Bond

Rachel said to meet her for lunch at the Pub on King. Sent at sunrise, no question mark. Checking my phone an hour before noon, I saw her message late, right as I had the time to brew a coffee. Telling Juniper I had to leave earlier, I headed out and took a bus to Uptown. Debating whether to get a new vape at Your Highness down the street, I chose to sit down early and nurse a Diet Coke.

Ten minutes late, she showed up in the clothes she wore last week, minus Ray-Bans. Lost track of time, or skipped her laundry day? I dared not think which answer, and so Iet her kiss my cheek and order our two entrées, one appetizer—and a bottle of rosé, two glasses. My cousin, dear Aunt Rachel, waited for the server to leave, and buried her face in her hands.

“Ruined, Solomon. What shall I do?”

My eyes searched—for nosy strangers, for hints of tears, for bruises on her skin. Why here, for what, by who?

“Another day, a brand new circumstance.” She lifted her head, and to my surprise was calm, assured. “The die is cast. I left the start-up.”

“Left? What about your equity?”

“Gone.” The software developer enunciated, and smiled at her own joke. Like always, she was one step ahead of me—one year my senior, one level wiser. What was the meaning of this?

Our small talk carried on as every week, as if her declaration never happened. The food arrived, and only then I saw she drank both glasses. She went to fill them, but put the bottle down and took an onion ring.

“Crunch time had me feeling down. I never missed so much sleep in my life.”

I nodded, though I could not understand. “This was your keystone graduation project. Your baby.”

She shrugged, a tiny lift of two slight shoulders, and stuck out her tongue. “Is this your way of saying I had an abortion?” A snicker, then a pensive sip of water. “Sometimes, I wonder how it ever happened. I cannot for the life of me remember what I saw in it.”

“It could have changed the world.” Or so the Record printed, when they won the pitch competition.

The co-founder shook her head. “It never was about that. I just wanted to make something with my friends.”