Steve called me a deadbeat, a slacker. Valerie said I was a lost cause.
They'd said it right in front of Felicity.
She hadn't pushed back. Not once.
I opened the car door and flicked the cigarette butt into the trash can by the curb.
I thought about how I'd spent these past seven years.
The first year, Steve called me a "freeloader." I kept my mouth shut, telling myself that time would reveal my worth.
The second year, Valerie said I "wasn't good enough for the Henson family." I smiled it off, telling myself that all I had to do was prove myself at Henson Group.
The third year, I doubled Henson Group's revenue. At the dinner table, Otis said, "Good numbers this year." He didn't mention my name.
I told myself it was fine. He knew. That was enough.
The fourth year. The fifth. The sixth.
Every year was the same.
Every New Year's Eve, the relatives gathered together, and I sat in the farthest corner. I listened to them talk about whose kid had gone abroad, who'd bought a mansion, whose son-in-law had just been promoted to VP.
Nobody spoke to me. Nobody cared what I'd done for the company.
Last New Year's Eve dinner, Steve had too much to drink and blurted out in front of a dozen family members: "Seriously, Joe, you're running around the office like a headless chicken all day. What's even in it for you?"
"No equity. No dividends. You're not even a director."
"Don't tell me you actually think you have a stake in Henson Group."
Everyone laughed.
Felicity laughed too. She told me later, "Don't pay attention to him. He was drunk."
But in the moment, she hadn't said a word.
She never spoke up for me in front of those people. Not once.
It was always afterward, when it was just the two of us, that she'd say softly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
And then everything went back to normal.
I didn't go back to the office. Instead, I called up Solomon James for drinks.
Solomon was a colleague from my days at the research institute, and the only friend who'd stayed in touch over the years.
We met at a little hole-in-the-wall on the south side of town.
He was already inside when I arrived.
"There he is."
"Day off? Don't have to keep the wife company?"
I shook my head.
He read something in my face and didn't push it. Just lifted his glass and clinked it against mine.
We drank the first few rounds fast, without much talking.