Old Friends Bar.
"You actually know her?!"
"Is it the kind of 'knowing' we're thinking of?"
Matthew and Lily both cracked up.
Though Matthew's laugh was the normal, friendly kind—everyone knowing each other as pals.
Lily's, on the other hand, had a mischievous, probing edge to it. 😏
"Yes and no!" Adam nodded at Matthew first, then turned to Lily with a playful shrug. "Lily, come on. Janice? Are you serious?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Lily caught his drift and thought about the kind of people Adam usually hung out with—real lookers, most of them. Realizing it wasn't likely, she doubled down with a sheepish grin. "Janice is pretty cute, though…"
"To you, maybe!" Adam teased. "Alright, just give her a call and see if she's free. If she is, tell her to come over. We can all chat—buying a house is a big deal. Gotta talk it over properly."
"I'll call her now," Matthew said, pulling out his phone. After a quick chat, he hung up. "She's on her way."
"Matthew, you're acting a little off," Adam said with a chuckle, giving him a heads-up. "Buying a house is a huge deal—don't just jump in on a whim. At the very least, do your homework and look around a bit more."
"Yeah, exactly!" Lily nodded eagerly, though she was secretly sweating bullets.
Truth be told, she was the one who'd first suggested moving out of Ted's apartment. For one, Ted and Anna, plus her and Matthew, were all married now—it felt weird still living together like they did back in their single days.
On top of that, she wasn't exactly a fan of Ted's place. And with Anna's situation, they needed to cut costs. Finding a new apartment as nice as the current one would definitely cost way more than their rent now.
So, Lily had suggested they move out and find a new place together. But she meant renting—not buying a house on a whim!
She was still drowning in debt, and Matthew was still in school with student loans to pay off. How could they afford to buy? But she didn't have the guts to tell Matthew that outright.
Caught up in her messy feelings, she did what she always did—she went shopping.
Yup!
For Lily, shopping was the answer to everything, just like how some folks think everything's a good reason to buy more booze! 😅
Feeling great? Treat yourself with a shopping spree!
Feeling down? Cheer yourself up with some retail therapy!
Feeling meh? Spice things up with a little shopping!
Even after maxing out a bunch of credit cards and racking up a mountain of debt?
Well, that just made her feel worse—and super nervous about what Matthew would think!
So… more shopping to calm the nerves!
Consumerism hit its peak with Lily, no question.
Emmm.
Penny had the same habit, by the way.
Not a coincidence, of course—it's a subtle message to the audience: go ahead and spend! Doesn't matter how many credit cards you max out; you'll still end up happy in the end!
As for how to actually pay off those cards?
Talking about that in a moment of "happiness" just feels too tacky! If your partner truly loves you, won't they help you pay it off anyway?
The "real happy ending" here is: lovers finally get together… and then work themselves to the bone paying off debt together.
Pretty savage cultural jab, huh? 🤔
Maybe take a page out of Leonard's book—relentlessly chase the goddess of your dreams, then secretly stash away a little piggy bank so her terrible spending habits don't drag you down to broke-town.
But let's be real—that's just small-time stuff. When push comes to shove, a piggy bank built from grandma's spare change isn't gonna save you. Broke is still broke!
---
The gang kept joking around for a bit until Janice showed up.
"Adam Duncan, we really are meant to be, huh?" Janice said with her signature cackle. "Hehehe…"
"So, Janice, how'd you end up as a real estate agent?" Adam asked, brushing off her flirty vibe with a laugh. "Didn't you inherit a fortune from your furniture-sales-king ex-husband?"
"Ugh, don't even bring it up!"
Janice's face fell as soon as she sat down.
"Something go wrong?" Adam asked, a thought striking him. "Wait… you didn't invest in the Channing Foundation, did you?"
"What else could've turned me from a millionaire to broke in just two years?!" Janice grumbled bitterly. "Damn that Martin Channing!"
"You got off easy, honestly," Adam said, trying not to laugh as he comforted her. "The night that news broke, you know how many people ended up on rooftops? Or had heart attacks?"
He said that, but Janice wasn't finding any humor in it.
She'd finally married her furniture tycoon, gotten divorced, and walked away a millionaire—strutting around with confidence, ready to take on the world.
Everyone who saw her couldn't help but say, "Now there's a steel-wool Valkyrie!"
Of course, she wasn't the type to save the world or chase after young guys. Instead, she settled down with a nice, dependable guy, had a kid, and was ready to live the good life.
But just six months after her kid was born—while she was basking in the joys of financial freedom and a cozy family life—she'd thrown the bulk of her money into the "exclusive millionaire's treasure trove" called the Channing Foundation, thinking she'd just sit back and watch the cash roll in.
Then—boom—it all went bust overnight.
Her millions vanished in a puff of smoke.
With losses that heavy, if she wanted to keep her big house and cover the costs of raising her kid, she had no choice but to get back to work—and work harder than ever.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Adam said, shaking his head. "More people get crushed by stuff falling from the sky than hit the jackpot. Anyway, Janice, I heard you were really pushing Matthew on a house at first, but when you found out he was my friend, you told him to look around more. Something wrong with that place?"
"Uh… well…" Janice hesitated, looking embarrassed. "I didn't know Matthew and Lily were your friends at first… It's just how we real estate agents roll…"
"Alright, just spill it," Adam said with a half-smirk. "You backed off anyway, so we're not mad."
"Heh…" Janice let out an awkward laugh, relieved.
She could tell he'd seen through her and felt lucky she'd dodged a bullet.
Even after learning Matthew and Lily were Adam's friends, she'd briefly considered selling them a dud property anyway—mostly because it'd been a tough sell, the commission was huge, and it'd make her look good.
But back when she dated Chandler, she'd heard whispers that Adam could be pretty petty—and super protective of his friends.
A billionaire isn't scary on its own, but cross a petty billionaire who's got your friends' backs? That's a nightmare waiting to happen.
After wrestling with the temptation to make the sale, Janice had ultimately decided against it and stopped Matthew from jumping the gun.
Now, she knew she'd made the right call.
"That place seemed so perfect! What's wrong with it?" Matthew asked, confused.
"Well… it's not terrible…" Janice admitted with a sheepish grin. "It's just… the floors aren't level. The whole house kinda tilts…"
Matthew: "…"
---
(End of Chapter)