I Got Laid Off And They Celebrated Her Promotion Chapter 01

Seven years after graduation, I sent a message to our five-person group chat.

[I got laid off.]

The chat fell silent, as though no one had seen my message.

Ten minutes later, my best friend, Sophie Brooks, posted:

[I got promoted! Drinks at our usual place tonight!]

My boyfriend, Luke Carter, and our two childhood friends appeared at once.

[Congrats, Soph!]

[I’ll make a reservation.]

[Make sure the cake’s her favorite salted caramel.]

I stared at the screen and sent another message.

[I just lost my job. Could someone at least say something?]

No one answered.

Then someone asked:

[Our usual place is out of private rooms. How about the restaurant by the river?]

Luke replied almost immediately.

[Works for me. I’ll get her a gift.]

Sophie sent a blushing emoji.

[I only moved up one level. You guys don’t have to make such a big deal of it.]

The three of them rushed to reassure her.

[Come on, Soph. It’s you. Of course it’s a big deal.]

[You’ve worked so hard for this. All five of us should celebrate.]

I stared at those words until tears blurred the screen.

I suddenly couldn’t tell when the “five of us” in that chat had stopped including me.

Over the years, when Sophie worked late, they took turns bringing her dinner. When she went through a breakup, they rushed over to drink with her. The three of them remembered her birthday better than their own birthdays.

When I got promoted, all they said was, “You can buy us dinner sometime.”

Just before I left the chat, my college roommate, Emma Hayes, messaged me.

[My new company needs a project lead. Interested?]

I looked at the celebration filling the group chat and replied:

[I am.]

It was time to leave behind the people I’d kept in my life for more than a decade.

…

I’d barely answered Emma when a private message from Luke popped up.

[Didn’t you get laid off today? Since you’re free, could you pick up Sophie’s cake on your way?]

I stared at the message without moving.

He’d seen that I’d been laid off. He hadn’t asked if I’d cried or what I was going to do next.

In his eyes, getting laid off had simply freed up my afternoon.

I set my phone face down on the table and sat there for a few minutes. Then I put on my shoes.

At the bakery, the clerk checked the order number and handed me a white box.

“Salted caramel. There’s a congratulations card inside, too. Would you check it?”

I opened the box and looked.

The card read: Congratulations on your promotion, Sophie. The sky’s the limit.

I tucked the card back in and carried the cake to the riverside restaurant.

When I opened the door to the private dining room, Sophie was talking to Luke, her arm looped through his.

“Hannah, you made it.”

She smiled, got up, and took the cake from me.

“Thanks for making the trip.”

“Sure.”

I set the cake by the wall.

Luke glanced at it, then pulled out the chair beside him.

“Let’s eat first. We’ll cut the cake later.”

Once I sat down, the server brought out our food.

All through dinner, they talked about Sophie’s new position.

She said her new office was on the twenty-sixth floor with a view of the river. Luke asked whether she needed blackout shades.

When she mentioned her sore neck and shoulders, Charlie Reed put down his fork.

“I’ll take you to get a massage Saturday. I know a place.”

Noah Walker picked the cilantro off her plate.

“Don’t eat that. Cilantro always upsets your stomach.”

Between the three of them, Sophie had everything taken care of.

I held my fork and tried to speak several times.

“Today, I…”

Sophie’s phone rang. She looked down and answered a message.

Luke asked, “Are the people in your new department nice?”

The conversation moved on as if I hadn’t spoken.

I took a bite of fish and swallowed it slowly.

After dinner, Luke picked up a gift box beside his chair.

“Happy promotion, Soph.”

Sophie opened it to find a platinum necklace.

“Is this the one I saw at the mall?”

“You looked at it three times.”

Charlie handed her a neck massager.

“Use it for fifteen minutes every night. Don’t skip it.”

Noah brought out a bottle of perfume.

“You said you liked woody scents. I checked a few stores before I found this.”

Sophie covered her mouth, her eyes bright with surprise.

“How did you remember all that?”

Luke smiled.

“Of course we remember the things that matter to you.”

I lowered my eyes.

When I’d gotten promoted last year, I’d announced it in the same group chat.

Luke had said he’d take me out sometime. Charlie had sent a clapping emoji. Noah had said we’d talk that night.

Then Sophie said her stomach hurt, and everyone spent half the evening checking on her. No one mentioned my celebration again.

Luke suddenly put his phone in my hand.

“Hannah, take a picture of us. They’re about to bring the candles out.”

I took it and crossed to the other side of the room.

Once the candles were lit, Sophie stood in the middle with Luke, Charlie, and Noah gathered around her.

I pressed the shutter button.

Sophie looked at the photo and waved me over.

“Hannah, come here! We’ll get one with all five of us in a minute.”

I’d just started toward them when Luke spoke.

“Let’s take one of Sophie first. The candles are burning down. We’ll get all five of us after.”

I stopped where I was.

After that, they cut the cake, opened the gifts, and posted photos online. No one mentioned the other picture again.