Chapter 13

Present

The weirdest part is how quickly everything changes.

One minute, I’m in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen,

wondering whether the smoothie blender is dishwasher

safe, thinking about my ongoing pining and my upcoming

move, about how much I’ll miss this—coming home after

work, finding twelve forks and a colander in the sink,

wondering how many of them are Liam’s.

Chapter 12

One week ago

No dimensional plane exists in which apartment hunting

(more precisely: apartment hunting while heartbroken)

could ever be pleasant. I have to admit, however, that

browsing Craigslist on the phone with my friends while I

sip on the overpriced red wine Liam got from an FGP Corp

retreat does dull the pain of the ordeal.

Chapter 11

Two weeks ago

I get the phone call on a Wednesday night, before dinner

but after I’ve returned from work.

I am remarkably composed throughout: I oh and ah in all

the right places; I ask pertinent, important questions; I

even remember to thank the caller for sharing the news

with me.

Chapter 10

Three weeks ago

When Liam arrives home, I can barely feel my toes, my

teeth are chattering, and I am more blanket than human.

He studies me from the entrance of the living room while

pulling off his tie, lips pressed together in what looks a lot

like amusement.

Asshole.

Chapter 9

One month ago

“I had lots of fun tonight.”

“Good. Thank you. I mean . . .” I clear my throat. “So did

I.”

Chapter 8

One month, two weeks ago

Rain is my favorite kind of weather.

I am most partial to summer storms, their strong winds

and hot air, the way they make me feel like I’m sitting on

the humid inside of a balloon that’s about to burst. As a kid,

I’d run outside as soon as the rain started just to get all wet

—which seemed to outrage my mother to no end.

Chapter 7

Three months ago

There’s nothing wrong with the waveguide. That, I know

for sure. The transformer and the stirrer seem fine, too,

which has me thinking that the problem is in the

magnetron. Now, I’m not really an expert, but I’m hoping

that if I tinker with the filament the assembly will fix itself

and— “Is this because last night we watched

Transformers?”