THEN.

It was June 21st, another cloudless, 80 degree day in New York City. It was also Julia Steinman's 30th birthday, which she had taken off work to celebrate. Julia was a sioux chef at one of the city's most popular restaurants, Pomplemousse. She was going to spend the day with her perfect boyfriend, Maxwell Vaughn O'Shaughnessey, or just Max for short. He graduated at the top of his class from Columbia, and was now a lawyer at the prestigious law firm of Dewey, Cheatam, and Howe. Julia had an entire agenda of what she wanted to do for the day, and that included going to lunch at her favorite restaurant, shopping, and then going to her surprise party (she overheard Max talking on the phone to
her best friend Emma, so she wasn't supposed to know.) But the one thing on the list that Julia wanted to accomplish more than ever was the shopping. In particular, shopping at Tiffany's, the jewelery store.
What Julia wanted was an engagement ring,and what better time to get engaged on your 30th birthday? All her friends were either married or engaged, and Julia certainly didn't want to be the last one left in the 'Singles Only Club.'


NOW.

As they walked down the street, hand-in-hand, they looked like the perfect couple; completely in tuned to eachother's needs and wants.
'Honey, can we just walk in here?' asked Julia, as they quickly approached Tiffany's.
'Aw no, not that place,' Max groaned, 'the last time I went in there with you, I walked out with $2,000 less in my bank account.'
"But we'll just go look around-nothing too serious."
Max was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, it WAS her birthday, and he'd only gotten her one thing so far (a blender from Target she had mentioned she liked the last time they'd gone there) so he should get her something along the lines of a romantic boyfriend-type gift. But he really didn't want to buy her anymore jewelery. Especially when he knew he was going to break it off with her not long after today; his friends all agreed it was wrong to dump a woman on her birthday and was grounds for severe punishment later from the girl.
"All right," said Max. "We'll just go in and look around."
The way Max figured, there had to be something in there thats less than $500 that he could get to make her happy.
"Ohhhh thank you bunny!" squealed Julia with excitement, although she knew she was going to get her way all along.
As soon as Max opended the heavy glass doors, he knew he had made a mistake. He could feel his insides squirm as he looked around, and couldn't help but notice three or four couples (at least!) picking out engagement rings. And then, as his eyes found Julia, he saw her. Right in front of a display of gorgeous, very expensive looking rings.
"Baby, will you come over here and just look at these? They're sooo gorgeous!" exclaimed Julia, her eyes wide with the excitement a young child gets in a candy store.
"Sure, hon. I'm coming."
"I just love this one! It's a princess cut, which is my favorite, and it's a pink diamond and everything...I really want to talk to you about something honey..."
Oh no. Max knew what she was going to ask. He had known since her best friend Emma had gotten engaged six months ago. It was all Julia and Emma talked about. Weddings, rings, flowers, dresses, the list never ended.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, I was thinking, since we're both 30 now, and we've both got great careers, and, well, you know..."
"No, I don't know. What is it?"
"Let's get engaged? I mean, why not? We both love eachother, and my biological clock isn't going to slow down anytime soon. And I want to have at least one baby."
By the look on Max's face, Julia knew this was not going to work out like she had planned. Max looked as if she had just sucker punched him right in the balls. Woops.
"Um, yeah. See, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. I just, I really want to be made a partner at the firm, and I'm going to be really busy in the next couple of years, and I just don't think it's right for us."
"What? What do you mean it's not RIGHT? Are you telling me, Maxwell Vaughn O'Shaugnessey that you have been dating me for five years and you have no intentions of MARRYING me?"
"Uh, well, when you put it that way it sounds a little harsh...but I just don't think it's going to work out for us long-term."
Trying not to burst into tears, Julia quickly pulled herself together, stepped closer to Max, and slapped him. She slapped him so hard she hoped her handprint would be left on his face for the remaineder of the day.
And then, she left. She left him there, all alone, looking like the ass he was, to be embarrassed in front of the other happy couples in the store.
After getting out of Tiffany's, Julia began walking very quickly thinking. Thinking of all the time she had wasted with him, all the money, and the emotional tie she had to him. Well, that's not true. She loved Max, but she knew they weren't right for eachother just as much as he did. She just wanted to marry a smart, good looking man, who could support her if her cooking didn't work out.
That's when Julia decided that if she couldn't have her perfect man, then no other girl should get to have him either. Julia wanted revenge.