“Daphne,” she heard Gary’s voice call to her. She looked around the crowded restaurant to figure out where his voice was coming from.

Gary was seated not too far from the entrance, and was waving at her awkwardly with what looked like a forced smile.

“Ah, he’s right there,” she told the host with a small smile.

“Sure, go on in,” the host replied with a nod, clearly already wanting to move onto the next person in the crowded restaurant.

Daphne walked around the hosting podium and up to the table Gary was at. “Hey,” she said, taking off her purse and jacket and sitting down.

“Hey,” Gary replied. “Sorry, I would have waited for you but the tables started filling up pretty quickly.”

“No worries,” Daphne replied, looking around. “I wonder why they’re so busy on a Tuesday night.”

“No clue,” Gary replied, handing her a menu to look over.

“I’m not too late, am I?” Daphne asked, taking a quick peek at her watch on her wrist. It was seven o’ two. She wasn’t as close to late as she had been meeting with him in the past.

“No,” Gary replied, taking a sip of his water and then looking at his phone. “I was just a little early because I was hungry.”

Daphne noticed that he was typing rapidly on his cellphone. “Have you already decided what you’re going to eat?” she asked, turning her attention to the menu.

“Yep,” he replied.

She looked up at him and he was still fiddling around on his device. “What did you decide on?” she asked.

“The filet mignon,” Gary replied, not looking back at her.

Seriously? Daphne thought, glancing back at the menu and finding the price. It was thirty dollars, before tax or a tip. He had to pick the most expensive thing on the menu, didn’t he? Daphne wondered. No wonder Maggie told me to stop paying him…how much money did I spent on this prick?

Daphne hid her face with the menu, as she grimaced and swallowed hard. Still, though, she thought. It was hard enough to find a boyfriend in the first place. I shouldn’t be so keen on throwing it all away without giving it a shot.

Daphne’s eyes ran through all of the other menu items. It was a sports bar style restaurant, something that Gary preferred over pretty much anything Daphne liked.

Of course he wanted to meet here, she thought. I shouldn’t have left the decision up to him if I wanted something else. That was foolish of me.

She took a deep breath and settled to order some garlic parmesan boneless chicken wings. That sounds pretty good, she thought. Though he’ll probably give me flack for wanting to eat boneless wings.

“Did you decide?” Gary asked Daphne.

She placed her menu down on the table, looking at him. He still hadn’t looked up from his phone and was still typing rapidly on it.

Was he always like this? Daphne found herself wondering. Did he really not pay attention to me so blatantly?

“I did,” she replied.

“What did you settle on?”

“Some boneless chicken wings.”

He looked up at her, their eyes meeting briefly and he smiled at her, the lopsided smile that she had fallen for. She expected her heart to skip a beat, but it stayed steady instead.

“That’s so like you,” he said, looking back down at his phone.

Daphne touched her chest gently to make sure that her heart was still beating in it. It was. Is the magic gone now that I know this fucker is supposed to break up with me? She wondered. In her lap, she clutched her hands, feeling her stomach tighten. But if I let him get away, it could take years again before I find someone else.

She swallowed hard, a lump growing in her throat. “How is your mom doing?” she asked, doing everything she could to keep her voice steady.

Gary didn’t look up at her, and it was silent for a few moments before he responded. “She’s doing pretty good,” he said.

“Have all of her illnesses gotten back under control?” Daphne asked.

Gary looked up at her, cocking his head to the side, a look of disdain on his face. “Most of them,” he answered. “Do you really need to bring that up in the middle of a restaurant though?” he asked.

Daphne bit her lip, not really sure how to respond. Thankfully, their server came up to take their orders, inadvertently rescuing Daphne. They put in their orders, and the server walked away.

Daphne was grateful when Gary went back to staring at his phone and dropped the topic of conversation, allowing her to take a deep breath.

I get that was maybe not the best topic of conversation in public, she thought, but what was that about? She looked up at him, furrowing her brows, as if he was a puzzle that had stumped her. He used to spend hours talking my ear off about his mother, and her ailments. Did he change? If so, when?

“What about your sister?” Daphne asked.

Gary scoffed, looking up again from his phone briefly. His eyes seemed different in that moment, angry, even. “She ran off with her boyfriend about a month ago, leaving mom and I to pay for everything. We’re struggling to make ends meet ever since she left.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Though his eyes had softened as he was talking, Daphne had felt a shiver go down her spine from his initial gaze. I don’t remember the last time we talked about his family, Daphne thought, straining her memory. But he certainly didn’t act like this about them. Was he always this way, or is this truly a parallel universe?

Another thought raised in her mind. He did break up with me the day I was murdered, she thought. Was he maybe involved?

Daphne took a deep breath and shook her head a little at the thought, pushing it away. I’m not sure he’s capable of murder, she thought.

She looked back at him, half expecting him to ask her what was on her mind, but he was back to staring and fiddling with his phone.

Daphne cleared her throat and started twisting the end of a section of her hair around her fingers. “Are you doing anything fun for Halloween with your family?” she asked.

“Who does anything for Halloween?” Gary asked, derision clear in his voice. He still didn’t look up.

“Um,” Daphne replied, surprised by his answer. “I guess I just heard at the office that some families will get together and eat chili and things like that.”

“Must be nice to have a family that likes each other,” Gary grumbled, still not looking up.

Is he seriously going to be on his phone for the entire time? She wondered. Why the hell did he break up with me saying I didn’t spend enough time with him if he’s not even going to be present when I make an effort?

“Seems like you were less free than I thought you’d be tonight,” Daphne said, gesturing at his phone.

