**Disclaimer: The following is completely fictional and it is nothing but pure fantasy
Everyone loves the redemption story. When Rocky enters the ring, it's movie magic. When Frodo tosses the one ring to rule them all into the inferno, a long line of mistakes is paid in full. But I must tell you, no one loves living in the pit to eventually come out the other side. Right now, that was where I was at, rock bottom.
The Misses. and I had our whole life planned, or at least so I thought. I got the white picket fence in a nice New Jersey suburb despite the commute to the Big Apple every day for work. If first comes love, then comes marriage... you knew what I was expecting after that. Except, Priscilla never wanted all that. Kids were not on her radar. So, here we are. I was sleeping on my literary agent's couch, and she was sleeping in the nest egg I earned us a couple of novels back. None of that even mentioned the months of couples therapy that drained my bank account. To say I was broke would be an understatement.
But tonight was gonna be a good night. My agent Clint's New York bachelor pad would be the site of my 40th birthday bash. So when it came time to blow out the candles at the crescendo of "Happy birthday, Dear John!" I knew what I would wish for, but it would take some time to manifest.
At the moment that the flames from the candles died in the gust of wind from my mouth, I took in the sheer absurdity of the moment. I was in a swanky Manhattan apartment with a view of the neon-lit city, surrounded by friends. We were all wearing those goofy party hats, laughing and giggling. Curling up into my shell with so much bliss around me would have been wrong. So, I decided to embrace the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all tonight.
Fortunately, I would not have time to ruminate on any negatives, because of Lily Collins. She occupied that space between friend and acquaintance. Plus, she was on the same wavelength.
"Happy 40th, John!" The British-American beauty embraced me.
She and I had been friendly since I read her biography and sent her a complimentary email upon finishing it. And I could not help but admire her killer abs whenever I saw them. If only she did not have a husband, I would jump at the opportunity to get with her. Sadly, I think my subconscious longing extended to my physical longing because when Lily backed away from our hug, she looked down at my crotch only to have her face burn red.
"My apologies. I am not used to touching gorgeous girls like yourself." I chided.
Lily flashed her wedding ring at me, "Sorry, but I'm off the market, buddy." She playfully teased.
I waved my hands in my defense, "But of course. I respect marriage as much as anyone."
Lily raised an eyebrow to that, "Well, I am quite aware of your recent divorce, but I have someone I think you'll want to meet who can fix that. Just wait here a sec."
Before I could say anything, Lily was off to the races. I lost sight of her in the crowd of suits and finely dressed ladies. It didn't help that Lily was not the tallest person here tonight. After scanning the room, I did spot Emily Ratajkowski. Even in a short dress, her body shined.
I had read her book just like Lily's, and we had become something between acquaintances and friends as well. I knew Lily was aware of Emily even if they were not friendly. Perhaps, that was the introduction I was in for since Emily was also recently divorced. Truthfully, that arrangement would have been quite enticing, but Lily ended that delusion swiftly.
"I want you to meet Cazzie David," Lily escorted her taller, slim friend to me.
"And Cazzie, this is John Keyes. He is a novelist."
I shook Larry David's daughter's hand with delight. Emily would have been the first choice, but after glancing at Cazzie's figure, this was a close second.
"It's nice to meet you. I enjoyed your last novel, actually," Cazzie beamed.
"The pleasure is all mine, darling. I also read your book."
"Great," Lily gleefully squealed. "I'll leave you two to hit it off."
I saw Cazzie side-eye her peppy friend while I had that same reaction. "Jynx," I could hear my voice dripping with sarcasm. Lily scampered away to some dark recess of the dimly lit party after that.
"I guess you owe me a soda then," the brunette smirked.
Not long after that shared dread of forced interaction, I got to talking to the daughter of a comedy legend. I would love to say that our banter was automatic or a spellbound meeting for star-crossed lovers, but it was ordinary in every sense. We even sat on the black leather couch that had become my new bed shortly after our introduction.
"So, you're telling me you paid for everything in New Jersey, and now this place that hardly looks lived in is your new home?"
"Yeah, Clint's apartment does look like it's being staged almost constantly, I guess. But this is my new place until I crank out another story and get that advance. Mi casa es Clint's casa."
Cazzie took a sip of that soda I owed her before responding, "And I thought when my parent's got divorced, it was messy. At least they had somewhere to stay."