Growing Old With You

1
My father was forcing me into a strategic marriage, so I made a frantic call to my girlfriend, Claire.
Her voice was cold steel over the phone. “Another one of your schemes to get me to meet your parents? Seriously, Nate, it’s getting pathetic.”
“I’ve told you a hundred times, Leo has no one right now. Until he finds a new girlfriend and gets back on his feet, I am not thinking about marriage.”
“I’m busy with work. I have to go.”
The line went dead.
The light in my eyes dimmed, fading to gray. I looked up at my father and nodded. “I lost the bet. I’ll do it. I’ll accept the marriage.”
…
“I’ll pick you up in three days,” he said, then left.
I sat alone in the corner of a quiet bar, drinking myself into a stupor, when I saw two familiar figures walk by the window.
Claire and Leo, hand in hand, strolling through the park across the street, their laughter carrying on the crisp autumn wind as they kicked through piles of fallen leaves. They looked so blissfully, disgustingly happy.
A fire ignited in my gut. I couldn't stop myself. I stormed out of the bar.
When her eyes met my furious gaze, a flash of guilt crossed Claire’s face. She snatched her hand away from his, but then immediately went on the offensive. “What are you doing here? Are you following me?”
“You told me you were busy with work,” I shot back, my fists clenched at my sides.
Before Claire could answer, Leo jumped in. “Nate, don’t blame Claire. She only lied because she was afraid you’d get jealous and overthink things.”
“Shut up!”
It was the first time I had ever raised my voice like that.
“Claire,” I said, my voice shaking with a rage I could no longer contain. “Your precious ‘adopted brother’ is twenty-four years old. He is a grown man. Can he not function on his own? Does he need you to hold his hand every single day?”
“What does his breakup have to do with us getting married? He gets dumped, so now he gets to hold your hand whenever he wants?”
“Anyone who saw you two would think you’re the couple!”
“Have you ever once stopped to think about how I feel?”
I stared into her eyes, searching for something, anything. She looked surprised at first, but then her expression smoothed over into an unnerving calm. “Are you done?” she asked, her tone flat.
I just stood there, speechless. Her placid demeanor was a wall of ice, completely shutting out the inferno of my emotions.
“Claire,” Leo said, his voice trembling as his eyes welled up with tears. “Maybe… maybe I should just apologize to Nate. And you should stop coming to see me. I can take care of myself.”
It was his go-to move. Every time Claire and I fought over him, he’d pull this pathetic, “I might as well just die” routine.
“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s not your fault,” Claire said, her voice instantly softening for him. She shot me a glare. “We’re going to the movies.”
She turned to leave, pulling him along. But after a few steps, she stopped. For a fleeting second, I thought she was going to apologize.
I was wrong.
“Nathaniel,” she said, not even bothering to look at me. “People get divorced from marriages all the time. We’re not even married. You’re overstepping.”
A bucket of ice water crashed over me. I watched her walk away, my nails digging so deep into my palms that I felt the sting of blood. The pain was a dull throb that spread through my entire body.
But this time, I didn’t chase after her. I didn’t beg. I just turned and walked away.
“Seven years, Claire,” I muttered to the empty air. “I’ve wasted seven years of my life. I’m not wasting another second.”
I had just gotten home when a text from her came through.
【Not coming home tonight.】
【Leo wants to see the meteor shower. I’m staying with him.】
At the same time, a new post appeared on Leo’s social media.
【Who else has no one to go to the movies with?】
【Who else has a sweet older sister to wait for shooting stars with in the dark?】
The post was accompanied by a picture of their two movie ticket stubs and another of their shadows making a heart shape. It felt like a deliberate, calculated mockery. After all, I had been the one to suggest we go see a movie tonight. I was the one who told her about the meteor shower.
Fueled by whiskey and rage, I smashed the framed photo of us in the living room. I took the scrapbook where I’d documented our entire relationship and shredded it with a pair of scissors. Finally, I dug out the box of her old love letters and set them on fire in the fireplace.
As the flames licked at the paper, memories flickered before my eyes.
Claire and I met our freshman year of college. It wasn’t some grand, dramatic romance; our eyes met, we clicked, and that was it. We were together for seven years, through college and into our careers. All our friends called us the perfect couple.
But the day I proposed, the day she said yes, her adopted brother, Leo, came back into town. He showed up on our doorstep, sobbing about how his girlfriend had broken his heart, how Claire was the only important woman he had left in his life. If she got married, he didn’t know how he could possibly go on living.
So, Claire called off the wedding, saying she needed to help him heal from his “psychological trauma.”
I thought it would be a temporary delay. But soon, she refused to even talk about meeting my parents. Her entire world began to revolve around Leo.
On our anniversary, one phone call from him was enough to make her cancel our plans. She completely forgot my birthday but threw him a massive, extravagant party for his. She, who had never cooked a day in her life, was suddenly spending hours in the kitchen trying new recipes for him.
The only time I ever saw her get angry at Leo was when he deliberately tampered with my car’s brakes. I crashed into a median and ended up in the hospital with a concussion and a split forehead. That day, Claire swore to me she would teach him a lesson and finally set some boundaries.
By the next morning, her resolve had vanished.
She showed up at the hospital with a thermos of soup. “Leo’s just depressed from the breakup,” she’d said. “He was scared you were going to take me away from him. He did a stupid thing, but he never thought it would be this serious.”
