Pastrami with a Side of Truce

"Ugh, you're right. She's great." Reese and I had just left a yoga class with Jessica. She had to go get her and Justin's dogs and we were going to brunch. "She's more cheerful than I thought she would be. I guess being married to Justin will do that to you."

"Justin told her we just ended up drifting apart. She doesn't know about what happened. For some reason I thought he would've told her and she would've hated me immediately."

"Cameron hated you immediately because she's a cunt. Jessica seems cool. Probably why Justin married her. He has his reasons for not telling her, I'm sure. How exactly do you say 'I confessed my undying love for my best friend, she shut me down, and I walked out her life forever'?"

"Wow, when you put it like that I am a terrible person."

"You know, you could be Mrs. Timberlake right now."

"Justin wouldn't have married me."

"You don't think so? I think he would've waited a few months and then popped up with a ring. He's a romantic like that. He thought you guys were soulmates." she said, matter-of-factly.

"Soulmates?"

"Hey, I'm just repeating what he told me. He thought you were the one." I thought back to Justin asking me if Jeremy was 'the one'. She's the closest thing I'll ever get to a 'one'.

"We were in our 20s, everyone you're in love with is the one. Jessica is probably really his one. You should see them together. You can see it in the way they look at each other."

"He could've been looking at YOU like that. You never allow yourself to be happy. It's like you're always punishing yourself for something. I know that you had to work through the issues you had with your father, but that didn't have to ruin your relationship with Justin. He knew you, and he still knows more about you than I think even I'll ever know. You should've given him a chance instead of running away from him."

"I was young. That was almost 10 years ago. We're all married and at different stages of our lives. Anyway, Justin agreed that we could try to be friends."

"I don't know if after something like that you can be someone's friend. That's just my honest opinion."

"I'm optimistic."

The next day I was sitting at my desk, trying not to fall asleep. I'm starting to think I should see a doctor about my inability to sleep. It started happening a couple of years ago and I was starting to wonder if it had anything to do with my move to New York or my workaholic tendencies. On the nights I couldn't sleep back in California I would drive to the beach and watch the ocean until I got tired. I really missed doing that. The weather here during the cold months wasn't exactly ideal either. But it wasn't every day you got offered a job at one of the most famous museums in the world, especially not at my age. My thoughts were interrupted as my phone rang.

"Hello, Cassandra speaking."

"Cassandra! It's Joanne Heyler!"

"Oh my goodness! Joanne, how have you been?"

Joanne was director and chief curator of The Broad foundation. We'd met at an event at LACMA when I was working there as an assistant, and totally vibed over our mutual love for Yayoi Kusama. I had to wonder how she had gotten my contact information though. That event was years ago.

"I'm great. I'm actually calling you for a reason. I see you're in New York at The Met?"

"I am."

"I remember us speaking about your love of Yayoi Kusama and Mark Bradford. It's one of the more interesting conversations I've had at a drab event. I also see that since you've started at The Met visitation is up by 12%. That's incredible. You're really making waves."

"Wow. Thank you. I'm so flattered."

"I'd like to offer you a job at our new museum in Los Angeles. Now before you answer, this isn't just an offer, this is an invitation to get flown out so you can meet with us and really get an I depth look at the museum and how everything works here. I really think you would be an amazing addition to our team and with our museum being on the smaller side you would get a chance to shine in a way that might be more difficult somewhere like The Met. We'll even give you a sneak preview of the restaurant next door."

"Wow....I don't even know what to say...."

"Well, think about it. We would love to have you. We can plan your trip sometime in the next two weeks. Get back to me."

We exchanged information and I told her I would call her back within the next couple of days. Then I sat there absolutely flabbergasted. I couldn't believe I was getting an offer like this. I'd of course been hearing about The Broad for years now, and read an article giving a tour of it. All the artists that I had loved throughout my life in one place. How could I pass up this opportunity?

A knock came to my door and I told them to come in. Two large bags appeared in the doorway, and then a tall figure stepped through.

"I brought you lunch. A pastrami sandwich and fries. Do you oppose?"

"I would never oppose a pastrami sandwich."

"Good."

Justin walked over to my desk and sat the bags down. He handed me a container and a bottle of lemonade before he sat down and cracked open his own. I must not have realized how hungry I was because I think I swallowed half the sandwich whole. It was nostalgic for me to sit there with Justin eating a pastrami sandwich. We used to drive to this little stand in LA that had the greasiest pastrami sandwiches and fries and slaughter them in the parking lot. I hadn't thought about wanting to go back to LA in so long because everything reminded me of Justin, and now with this job offer and Justin sitting in front of me I couldn't help but miss the sunshine.

"Wait, how did you find my office?"

"I'm Justin Timberlake."

"Fair point. Why are you bringing me lunch?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"I just wanted to thank you for hanging out with Jess. She really enjoyed yoga with you and Reese. She couldn't stop talking about how funny you guys are together. Plus, I never miss an opportunity to have a pastrami sandwich."

"Well, thank you for lunch."

"How is Reese?"

"She's great. Married, thinking about having kids. I'm sure she'd love to see you."

"It'd be great to see her. You look tired." he said looking me in the face for a while.

"I am. I've been having trouble sleeping. It's getting really bad. And I just pretty much got a life changing phone call. So I'm just feeling...I don't know." I don't know why I felt ok telling Justin this. He didn't particularly seem like he cared, but he listened anyway and I felt comfortable telling him all this.

"Can I ask what this life changing phone call was?" he said taking another bite of his sandwich, looking disinterested.

"Um. I got a phone call from a woman in charge of The Broad...she offered me a job. In LA."

"Is it better than this one?"

"The museum is smaller and it's contemporary art, but it has so many of the artists I love and it's a more...progressive museum. Less...traditional than The Met."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"You don't just quit a job at The Met! They really went out on a limb hiring me. I'm not a spring chicken but I'm definitely not the oldest curator here. I moved my life here. My entire life. I'm settled. I'm married now. This isn't just my decision. This is Jeremy's decision too. But I just...don't know. It starting to feel like everything is happening all at once and things are just popping up at me left and right." I sighed and sat back in my chair. "I'm sorry."

"Which would make you happier in the long run?  If you haven't changed too much in the last few years, I remember you not liking to feel stifled or locked down. I don't know much about museums or art, but I know the artists that you love. And I don't know if you'd be able to represent that here. This place is iconic, and I understand why you wouldn't want to leave, but you have to learn to do what's best for you."

"I don't know...it's a big decision. They wanna fly me out to LA in the next two weeks to get a feel of the museum. So, maybe the decision will be easier after that."

We were quiet for a minute before Justin got up abruptly.

"I actually have to go, I just wanted to bring you lunch. See you later."

"Um...bye." 

He walked out and closed the door behind him.