Anniversary of a Lie

Rory called while I was at work.

"Jilian, could you reach Harvey? He sent me a proposal, then disappeared. I'm here just as a filler, so he should at least walk me through it."

I switched over to WhatsApp, where the dozens of texts I had sent Harvey were all unanswered. And as if I had annoyed him, the last text bounced back with a red exclamation mark.

"Maybe he's just too busy. I'm sorry, Rory. Let me call him for you."

"Thanks, Jilian. I'll be waiting for your good news."

After his promotion to manager, Harvey was assigned an assistant, Rory. The kid was quick-witted but hardly stepped in when it came to actual projects.

When I dialed, the line rang and rang before cutting off. After I tried several times again, he finally picked up. The background was noisy, and his voice came through thick and nasal. "Stop blowing up my phone. Aren't you tired of this?"

He sounded so upset, as though the one who had died was his wife.

For a moment, I froze. First, it was because he had never spoken to me like this, though part of me had seen it coming. Second, it was because of the voice of an older woman in the background. It had gone hoarse from crying.

"Harvey, if only Cassie had married you back then. She was unhappy all these years and had always wanted to reach out to you, but you're already married. If only she had waited a little longer, the two who truly loved each other wouldn't have had to miss their chance."

So, those two had been so close to marriage. I pinched my arm to snap out of it. "Rory said the project—"

"I've handed everything over. Don't bother yourself with it," he said, impatiently cutting me off.

Then, realizing his sharp tone, he softened his voice to say, "I'm at Cassie's funeral. We'll talk later."

After the line went dead, I sat still, staring at my phone for a long time. He had forgotten that today was our fifth wedding anniversary. He was at his first love's funeral, crying as if the world had ended.

All I could do was send Rory an apology, and he replied with a sticker.

[Cheer up, Jilian. It'll be fine once everything blows over.]

But if I claimed that I wasn't sad, I would just be lying to myself. Why did I have to wait for this to blow over? How long was I supposed to endure this grief?

The way Harvey cared so much made me wonder if all those times he seemed lost in thought, he had been thinking of someone else, whom he had done similar things with.