The Nest

by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

How tragic could a breakup be when it was a part of the fabric of expectation from the beginning? The hackneyed fights, the late-night phone calls, the indignant recounting for friends over multiple drinks and in earshot of an appropriately flirtatious bartender—it was theater for a certain type of person, a certain well-educated New Yorker, and it was, then, for Stephanie, too.