Bye, Baby

by Carola Lovering

I’ve started to feel like an unrequited lover, desperately trying to get in touch with my own best friend.

I don’t entirely mean to be manipulative, but sometimes I can’t help it. Sometimes it feels like my duty as a woman to fuck with the opposite sex, just a little.

I grab my phone from the coffee table and google “Cartier Love bracelet.” The search results tell me that the piece of jewelry retails for $6,900. I open the RealReal app and find a used one for $6,000 flat, minimal scratches on the exterior. I consider whether I could ever be the kind of person who justifies spending that amount of money on a bracelet. Two months’ rent. Seven round-trip tickets to Bali, my favorite place on earth. Four hundred and sixty-three Kale Caesars from Sweetgreen.