Monica froze. She turned to watch him. He was still the freshman she had always known with the same dirty blond hair, spoiling for a party and getting high on cheap alcohol and free weed. How had she been attracted to him all these years? And why was she just realizing it now?

‘Roscoe? Really? Your friend is a bum. He’s living on the streets and can't keep the same job for two days straight. That's the person you're counting on? I need space, Greg.’

‘Space for what?’ He sounded like he was going to cry now, but Monica didn't care to notice. She was almost done packing and what was left was her cooking utensils in the kitchen, or maybe she could just ditch them and shop for new ones. Her bank account was getting stacked by the day with her paycheck, so she could afford getting new china.

‘Please, Mon. Please, don't leave me. I love you so much.’ Greg moved in for a kiss and Monica hit him with a cold, hard stare. What had gotten into her? She usually wasn't this way, the new job must be getting to her and she has only been there for a week.

‘Goodbye, Greg. Get your s**t together. It's about damn time.’ She picked up her stuff and walked out that door, never looking back at whatever was left behind.

The new apartment in Upper Manhattan was exactly where a young lady aspired to live. At least at this time in her life.

Monica moved upstairs at apartment 4B and took in the beautiful view. She was almost moved to tears when she walked right into her new living space.

The apartment was a modest one-bedroom with sunlight spilling through tall windows onto polished wood floors, revealing the gentle cracks of age beneath the gloss. She could tell the building was old, but it still looked new as ever. It was well taken care of, and the superintendent was a nice, old lady, Miss Nancy.

The former occupant was a book lover and it showed, and smelled. The living room smelled faintly of coffee and old paper. There was a small bookshelf leaned against the wall, with a few books, mostly kids’ fairy stories hanging there.

In the kitchen, stainless steel caught the morning light, and beyond the fire escape, the hum of the city rose like a steady heartbeat. The bedroom was small but calm with soft curtains, quiet air, and the promise of peace.

Everything looked promising and perfect. Monica was definitely going to have a good time living here. It was her day off at work and she was going to use it to the fullest. Now that she was done moving her stuff, she had to do some shopping. Maybe even shop for some new clothes.

As she stood in the middle of her half empty living room, her phone buzzed. It was Donna calling. Since she had been lying to her mom all those years about living comfortably in the city, now was the time to really milk it. This time, it wasn't going to be a lie.

‘Hey mom.’ She said gleefully. It was noisy on the other side of the line, like Donna was on the road, or something.

‘What’s with the noise, Donna?’ Monica playfully called her mom by her first name. It was a running joke between mother and child, but Ellie could never understand it. Growing up with parents who lived regimented lives and devoted everything they had to their christian faith was overwhelming for a kid. They weren't exactly poor but they lived like proverbial church mice. Ellie had gotten to it pretty quickly and adapted.

Her mom, a homemaker, forced her seven children to pray, eat and pray some more. Ellie had escaped the “Harper” genes and maintained a slim, attractive figure all her life. Her other siblings were thick as whales. She often joked about being the lucky one who got out, by leaving her family behind in their little barn-like house and moving away to New York City for a fresh start.

With Monica, it was different. Donna was a free spirit. She wore makeup more than her daughter ever did. A lover of Spandex, she loved to show off her womanly curves. Whenever the other women who were older or thicker than their age admired her figure, she would say, ‘It runs in the family, yunno!’. She wasn't lying, it really did run in the family. Monica was a replica of her mom. She never got to meet her dad after he died in a car accident a few months before she was born.

That was when Donna began dating Monica's jerk of a stepfather. She never liked to think, or talk about him. Good thing he was behind bars now and Donna was living her best life with Eric, who was an ex-marines Corp and now ran a small automobile repair shop. He fancied travelling the countryside with his little family, and singing along to hit songs from the golden eighties. He was a jolly fellow all round.

Monica could tell her mom was on another countryside trip with the love of her life. Josh’s voice topped the blaring background noise. He was pleading for a canned drink and it seemed it wasn't his first. The kid was obsessed with sugar, he might lose all his teeth before he peaked eighteen.

‘Eric is having another road trip, Mon. We wish you were here. How soon will you be able to make it home?’ Donna inquired. It's been over three years since Monica visited her family in their little town in Delaware. It stung her heart to think of how much she missed her mom’s cooking and affection. It was what she really desired on most nights.

‘Or maybe we can make it to New York City and come visit. What do you think?’ Before Monica could register a response, she overheard Josh seconding the motion. He was a good kid at heart, just like his dad.

‘No, mom. I'm swamped with tasks at work, I won't get too much time to hangout with you guys and stuff. Maybe another time.’

‘OK, if you say so. But we definitely will. I'll add it to my calendar.’ Finally, she had gotten out of this one again. How many more times would she escape from her family?

‘Promise me you won't work too hard. Once those wrinkles on your face start showing up, there's no turning back.’

Monica rolled her eyes at her mom’s timeless beauty hacks that nobody ever asked for. ‘Gee, thanks Donna. Say hi to Eric and Joshy for me. Love you!’

Before Donna could say it back, Monica had tapped the red end call sign on her screen. She had been on the phone for five minutes but it felt longer. It was time to head out and spend some of the money sitting pretty in her bank account.