because I wanted the best.”
Brenda raised her brows and said in a mocking tone, “Even though they were the individuals who helped you get your initial phase one funding?”
“You don’t get to the top carrying dead weight. You should have stayed with me. I could have taught you a few things.”
“You taught me a lot of things. I’m through learning your lessons and I have no regrets.”
“You’ll have some soon enough as the years go by and you realize you’re in the same place. Think about it.” He turned up his coat collar and left.
Brenda watched his confident stride as he approached his expensive, but not flashy, car. She hadn’t stood a chance as an undergraduate. She’d fallen for him hard and had thought the world of him until he plagiarized two of her papers. She never let him know that she’d discovered the theft.
At the time of the discovery she realized it was too big a fight for her to win. His career was flourishing and his name was becoming known in the industry. He knew powerful people. She was merely a college junior and knew they would have sided with him. But one day she’d prove him wrong. An unethical parasite couldn’t flourish forever and one day he’d be without a host and his career would shrivel up and die.
Brenda went home and popped a TV dinner in the microwave, glad that her craving for a cigarette had diminished. She quickly ate, then decided to take a nice hot shower. The day had been stressful and she still didn’t know what she was going to do. Other than Sam’s Coffee House, the shower was another place where she was able to think clearly.
Brenda stripped down, stepped in the shower, then turned on the hot water. A gush of freezing cold water rushed out, hitting her skin like tiny shards of ice. Her body trembled as she waited for it to warm up. It didn’t. She quickly shut off the faucet and swore as she grabbed her robe off a side hook. She stomped down into the basement, water dripping everywhere, and checked her water heater. The sight of it confirmed her worse fears—it was broken.
Brenda kicked it with her bare foot, stubbing her big toe. She hopped around swearing, then gingerly set her foot down. Yes, she definitely deserved a cigarette now. She went back upstairs, changed into a pair of black pants and a white T-shirt, threw on her raincoat and drove to the local mini market. She approached the counter. “I want some cigarettes.” She held up a hand. “Don’t say anything, just give me those.” She pointed to the brand she liked.
Mr. Hopkins nodded. He wasn’t old, but moved as quickly as a sloth. Brenda gripped her hands into fists, resisting the urge to tell him to hurry up. To divert her attention she looked at the small TV he had mounted on a shelf. An anchorwoman came on the screen, “And Dominic Ayers is donating nearly half a million dollars to the Alaskan Wildlife Foundation. We had a chance to speak with him…”
Brenda turned away so she didn’t have to see her ex and began humming to block out his voice.
Mr. Hopkins placed the carton in front of her and rang up the price. “That Dr. Ayers may look intimidating, but he is a good man.”
Brenda handed him the money.
“Always helping people and doing good things.”
Brenda held out her hand for the change.
Mr. Hopkins continued to count each coin. “I remember when he first came on TV. My daughters didn’t care much about science until his show. You know the one, The Science Is Fun program that was featured on Saturday mornings. My kids learned a lot. Now they’re getting straight A’s in science.”
He finished putting the last penny in her hand. Brenda thanked him, took the change and left. She drove home knowing exactly what she would do—sit on her patio and smoke. Although her cigarettes called to her while she was driving, she resisted lighting up because she didn’t want to smell up her car. The lingering odor of cigarette smoke was one of the reasons why she’d