Do we have any idea about what happened during those 3 weeks when she did the "late working"?
MC "Oh, when do you start your late schedule?"
L "..."
L "It starts tonight."
L "Is that okay?"
MC "Hey, if Veronica says this is important, then it is."
MC "She wouldn't make something up arbitrarily."
L "..."
L "No, Veronica's not like that."
MC "Are you okay?"
L "Um yeah."
L "Everything's good."
MC "Okay, if you're sure."
"I kiss Lacey and head out to work."
L "Please let this be worth it."
[...]
"The three weeks that changed everything between Lacey and I are a blur to me."
[...]
"The first week she stayed late three nights instead of two."
"She was apologetic, but I knew her and her team were working hard on this special project."
"I noticed by the end of the week that Lacey had started to grow distant."
"She complained of being tired and wouldn't say much."
"..."
".."
"."
"The second week was much worse."
"She worked late every night."
"Sometimes until close to midnight."
"There was a hollowness in her eyes when she came home."
"She barely looked at me."
"She barely spoke."
"Neither Mia nor Anna texted or called me."
"They weren't involved with the art department, so whatever was going on with them seemed to be unrelated."
"There are only a few moments with Lacey that are clear in my head."
"The first was Thursday night of the second week."
MC "Hey, there beautiful."
MC "I feel like I don't get to see you lately."
L "Yeah."
MC "You haven't really told me about how the project is going."
MC "Are you and your team hanging in there?"
L "..."
L "The work is exhausting."
L "I..."
MC "Are you alright?"
L "It's just..."
L "It's nothing."
L "You don't need to worry."
"Which of course means, I do need to worry."
"But I have no idea of what she's going through."
MC "Maybe you could talk to Veronica about taking a night off so you can rest?"
L "NO!"
L "Sorry, I mean, I can't."
MC "Okay."
MC "Is she driving you guys really hard?"
L "It's not that."
L "Veronica's great."
L "Look, I just don't have the strength to talk about this with you."
MC "I feel like I should be helping you or supporting you somehow."
MC "But I don't know what I can do."
MC "I know the creative process can be draining, but it seems like the work is overwhelming."
L "Well, you can't help okay."
L "There's nothing you can do, except let me get through this."
MC "Sure. Of course."
MC "How about a backrub?"
L "How about you just leave me alone?"
MC "I... I can do that."
MC "If you need anything, let me know."
L "I'm sorry. I..."
L "I'm going to bed."
"What scared me the most wasn't how she talked to me."
"It was that her breath smelled like sour whiskey."
"Lacey went into work the next day without saying anything to me."
"She also worked Saturday and Sunday."
"I was starting to get pissed at Veronica."
"The next vivid memory was Friday of the third and final week."
"I hadn't seen Lacey other than in short spurts for days."
"I decided I would bring her coffee and a bagel to try and cheer up her morning."
"I also hoped I would bump into Anna or Mia."
[Supply closet event with Jared]
And on Sunday, pool event with Jared and the nightclub market party.