Quite Quitting

A Free Weekend?

We stayed in Philly all weekend, attending some of their brainstorming meetings on Friday and watching them implement changes(some of which could not be implemented till the downtime on Saturday). I stayed in the suite that Alex had booked while he ping-ponged between Elena's place and some new girl he picked up at a bar at some point.

We were back in New York on Monday, and our focus switched to an internal audit, for which we had to provide last-minute information. I was, of course, the point of contact for this, and I was planning the outreach program for Alex's mom, and I did all of this along with the other gazillion responsibilities I had. So I was clocking in about 22 hours of work a day. Which also meant I saw zero percent of Ben. Alex also kept busy with a new investor, and I was glad to have very little interaction with him.

The rest of the week zoomed by, and finally, on Friday, the auditors had all the information they needed to get started, the prework and itinerary for the outreach program were all set up, and I had no outstanding work left. I was free to go. I even got permission from Alex.

"Go enjoy your weekend with your guy." He half-heartedly said, his face buried in his laptop. He did not seem entirely as free as me. It almost made me want to ask him if he needed help, but I quickly stopped.

"He is upstate visiting family," I offered, though I don't know why. Ben had informed me earlier this week that he was skiing in some icy mountains this weekend, and of course, this had to be the first weekend I had off.

"Even better, enjoy doing nothing all weekend." He wished.

The weekend, however, had other plans for me. As soon as I walked into my apartment, I saw her. She was scrolling through her phone on our ugly brown couch, the same couch I was sitting on just last week, making out with Ben. Unaware of this fact, my beautiful sister was comfortably laying her head and long blonde hair on the couch.

"Hey, Sissy!" She cheered at me.

"Noel, what are you doing here?" I questioned but not before going up to my big sister and giving her a long hug.

"I had some good news and wanted to share it with you in person," She said.

"Good news? I can sure use some of that! What is it?" I curiously asked.

She didn't say anything but raised her left hand, and on her ring finger, I saw a big sparkling diamond that shone in the little light my apartment provided and almost blinded me. I yelled out excited for at least a minute, engulfing Noel again in a hug. "I can't believe this! Did Charlie propose? You have to tell me everything!"

"Okay, but first, I want to celebrate! I am here to see you, but I also want a weekend of fun, booze, clubs, and just general sister time. I haven't seen you since last Christmas. You were there for two days, most of which you spent on your phone working!" She complained.

"Okay yeah, lucky for you, I am free all weekend! Let's celebrate!" I assured her.

"Great, I texted Sugar too, and she will be done with work in an hour and meet us wherever we want to go. I say we pregame, hit the clubs first, and then walk around NYC when it's not super crowded."

"Noel, it's New york city. It's always crowded!"

"Not at 4 in the morning. It won't be. It can't be." Noel hopefully said.

I chuckled, "Okay, now that you're a fiancee, you make the demands, and we follow you."

"Just the way I like it! Now, are you changing out of this outfit or what?" She looked me up and down, and I, in turn, looked down at my beige suit that fit a little too loose. I looked like a 5th grader pretending to look intelligent and old.