Page 32 of Only Lovers in the Building

went home alone. Kylie took Sierra to her place for the promised leftovers. Nicolas said goodnight and took the elevator to

the lobby; he had an early meeting and would not spend the night. Lily, Ben, and Jeremy shared an elevator to their floor.

As usual, Ben walked Lily to her door, helped her with her keys, but did not linger.

Lying awake in bed, Lily reviewed the missed opportunities for love and romance: Kylie and Jeremy, Nicolas and Noah, Sierra

and Mr. High Value Man, and her and Ben. There wasn’t much she could do to help the others. She had high hopes for Noah and

Nicolas. Jeremy and Kylie had a shot. Sierra had to get her priorities straight, but she was young, she had time. Honestly,

they all had the luxury of time to figure things out—the one thing she and Ben were in short supply of.

They’d wrap the podcast by the end of August, and Ben would have to pivot and prepare for the fall semester.

She’d have to pivot, too. She wasn’t licensed to practice in Florida, and her best chance at getting a new job was in New York.

However, her leaving didn’t spell the end.

She wasn’t one of his spring break girls, the ones who left without a backward glance.

She had frequent flyer miles and a gold American Express card.

Long-distance relationships sucked, but for Ben, she would finally sign up for TSA PreCheck and fly the friendly skies. Did he doubt it? She had to tell him.

Next thing, Lily was kicking back her sheets, feeling her way to her door in the dark, and marching across the hall. She wondered

what time it was. No matter, Ben was likely at his desk, reading or revising some piece of brilliant writing. She raised a

hand to knock and froze. Bad idea. Go back to bed. Tell him in the morning . Tell him what, though? Announce that she was ready to continue their relationship long distance, a relationship that they

hadn’t even started? He’d think she was losing her mind. Worse, he’d think she was desperate. Or maybe he’d start to wonder

what she brought to the table. Bad, bad idea.

Lily backed away from Ben’s door, took the elevator to the tenth floor and knocked on Noah’s door instead. He opened without

first asking who might be stopping by this late. “Lily,” he said, “welcome to the after-party.”

Noah wasn’t alone. Kylie was curled up on an ottoman, stuffing her mouth with the last of the brownies.

“There’s an after-party and no one invited me?”

“The real ones know to come by,” Noah said.

She moved past him and flopped onto an ottoman next to Kylie. Noah kicked shut the door, splashed the last of the champagne

into a glass, and handed it over. “For you.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Lily asked.

“The Dow Jones,” Kylie said flatly. “What do you think we’re talking about?”

“Just asking,” Lily said. “Don’t get testy. Catch me up to speed.”

“First, tell me what you and Nicolas were talking about,” Noah said. “It looked intense.”

Lily sipped champagne and nestled deeper into the cushion of the ottoman. “It was intense,” she said. “Sorry. I can’t betray

his confidence.”

“Oh, don’t give us that crap,” Kylie cried.

“Your loyalty is to us,” Noah said.

“Just kidding, kids,” Lily said. “I didn’t sign an NDA.”

Noah sat on the rug at her feet, eager and ready.

“What I gathered from our short and brief conversation,” Lily said, “is that Nicolas is ready to settle down. He prioritizes

compatibility above all.”

That was enough sharing without getting into the weeds of it.

“I knew it,” Noah said. “He’s looking for his husband.”

“And you’re not,” Kylie concluded. “Case closed.”

“But he’s such a great guy!” Lily pleaded.

Noah didn’t care. “All the men my age want is to settle down. What’s with that?”

“Get yourself a sugar daddy,” Kylie suggested. “They have zero interest settling down and give the nicest gifts.”

“You should tell him how you feel,” Lily said.

“Why should I have to tell him?” Noah asked. “He’s a smart man. He should have figured it out by now.”

“You’re smart, too!” Lily volleyed back. “Use your words.”

“No one wants to have fun anymore,” Noah mumbled.

“I sure don’t,” Kylie said. “Fun is overrated. I want what Ben and Lily have.”

“But do they want what they have?” Noah asked. “That’s the question.”

The question landed like a dagger in Lily’s chest.

“Ben does,” Kylie said. “I’ve seen how he looks at her. But you can’t blame the man for being cautious. Remember Belle? Or

was it Bella? That was a clusterfuck.”

“It’s Bella,” Lily said, her throat tight.

“Right... Anyway, I caught her crying in the elevator one morning like... two weeks ago, maybe? So sad.”

Lily sunk even deeper into the ottoman, wishing the cushion would swallow her up. She was willing to bet all the money she’d

invested in the Dow that Bella had cried in the elevator after catching Lily in her ex’s bed, wearing her silk robe.

Noah dismissed this. “Lily is tougher than that. She can handle herself.”

