Day 71: Tales Of Free Ideas And Disgruntled Best Friend Gifts
Day 71: Tales Of Free Ideas And Disgruntled Best Friend Gifts
Day 71 Of How To Move On From A Man — 1LD
I tied the laces on my new Louis Vuitton runners.
The term “runner’ isn’t accurate. If I were putting together the description, it would read, “lounge shoes with a sporty look.
Ideal for those who want to look like they’re into health and fitness but really want to lord designer clothing over their friends.”
As I swooped and pulled the lace through, I couldn’t help but lament my new ownership. Not only didn’t they fit that well, but they also weren’t what I went to the shops to buy yesterday.
Yet, that’s the problem when you’re gifted with fashion like this. How can you complain? Even though someone I know will eventually designer-shame me, for owning frivolous, pointless footwear.
When the eventual time comes to defend my choices, I won’t know how to credit for the gift. James wouldn’t tell me how he was able to waltz into Louis Vuitton, demand the attention of a specific manager, and walk out with free gifts.
And if he wouldn’t tell me in the shop, or when I was walking out with the shoes, and a collection of bags, scarves and belts, he wasn’t going to tell me now. I kept asking. Pleading with undignified persistence. Once he told me to —
“shut up and fucking stop asking”
— I took his aggression with the warning that it was.
I have never seen James take evasive action with me. If I didn’t know him so well I would feel scared, and intimidated.
Instead, I could see how desperately he was trying to keep something from me, hide some part of his life. Lashing out was his only way of controlling himself. Not that I’m justifying how he spoke to me.
But some people are so transparent, their anger means very little.
This was one of those moments. The stakes must be pretty high, I thought, studying the LV logo. And with that accepting thought, a sense of fear engulfed me. James had already moved into my house because of extreme adversity.
What was next?
You would have thought the woman, Sara, at Louis Vuitton, would fill me in. If I could have got a moment alone with her, I would have asked every question possible.
Yet, the moments we had was quickly short-lived. James would demand Sara follow him, and accompany him as he picked pieces we both “needed”.
It was clear she was there to please him, no matter who I was in his life.
And on the way home, I couldn’t stop James from talking about ideas, and things we could do for the business.
Only a few minutes away from the shops, he pulled the car over and demanded we swap seats. I drove home whilst he transcribed ideas into the notes section of his phone. He was brimming with them, some he said out loud, others he kept to himself.
This feverish behaviour was eerily familiar. But I had to tell myself this was not a repeat of the entrepreneur conference at the Sofitel. James was not in my ex’s pocket.
He was not colluding with him.
As I told myself that, breaking in my new shoes, I was struggling to believe my reality right now. I felt like I was being bought and fobbed off all at the same time.
And you know what you say about instincts, right?
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
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