The Sweater Curse

By Kelly Papyrus

Judah has a plan for her life: get married at thirty, have a baby at thirty-two, and make partner at her law firm. So why won't her boyfriend, Sam, propose? Instead he gives her handmade paper roses for their anniversary, forcing her to dig out a sweater she knit in her knitting circle so she'll have something to give him in exchange. But as Judah's Granny always warned her, "Never, ever give a man you love a sweater, because he'll walk right out of your life."

When Sam tells her he isn't ready to get married, Judah starts to question whether Sam is really the man for her after all. It doesn't help that she's representing Steven Ratliff — handsome football star, recovering addict, and charmer — in his divorce proceedings.

Torn between her commitment to Sam and her growing attraction to Steven, Judah has to reconsider her life goals. Are either of these men worth sacrificing her plan for? Is her plan actually the most important thing? And what is she going to do about that sweater?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Apr 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781094415284

Kelly Papyrus

Kelly Papyrus is a writer whose stories feature diverse characters and people of color. She loves learning about new cultures and writing about them. She lives in Florida and loves dogs.

Book preview

Chapter One

The knock broke Judah’s concentration and made her lose her place in the documents she was reviewing. She felt herself getting annoyed and tried not to frown as she looked up to the doorway and saw Sam standing there, a tentative smile on his face. Try to smile back, don’t be a bitch. Frowning would give her wrinkles even Crème De La Mer couldn’t remove. She’d been very clear with Faith about not letting anyone get past reception and up to her office, but of course that direction didn’t apply to Sam.

You didn’t answer my text, so I came to see what you thought, he said, coming around the desk to kiss her. Judah turned her face a little so the kiss landed on her cheek and didn’t ruin the topcoat of her Colorpop liquid lipstick, the elusive perfect nude pink that had taken her ages to find. She’d had to dig in the bottom of the little container to get one last application out of it, and she hadn’t had time to order any more from Sephora. Order more lipstick in Times Square. She put it on her mental list, which felt like it was constantly growing.

That’s because I’m busy, hun. It doesn’t mean come up and see me. It means the opposite, she said. He sat in one of the chairs she kept for clients, and she fought to keep from rolling her eyes at him. Concentrate on how cute he is. Dressed for the office in a long-sleeve dark green dress shirt and a pair of gray dress pants, he looked professional and put together, a far cry from seeing him at the house in his sweats and T-shirt. She’d almost forgotten how good he could look when he bothered to make an effort.

I know, I’m sorry, but I need to know when you want to leave for the casino so I can book the car service, he said.

I don’t know, maybe six? She had been putting off answering the question all week, knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

Jude, we’ll catch all the traffic if we leave that late, he said. She shrugged, locking her eyes on him.

What am I supposed to do, Sam? Tell Heather I need time off to go gamble? She knew Sam wouldn’t challenge her when it came to her career. She had been goal oriented since the day they’d met, and he knew all too well how high pressure the firm was, how many late nights and early mornings she put in. Shit, their first kiss had been in the conference room down the hall after a happy hour for new hires.

Heather would understand about an anniversary trip. It’s not like we just started dating, he said, but the usual tone of weariness had seeped into his voice, and Judah knew she’d won. Sam didn’t like to argue, called it her practicing her courtroom skills on him.

Heather doesn’t understand anything but billable hours, she said, fixing her stare on him and waiting to see if he had something to say back.

Fine, six it is. See you at home later? I was thinking pad Thai for dinner, he said.

I have knitting circle, remember? Just order for yourself. I’ll eat at Nat’s, she said, turning her attention back to the monitor. She could see that he was waiting for her to look up again, debating if he should say whatever was on his mind, but she kept her eyes fixed on the screen and he retreated.

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The elevator door was only an inch from closing, and Judah breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed her AirPods into place. A mindless train ride where she could zone out to music, followed by an evening of wine and Red Lion yarn with her girls, was exactly what she needed to forget all about the Ratliffs and their antics. She double checked her purse to make sure she’d packed her needles, though lately they didn’t seem to get much actual knitting done during the circle.