“He cried all night. He was so upset he almost tried to kill himself. He’s already apologized, Nate. Just let it go, okay?”
That should have been it. That should have been the moment I understood where I stood. But I clung to a sliver of hope that she would change.
In the year since, Leo has systematically stolen every part of my life.
The last letter turned to ash, and so did my love.
Outside, meteors streaked across the sky.
I called a realtor and put the house up for sale. Then I curled up on the sofa and spent the night alone. When I woke up, there was a blanket draped over me.
The living room had been cleaned up, the broken glass swept away. A moment later, Claire walked out of the kitchen with a plate. “I made your favorite,” she said. “Chocolate chip pancakes.”
I didn’t move.
“Leo is very fragile right now,” she continued, as if that explained everything. “I had to defend him yesterday when we were out. You, on the other hand, you’re strong enough to handle it.”
Not a word of apology. Just a calm statement of fact, as if I deserved her cruelty.
“You forgot,” I said, my voice raspy. “I hate chocolate chip pancakes.”
Claire froze, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. Then, it dawned on her. Chocolate chip pancakes were Leo’s favorite. She had made them out of habit. It wasn’t the first time. It seemed that whatever I disliked, Leo loved. And as for my own preferences, she had forgotten them completely.
“It’s just breakfast, Nate. Don’t be so difficult,” she snapped, her patience gone.
She was never like this before. But somewhere along the way, she had given all her tenderness to Leo, and saved all her anger for me. Her excuse? I was the person closest to her.
“Just say it,” I said, taking a deep breath. “What does Leo want now?”
It was a pattern. Any time she showed me a sliver of warmth, it was because Leo needed something from me.
“It’s nothing major,” she said, forcing her tone to be patient again. “He… wants us to have a fake wedding.”
“His therapist thinks it will help with his recovery. Give him some closure.”
I stared at her. I couldn't believe it. She would stage a fake wedding with him but wouldn’t even meet my parents.
After a long silence, I nodded.
“We’re done.”
“Do whatever you want.”
A look of pure shock crossed her face, and then she shot to her feet.
“Nathaniel!” she seethed. “This wasn’t a discussion. It was a notification!”
“Don’t you dare threaten me with a breakup! I am going to have this wedding with Leo, with or without your approval!”
She glared down at me like I was a prisoner in the dock. There was no point in arguing.
My silence seemed to fuel her arrogance. “And we’ll be using our house as the venue.”
“Don’t worry,” she added, as if it were a comfort. “It’s just for show. Nothing real will happen.”
She was going to marry another man. In the house I paid for. The humiliation was a physical weight. But I was too tired, too empty, to fight anymore.
Bzz. Bzz.
Her phone buzzed. It was Leo.
“Claire,” he whimpered into the phone. “My head hurts.”
His voice was like a needy puppy’s. I remember her saying how much she hated men who acted like that. But now, her face was a mask of concern.
“Oh, Leo, you just hang on. I’m on my way.” Her voice was softer than silk. She hung up and rushed out the door without another glance at me.
A little while later, Claire’s profile picture on social media, which had been a photo of us, was replaced by a picture of her and Leo, shoulders touching as they watched the meteor shower. He changed his, too. And they both updated their bios to the same quote: 【In the cold, falling leaves of autumn, you are the sunshine that came into my life.】
I was the clown living in their shadow.
A wave of shame washed over me. I stormed into the bedroom to pack my things when a call came from Claire’s mother.
“Nate, honey,” she said. “Can you come down to the office? There’s a deal that only you can handle.”
I agreed. For one, her mother had always been decent to me, and I wanted to say a proper goodbye. For two, I needed to retrieve my grandfather’s heirloom.
When I got to the company, she immediately handed me a yogurt. “Your favorite,” she said with a warm smile. “Mango.”
A small warmth spread through my chest.
“Oh, and Claire told me you two have set a wedding date for next week! We should have your parents fly in early so our families can finally have dinner together,” she continued happily.
I froze. Claire had lied to her mother, planning to just spring the truth on her after the fact.
I was about to tell her what was really going on when she added, “And even after you two are married, you must promise me you’ll continue to take good care of Leo. He needs it.”
The words died in my throat. I was an outsider. I always would be. I silently finished the work, then went to Claire’s office.
Before my grandfather passed away, he gave me a small, silver locket. He said it would protect me. I’d worn it my entire life. When Claire complained about the “bad energy” in her new office, I’d given it to her to keep on her desk.
It was time to take it back.
I opened her desk drawer where she kept it, but the locket was gone. As I stood there, confused, the office door opened.
Leo walked in. And there, hanging from a chain around his neck, was my grandfather’s locket.
I couldn’t believe it. She had just given away my family’s most precious heirloom.
“That’s mine,” I said, my voice low and tight. “Give it back.”
“Alright,” Leo said with a smirk. He took it off, and made a show of tossing it to me. But instead, he let it slip through his fingers, and it smashed on the hard tile floor.
Crack.
The locket broke apart.
Rage, pure and white-hot, flooded my vision. I launched myself at him, tackling him to the ground. He didn’t even fight back. He just started screaming for Claire, who was down the hall.
“Nathaniel!” she shrieked. “Get off of him!”
She and a few other employees rushed in, pulled me off him, and then she slapped me. Hard.
“Are you insane?” she screamed, her eyes blazing. “Why would you attack him?”
My cheek was numb. I pointed at the shattered pieces on the floor. “Why did you give him my locket?”
Claire flinched.

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