I Can Afford My Own Dinner

Bella has spent years working late and riding the subway alone, and somewhere along the way she slipped out of Willie's life without a word. Their last messages sit unanswered on her phone; the two of them share a lease and little else, polite roommates who take turns changing the trash bags. On the night she finishes the project that will secure her partnership, she goes alone to a fondue restaurant they once loved.

The waitress asks about her boyfriend, and the words "we broke up" come out easily. Then Willie walks in with Daisy, the mentee he has guided for three years, celebrating her gold prize. Neither of them remembers that today is their ten-year anniversary. When Daisy raises her camera to photograph Bella eating alone, Bella demands she delete it, and Willie tells her not to make a scene.

A spilled ramekin of garlic butter burns her hand, and the waitress asks whether to renew the couples' membership. Bella looks down at the bubbling broth and refuses.