Lily wasn’t so sure. Whether Ben had wanted to or not, he had pulled her into his electric storm. She’d been quivering with

mixed emotions ever since. One minute, she wanted to move into his apartment, and the next, she wanted to run away and shield

her heart. At the end of the day, she wanted what Kylie perceived they had, without all the back-and-forth and the red flags

she could not bring herself to ignore.

YouTube

Prof. Ben Romero on Endings

850K VIEWS—2 YEARS AGO

[An Excerpt]

Professor Romero writes Breakfast at Tiffany’s on a whiteboard and drops the marker on the desk.

Prof. Romero: A great American classic. Let’s get into it.

A hand shoots up.

Prof. Romero: Yes, Mike?

Mike: Do you moonlight as a bartender? Because a friend of mine said—

Prof. Romero: Not going there, Mike!

Mike: If you do tend bar, let us know. We’ll roll through for extra credit.

[Laughter]

Romero rolls up his sleeves and waits for the class to settle down. When quiet settles, he launches into the lecture.

Prof. Romero: Holly Golightly is a comical name: the author chose it carefully. It rings false. A made-up name, but only in part. Lula

Mae Barnes married Doc Golightly, which lends some legitimacy to it. Holly is the mask Lula Mae wears to forge her way into the city to carve a new life, and it’s so fitting. Give me some examples

of names of fictional characters that provide some insight of their true nature. There are no wrong answers.

Beverly: Huck Finn! A bighearted country boy, but simple.

Prof. Romero: Good. Anyone else?

Dan: Scarlett O’Hara. She’s a firecracker.

Prof. Romero: Agreed. How about you, Mike?

Mike: Cleopatra, a queen. Regal and commanding.

Beverly: Cleopatra is not a fictional character.

Prof. Romero: I’d argue that Cleopatra as portrayed in films is absolutely fictional.

Mike: Quick question. Holly Golightly is a hooker. Right?

Beverly: A hooker? Really?

Mike: Yeah... For lack of a better term.

Prof. Romero: I promise you there’s no lack of better terms. Look into it.

Beverly: She was an escort. There’s no shame in it. New York City rent is outrageously high, then and now.

Dan: She’s a pathological liar. All she does is make up stuff.

Prof. Romero: Holly fled her hometown and escaped a bad marriage. Her creative thinking—what you call lying —is a coping mechanism. She makes up her reality as she goes.

Dan: Creative thinking... Okay.

Prof. Romero: The novella is a tale of a complicated friendship. A writer becomes infatuated with his eccentric neighbor. The film adaptation

gives us a love story. The writer falls in love with his eccentric neighbor, and they live happily ever after. Which brings us to today’s topic: endings. Let’s discuss Hollywood’s

need to manipulate even the best-crafted stories to tack on a happy ending. Would the film have been less successful without

it?

Beverly: If the man is straight, then they have to fall in love, and if they fall in love, it has to work out. I don’t make the rules.

That’s just how it goes.

Prof. Romero: You’re right to point out the film’s inherent homophobia.

They erased the gay character to make the story more palatable to the average moviegoer.

The gay writer is clean-cut and straight.

In the original story, the friendship doesn’t fare well.

Holly takes off for Brazil, alone. She even abandons her cat.

The writer will spend the rest of his life wondering about her.

Mike: I’m no romantic, but how is that satisfying?

Prof. Romero: That’s one take. You’ve all read the book, and you’ve watched the movie. Show of hands, who prefers the Hollywood ending?

Nearly all of you! Interesting. Let’s hear your arguments.

Dan: Are we overthinking this? The movie is a classic for a reason.

Prof. Romero: The novella is no less a classic.

Mike: The book is a bummer. Hollywood was right to tweak it. Everyone knows Capote’s best work is In Cold Blood .

Beverly: It’s hard to begrudge the filmmakers. They gave us Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy gowns and “Moon River” on acoustic guitar.

Prof. Romero: Endings are just as important as beginnings.

The movie is more accessible, presents crowd-pleasing tropes, a performance of a lifetime by a legendary actress, and a song that still pulls at our heartstrings today.

However, it’s worth considering the original ending presented by the author.

Capote created a young woman who escaped her small town, only to get chewed up and spit out by the big city.

The film is not superior to the book, and the book is not inferior to the film.

If you gut the nature of the characters, what is there to compare?

As a translator, I prefer a faithful adaptation.

Striving for a happy ending at every turn is the best way to get lost. Endings matter just as much as beginnings.

And when you write your stories, take a moment to consider all the other possible endings that are not so happy, not so bright, but inherently human.

Comments:

@CBM011000: Bravo!!! Well said! I couldn’t agree more!

@AisforAllison: Teaching grad school is no different than teaching grade school. Those questions! LMAO

@Barbara.Myers: If he were my professor, I’d forget my own name.