Page 102 of The Statistically Unlikely Reunion

“You know the worst part?”

I shake my head, reach for his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

“I fucking hate law. Which is inconvenient as fuck, but there it is. I hate law, and I don’t want to be a congressman or dance for the paparazzi for the rest of my natural life.”

“Would a break from activities help? Take a step back and⁠—”

“No.” Brody is quick to cut me off. “For all I know it’s just nerves. I wake up tomorrow and realize—” He stops and closes his eyes, not quite able to finish the thought. “More importantly, none of this is Vi’s fault.”

“And you don’t think she’d understand?”

“I don’t even understand. Fuck, was that cocky as hell? It’s not that she’s not intelligent, it’s just—if I don’t even know what I’m feeling, how would she know?” He shrugs, patting his legs and clearly psyching himself up. “She fell in love with an up-and-coming lawyer. I can’t exactly tell her the only thing I like about law is the money. That sounds too shallow even for me.”

“I hear it’s Yellowstone Club–level money.”

Brody nods in agreement. “It didn’t matter to you that Lucas was poor.”

“Beyond that it was something my father could leverage, no. It never mattered to me.”

“And yet I’m not positive Vi would have chosen me if I wasn’t Brody Huntington-Branca, upcoming politician. Attorney who charges $1,250 an hour.”

Okay, I probably should have done the calculations at some point, and I probably shouldn’t be surprised, but all I can think to do is whisper-shout, “You do not charge $1,250 an hour.”

“Focus, Red. This is some once-in-a-lifetime gut-spilling shit.” Brody half laughs as he says it, and I’m relieved to hear the edge of humor that creeps into his tone.

“I’m sorry, that’s just a distracting amount of⁠—”

“I get it. I’ve been chasing that number through my twenties.”

It’s hard not to keep one eye on the clock, the detailed schedule we’ve set, but I still ask, “Have you tried talking to Vi?”

“Yeah, let me just insert that in between when she’s quoting ad copy for watches.”

“She might surprise you.”

Brody lets out a bark of laughter. “I’m a divorce attorney. I don’t surprise easily.”

I turn, and because I’m just not sure what else to do, I give him a hug. After a moment of hesitation, he hugs me back.

A moment later, Brody’s social face is back on. His tone is light even as his words remain serious. “I don’t have my own shit together these days, that’s true. But I was serious about the soulmate penguins stuff. Serious Hallmark happily ever after shit. And I will never forgive you if you don’t at least try to fix this.”

34

YOUR PLANS, POSTGRADUATION

BEFORE

“You’re sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

I smile at Lucas, knowing how he feels about my father. “I don’t even want to go.”

“Which is why I’m offering to go with you.” He squeezes my hand and it’s tempting, of course it’s tempting, but Lucas has so much going on right now.

We all do.

Brody has been grinding out LSAT practice, making proper use of the personalized platform I built him. He jokes that instead of filling out so many applications, he and I ought to go into business together, sell LSAT prep.

I’m juggling research, two preprints, tutoring, and prepping for my summer internship.