Sadie closed the door and followed them. “Girls, I appreciate the thought. I do. But I think I should just get to bed,” she said as she watched them making themselves at home.
“No way, Sadie,” Stella said. She put all the bottles in the fridge except for one, which she brought with her to the living room. “We know what you’re going to do. You’re gonna mope. And it’s not good for you to be alone today.”
Sadie looked at her friends, at the way they were trying so hard to seem as if this were all casual and they were not worried about her, and felt absurdly touched. She grabbed her own recently opened beer and held it up.
“Fine. Drink up, then.”
*****
Several glasses of wine later, and Sadie found she was grateful that her friends had stopped by after all and told them so.
The sly, silly looks that appeared on their faces caused her to lean back, suddenly feeling wary. She knew them too well. They were up to something.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Stella gave a mischievous smile. “We got you something for your birthday.”
Sadie relaxed only a little at the words. “You guys didn’t have to get me anything.”
Angelina shrugged. “Maybe not, but we wanted to.”
Stella poked Angelina in the shoulder. “Give it to her.”
Angelina nodded and pulled something from inside her jacket pocket. It was a small white box, no bigger than a wallet. It was completely unassuming, but something about it made Sadie’s breath catch in her throat. “What is that?”
“Open it.”
She took the box from Angelina and held it in her hand. She looked down at it, then back up at them. They were both staring at it with eager, yet almost respectful, looks on their faces.
“Open it,” Stella whispered.
Sadie lifted the box’s lid and peered inside. Inside of the box’s satin interior, lay a key. Ornate and beautiful, but just a key.
Puzzled, she held it up. “What is this?”
“The question you should be asking is: what does it open?”
“Ok, I’ll bite. What does it open?”
“Have you ever heard of the Palace?” Stella asked.
“No. Should I have?”
“It’s…well…it’s kind of a brothel.”
“A what?”
“A brothel. Right on the outskirts of the city,” Stella said.
It all came together for Sadie at the mention of that one word. She looked at her friends in amazement. “You guys got me a whore?”
“Now, it’s not like that. This place is different. It’s really classy. They don’t call them whores. They call them companions. Angelina and I got you a guy for one night.”
“Well, it’s not a full night. It’s for four hours,” Angelina interjected.
“I cannot believe you guys!” Sadie yelled as she stood up and tossed the key aside. “Why would you think that this is ok? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Stella stood up and stepped in front of Sadie. “Sadie, just listen for a minute, ok?”
“Maury…”
“Maury is dead, Sadie. He’s been dead for over seven years now.”
“Don’t.”
“Maury was a great guy, Sadie. He was the best. God, I think Angelina and I loved him almost as much as you did. But he’s not here anymore. And you are. And you need to let him go and start living again.”
“Aw jeez,” Sadie said as she sat back down heavily in her chair and wiped at her eyes. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the past six years?”
“You’ve been existing. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But you have to start living, Sadie. Sooner or later, you have to get back out there.”
“So fucking some male escort is the way to do that, is that what you’re saying?”
Stella and Angelina exchanged looks. Then Stella backed away and Angelina dropped to her knees in front of Sadie. It all reminded Sadie of some kind of absurd double-team wrestling match. “We’re saying that it’s one night for you to enjoy yourself a little. That’s all.”
Stella picked up the key and held it in front of Sadie. “Just one night, Sadie. This Saturday.”
Sadie eyed it, then slowly took from her. She felt defeated and suddenly very tired. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, man. Angelina and I dished out some money for this. This guy wasn’t cheap.”
Sadie couldn’t help but laugh at that and instantly she felt better. Somehow, Stella always knew the one thing to say that would make her laugh, no matter how stupid or inappropriate it was.
“Besides, Sadie. The guy is hot. If I wasn’t gay, I’d do him myself. Hell, I’ll probably do him if you decide not to go, cause they don’t give refunds, you know?”
Sadie shook her head and chuckled. “Oh God…fine. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fine. I’ll go cause you guys already spent the money. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna sleep with the guy.”
“You do whatever you want, Sadie. Fuck him, talk to him, bake cookies with him…we don’t care. Just as long as you get out of this apartment.”
Sadie looked down at the key in her hand. It was heavy, solid. She could only imagine what kind of door it opened. “I don’t know what to say. Somehow ‘thanks for getting me a prostitute’ just doesn’t seem quite right.”
“You know we love you, Sadie. We just want you to be happy, that’s all,” Angelina said as she stood.
“And we want you to get laid so you don’t explode,” Stella added.
The laughter that erupted from that comment quickly erased whatever residual tension still clung to them.
“Thanks guys,” Sadie said as the laughter began to die down. “Thanks for everything. And listen, this has been great, but I really should…”
“Say no more,” Stella said. “We gotta get going ourselves.”
“Yeah,” Angelina said as she grabbed her things. “We’ll talk to you tomorrow, ok?”
Sadie nodded and walked them to the door, promising to call them tomorrow after class.
Then she closed the door behind them and leaned against it. With a weary sigh, she lifted the key and turned it over and over in her fingers. What would Maury think about this?
She grasped the key hard, enjoying the feel of the cool metal in her hands. Maury would probably think it was hilarious. He’d probably want to film the whole encounter so he could preserve it for embarrassing posterity.
She wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks even as a smile graced her face. This bittersweet nostalgia could be like a punch in the gut sometimes.
She shook her head as if to clear it before tossing the key onto the sofa and walking into the bedroom.
Once again, oblivion was starting to sound really good.