Hang on! she heard, followed by the sound of the elevator doors stopping suddenly and reopening. A crocodile briefcase had appeared in the opening and Judah recognized the perfectly manicured hand clutching it. She gritted her teeth momentarily before pasting a smile on her face as Heather’s assistant, Rue, came into the elevator. So much for silence.

Mondays, am I right? Rue asked, Judah nodded mindlessly, willing the elevator to move faster. Just don’t say anything back. Maybe she’ll let you be. This was wishful thinking and she knew it. Rue was always chattering away, pretending to be friendly and interested in the associates’ lives, but Judah had been at the firm long enough to know that anything said to her was going to be repeated to Heather. The silence lasted a few seconds before Rue started up again.

Oh, did you see my email about Shelly? I’m putting together an engagement card and a gift basket, something nice for the two of them from all of us. Let me know if you want to chip in, she said.

I’ll Venmo you, Judah said, Rue nodded, barely pausing her prattling to acknowledge her response. Once Rue got warmed up about a favorite topic, it was hard to derail her.

She’ll be a partner soon, watch what I tell you. You know the firm likes to see an associate put some roots down, Rue said.

Again, Judah forced herself not to respond, curling her fingers into fists and uncurling them slowly to try and stay outwardly calm. This might be gossip, but she knew it held a kernel of truth. Heather liked to promote people who were engaged or married, and though there were plenty of competent single women and men attorneys working at the firm, they didn’t seem to move up the ladder to partner very often.

Don’t worry, that’ll be you soon. I’m sure Sam has plans for the two of you, Rue said, the tone of her voice was light, but her eyes were locked on Judah’s face with laser-like precision, searching for a reaction. Judah tried to hide her hands, again clenched into fists, from Rue’s view. The elevator finally hit the lobby and the doors slid open, Judah rushed past her to get out the door, mumbling a goodbye as she did. The sidewalk was packed with the usual traffic and people, but even the street noise couldn’t drown out her thoughts. It had been five years of dating, three of living together, but Sam didn’t really seem any closer to proposing. He knew her plans included getting married by thirty and pregnant at thirty-two, shortly after making partner. But here she was, two months into her thirtieth year and no closer to becoming a wife. She ran down the steps to the subway station, taking satisfaction at the loud sound of her heels clicking on the tiles as she did.

The train was already stopped with the doors open and Judah ran in and settled into a rare empty seat. Looking out the window into the darkened tunnel, she saw the scowl on her face reflected back at her and tried to adjust her expression a little, though she found it hard. She knew she tended to vanish into her thoughts and project unavailability out into the world, especially through the look on her face. It wasn’t a good trait, necessarily, but she was sure it was part of what made her a great lawyer. She felt confident that her resting bitch face was one of the strongest to appear in courtrooms in the tristate area.

With shoulder-length curly black hair, deep brown skin and a small, round nose, Judah felt she was mostly unremarkable in a crowd, especially compared to some of the beauties walking around New York. It wasn’t that she was ugly, just plain, she supposed. It didn’t help that she dressed for the office most of the time, sticking to suits and blazers in neutral colors. She knew looks mattered in a city like this, but she’d always felt that her intelligence was the most important thing to put forward.

Now, as the train lurched along, she wondered if her determination to have a career and put her accomplishments first was to blame for Sam not taking her plans seriously. Whatever the reason, she needed to figure it out and try to fix it, get her vision for her future back on track.

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Natalie lived a few blocks from Judah and Sam’s apartment, on the second floor of an old-fashioned brownstone. From the outside, it looked like a classical, beautifully built brick structure, and people walking by on the street probably imagined preserved marble floors and art deco architecture inside. Judah had visited enough times to know that the building also had all the bad qualities of an aging building and only a few of the good ones. Heat seeped out of the old-style windows in the winter and refused to leave the stuffy apartment in the summer. Still, Nat and Don had been there so long it was hard to imagine them living somewhere else.

She slid her way past the men chatting in the hallway and up the stairs to Natalie’s place, knocking sharply three times. It was the way they’d signaled who it was back when Natalie lived in a not-so-great part of Brooklyn and didn’t want to open her door to anyone she wasn’t expecting.

Don opened the door and grinned at Judah, who