Gary put his phone down, grimacing. “Sorry about that,” he said, locking it and putting it off to the side.

His sudden change in tune made Daphne cock her head to the side a little. “Who are you messaging anyway?” she asked as his phone vibrated several times on the table.

“It’s just a bunch of recruiters,” Gary answered, meeting her eyes with his blue ones.

Daphne raised her eyebrows and looked at her watch. “A bunch of recruiters are messaging you at seven twenty at night?” she asked, looking back at him.

A look of contempt crossed Gary’s face. “You’re always ragging on me to find a job, and now you’re questioning when the recruiters are messaging me?” he asked. “Which is it that you want?”

I’ve been ragging on him? She thought, raising her eyebrows at the statement.

“I haven’t even brought it up tonight?” she pointed out. “Is it not going well?” She asked, trying to keep her voice even.

“It’s not,” Gary replied. “I’m convinced at this point that no one is actually hiring.” His phone vibrated several more times across the table.

“Here’s your food!” The server exclaimed, placing the dishes in front of them. “Please let me know if you need anything else, otherwise, enjoy!” He had a bright smile on his face.

“Thanks,” Daphne replied with a tight smile.

She looked over at Gary, who didn’t even seem to acknowledge the server, as he was already dumping steak sauce on his food. He started digging into to meat immediately after.

His phone vibrated several more times. His words from the breakup came to Daphne’s mind…about how he had found someone else.

I shouldn’t say anything, Daphne thought, taking a bite of her food and feeling her fingers tighten around the piece of chicken. I shouldn’t…

“Sure seems like you’re getting a lot of messages from recruiters for someone who’s struggling to find a job,” she heard the snide comment come out of her mouth.

Shit, she thought. I shouldn’t have said that, but I couldn’t help myself.

Gary stabbed his fork into his meat, hard enough for the tines to clatter against the plate. “You’re sure up in my shit today,” he said. “What’s the big deal?”

Fuck, she thought. I’ve definitely done it now.

Her heart sunk in her chest, but the fire in her blood burned hotter. Seems like I can do no right today, she thought.

“Sorry,” she replied, physically retreating back in on herself, but continuing to eat, staring down at her food.

Does this guy even realize how much of a loser he is? She wondered. I’m appalled that it took him breaking up with me to notice.

“No,” I’m sorry,” Gary replied, reaching out and taking her hand that was on the table. “That was too harsh. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Daphne snatched her hand up from his and glared at him. “I asked to spend time with you, and this entire time you’ve been glued to your phone,” she snapped. “I tried to make conversation with you and you got angry at me. Did it ever cross your mind to ask me about how my day went?” she asked.

Gary looked a bit taken aback and then nodded. “You’re right,” he said with a sigh. He frowned. “I need to do better.”

“I have had one of the worst days that I’ve had in a long time, and I was excited to come out and have a nice dinner with my boyfriend after it all. Instead, I’ve been ignored and you’ve been grouchy.” She wiped her hands on a napkin and then crossed her arms.

That’s probably a half-truth, she thought. Being murdered was probably the worst day I’ve had in a long time, but today is certainly a close second.

“I’m…sorry,” Gary replied, looking down, and at least looking a little remorseful. “I guess I didn’t think about things from your point of view.”

Daphne grimaced. She wasn’t sure if he was being genuine or not, but she was still upset with him.

“I told you from the get-go that I wanted a serious relationship,” she continued. “You told me that you wanted the same, so why does it feel like I’m the one putting in all of the effort?”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he said again. “I need to put in more effort.” His facial expression did not change, making Daphne doubt his authenticity even more.

“And you know what!” Daphne exclaimed, making some of the other guests in the restaurant glance over at them. She lowered her voice. “I’ve been struggling to make ends meet lately, and I can’t afford to pay you extra money anymore,” she said.

She felt a pit growing in her stomach at the lie she had just told, but she felt, now, more than ever, that what Maggie had told her was right. She should never have started giving Gary extra money in the first place.

Gary’s fork and knife clattered onto his plate, the knife flying dangerously all over the place. “What?” he demanded.

“I said, I can’t pay you anymore,” she repeated.

“Are you fucking joking?” he hissed at her, seemingly in hopes of not drawing further attention to the couple.

“I’m not,” Daphne replied firmly.

“I’ve been relying on you, and now you’re just going to pull the rug out from underneath me?” he asked, his face turning red.

“What choice do I have?” Daphne asked, gritting her teeth. “Because I’ve been trying to pay you extra, I’ve barely been able to make my own ends meet.”

“I thought this was a partnership,” Gary spat, standing up. “And now I realize I was a fool to trust you.”

His words made Daphne’s stomach twist at the lie she had told him. No, she thought. I need to stand strong if I want to be happy.

Daphne set her jaw as Gary walked around the table and left. Of course, he probably won’t even pay, either, she thought. Just like he didn’t when he broke up with me. She grabbed her next chicken wing of it and took a bite. Though it had tasted good before, and now it tasted like wet carboard. He’s surprisingly consistently inconsistent, Daphne thought.

She did her best to finish up her sticky food and asked for a box and the bill. I can feed some of the rest of this steak to Tanpopo as a treat, she thought. As long as it’s not too heavily seasoned. She sighed as the waiter dropped off the box and took away her card.

I’m not sure any of this helped at all, she thought, the hollow feeling she felt after the breakup returning to her chest. I feel less happy than I did before. Was it worth rocking the boat?

She signed her name on the receipt and calculated the tip. She stood up, putting her jacket and her scarf on. I guess for now we’re still together, she thought. Though I can’t help but wonder if I ended up speeding up our breakup in the process.