Uprooted

The cafe was mobbed with its usual Sunday rush. A trio managed to snag a booth in the corner by the emergency exit, snaking through the crowd to claim it for themselves. Their trays were loaded with coffees, egg sandwiches, and pastries. There is a gentle sigh of relief from the group and they sit down, except from Genny, who is absentmindedly biting her ring finger nail and picking at the cuticle. She’s half-listening to her fiancé and maid of honor quarrel over his controversial choice of first dance song.

A playful nudge of the shoulder mid-argument is followed by a lingering brush on his bicep. The gesture was meant to come across as the sister-brother type of physical touch, but the effects of their amorous secret leaks into the open. Regret floods over Stecia at having shown any sign of affection towards Adam in front of Genny. A cloud passes over her mind as she internally reprimands herself. Stecia turns her attention to Genny in hopes to redirect from her playful gesture.

“Oh honey, Gen, be careful with your fingers! Your photographer will be taking close-ups of your rings and getting touch-ups costs extra,” interjected Stecia while reaching for Genny’s hand.

She wasn’t supposed to know that, was she? Genny never told her anything about their contract with the photographer, but Adam did one night when on a rare occasion their pillow talk briefly turned to Genny. Genny thought she may want to use the add-on service to tuck in some underarm and random side bulges. Privately, Adam wholeheartedly agreed that she needed some help in that area, beyond what a photographer could offer, but kept up the role of supportive partner that insisted his pudgy fiancée didn’t need fine-tuning.

Adam was constantly put off by Stecia’s big mouth. At least Genny, with all her faults, knew when to hold her tongue. Oh but Stecia knew how to use hers best…

“She has a point, babe.” Adam reached out from across the table and laced his fingers with Genny’s. His thumb caressed Genny’s to convey loving concern in an attempt to cover up Stecia’s fumble. He could feel Stecia subtly slump beside him and check her phone.

Was it asinine for Stecia to feel jealous of Genny for being on the receiving end of these caresses so unquestionably by those around? Yes. Was she insane for wanting to insert her own hand between theirs and push Genny's away? Absolutely, yes. Was it also, if not more, absurdly pointless for Stecia to jump to her friend’s defence and comfort with as equal vigor as she took to tear her life apart in hopes that restores balance? Unequivocally, yes.

Stecia didn’t always acknowledge these truths about herself. She preferred to smother her hypocrisy deep within to live life in relative peace.

Adam, on the other hand, felt no real remorse. Or he at least didn't fear the repercussions. What Genny didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Besides, if she found out, and that is a big if, she would place the blame on Stecia. That’s usually how the situation plays out when another woman is uncovered. Friendship betrayal is often felt harder than romantic betrayal. Friendship is the root from which romanticism can bloom. You can trim a branch and the tree will survive. Chop it in half at the base, and all comes down in a dead heap.

But what Adam didn’t know, could hurt him. That's what happened to Genny, after all.

Genny gave a lazy smile, looked Adam in the eye, and wordlessly responded with a quick hand squeeze before letting go to resume her picking, like it was some important business email she had to focus on composing. What's the point of maintaining her ring finger if it isn't going to be the center of attention anymore?

Chlamydia wasn't a word she expected to have to say when referring to herself. Some part of her knew Adam was capable of being unfaithful when she discovered his wandering eye. It started with him following Instagram models, then graduated to liking one too many pictures of her friends in bikinis. She noticed one friend's posts in particular (three guesses whose) were singled out. When he stopped liking her pictures, Genny assumed he lost interest, or Stecia rejected him. She now, correctly, theorizes it was a sloppy attempt to cover his tracks. When she got her diagnosis, she connected the two together. Genny remembered Stecia drunkenly confessed to contracting it from a hook-up. That and the myriad of messages she discovered on some random social media site that Adam stupidly left himself logged into. She initially felt insulted, betrayed, disrespected, all the expected emotions. She felt her vision blur through tears and a sudden dizzy spell as she processed her crumbling world.

One emotion she didn't expect was a wash of still calm after she took some time to process. She thought about her next moves and the order in which she should take them, when an idea came to her. She never felt more sure in her life.

Genny excused herself from the table to use the restroom. She realized she picked too far and needed to wash blood from her finger before it dropped onto her white shorts. She decided to be festive and wear some pieces of white clothing each day in the week leading up to the wedding. She decided to continue for appearances sake.

For however dense he is, Adam did pick up on Genny's recent proclivity for solitude. The idea of her knowing about the affair briefly occurred to him, but his hubris extinguished that thought. Genny was busy with her ever-growing business, wedding stress, etcetera. She was a self-made woman, and that drive is what initially attracted him to her. Over the past few years, Adam became accustomed to the lifestyle being with such a successful woman came with. Like a lot of men in his shoes, he wasn't immune to developing resentment that accompanied playing second-best to his partner.

Adam wanted to feel in control again, without losing his newfound security, so naturally he turned to other women for an outlet. He knew this made him a stereotype, but he finally understood the appeal. Adam couldn't resist the dangerous allure of going after one of her best friends. The what ifs that plagued his mind fueled him forward. Like a moth to a flame.

He peeked over his shoulder in the direction Genny walked off to. He sighed and suggested to Stecia, “We really need to cool it in public. You especially. I don't actually want to get caught.”

“So, you think she has an idea? Why hasn't she said more than five words to us?” Stecia asked, almost like a worried student to a teacher when their lab experiment has gone wrong.

“Naw,” Adam replied after a beat. “I don't think she actually does. She has some work stress. Told me about it yesterday.”

Adam shook his head and waved his hand in the air like batting away a fly. The truth is, he wasn't totally sure, but he was pretty certain of it. The empty words pacified Stecia enough to release her tensed fist, and it worked well enough on Adam, too, even if unintentionally. The pair slouched back in the booth, and picked away at their food in anticipation of Genny returning. Adam gave Setcia a sideways glance. He didn't love her. He didn't think he was capable of it anymore, truth be told. It was all tainted to him. Stecia could feel the fluttering on her heartstrings when he cast a glance at her.

Stecia could be described as a romantic, perhaps to a fault. Her favorite love stories are always ones like “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Notebook” where she can experience it on the surface-level, but never delving deeper into the ugly black heart of the story. Not fully realizing this about herself, she truly believes in Adam's affections.

Genny ducked out of the bathroom, took three large steps to peek around the corner at the booth, and turned on her heels back around to go through the door onto the back patio.

She pulls out her phone and checks her bank statement:

“$0.00”

A faint smile crosses her face. Opening her email app, she pulls up an encrypted chain. She taps on the latest unread message:

“sry this took longer than expected. U should see everything xferred by now. Lmk if u need anything else. Good luck.”

A sigh of relief. No more sharing, no more free rides, no more pretending, just her own pure and well-deserved selfishness. Genny could feel herself vibrate with excitement for her escape to Costa Rica. Adam would find himself locked from her house, her money gone, and be left to deal with the fallout.

He had nothing, was nothing, without her.