Chapter 23 #2
“I don’t want to crash your Thanksgiving,” Dana said. “Your family doesn’t even know me. Wouldn’t it be a bit awkward?”
“No way.” I shook my head. “We’re Italian and my parents work in hospitality. The more the merrier. They love feeding people. Honestly, there’s no way they’re going to let you go without shoveling food in you.”
“Hmm. Okay. Well, I appreciate the invite. Let’s see how I feel when we get there.” Dana turned onto the top of Main Street. “By the way, have you texted Mihira yet?”
“Whoops. No, sorry.”
I shot off a text to Mihira and then to my parents.
Thick white snow covered the buildings and cars lining Main Street, balanced atop cast-iron lamp posts, and clinging to the bare branches of the maple and oak trees.
It was also piled up on the side of the road, presumably pushed there by the plow earlier this morning.
Apart from a few footprints on the snow and a flock of birds flying overhead, there were no other signs of life in the winter wonderland.
Dana pulled up in front of Olivia’s flower shop.
“I can come up and help.”
I shook my head. “That’s okay, thanks. I don’t have much stuff. Take the time to rest.”
A few minutes later, I arrived back at the truck to find Dana, eyelids heavy, looking like she was about to nod off to sleep.
Her eyes shot open when she saw me. She jumped out of the truck and lifted my suitcase into the back.
“I can drive from here,” I said as she secured the cover.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I said. “It’s really not safe for you—or for anyone else—if you drive while sleep deprived.”
I climbed behind the steering wheel, adjusted the seat and rearview mirror, and set off.
Mihira was waiting out in front of the bed and breakfast, bundled up in a puffy coat, beanie and boots.
“Happy Thanksgiving!” I exclaimed, jumping out of the car and hugging Mihira.
“You too! You guys are absolute lifesavers. Thank you so much for doing this. My parents were devastated when I told them the trains were canceled.”
“No problem.” Dana lifted Mihira’s bags into the back of the truck. “You should sit in the front with Emily since I’m probably going to doze off and won’t be much company.”
“Are you sure?” Mihira asked.
“Dana spent all night clearing snow so we could leave, so she’s on strict sleeping orders from me,” I explained.
Mihira unzipped her coat and wriggled out of it. “That sounds intense.” She slid into the passenger seat. “This is kind of exciting. Like a Thanksgiving road trip. By the way, I have snacks if anyone’s hungry.” Mihira pulled out a packet of popcorn and some trail mix from her navy handbag.
“Yum, thank you.” I dipped my hand into the trail mix. Hopefully that would be a sufficient breakfast substitute.
“What’s your parents’ address?” I asked.
Mihira rattled off the details and I plugged them into my phone.
“Great. It’s saying it should take just over two hours. Hmm, let me just check it’s not taking us through the path of the Thanksgiving Parade. We don’t want to end up stuck behind a giant inflatable Spiderman and millions of onlookers.” I studied the route. “Nope, all good.”
I took a swig of coffee from my mug and started the engine.
A wave of sadness washed over me as we passed the Thanks for visiting Sapphire Springs, come again soon! sign and turned onto Route 9D.
Sapphire Springs was only two and a half hours away by train.
Even less by car. And it wasn’t like I had any acting gigs booked—just as many shifts at my parents’ restaurant as I wanted.
I would come back to visit. But maybe I should wait until the memories of last night with Dana weren’t quite so… vivid.
“Did you have fun at the party last night?” Mihira asked, as bare trees flashed past on the side of the highway. “You must have left early, because I didn’t see you when Charles gave his speech.”
The party.
Sleeping with Dana had completely overshadowed the other events of last night, but now they came flooding back.
“It was good to celebrate with everyone, but Austin kind of put a pall over the whole thing,” I said.
“With him coming on to Ava like that? That was so inappropriate.”
I nodded. “That, and he sleazed on to me before that too, basically saying he could pull some strings and get me some more HolLove roles if I slept with him.”
Mihira froze, her hand of popcorn nearly at her mouth. “What? That’s awful. I’m sorry Em. I’d noticed he was unnecessarily touchy-feely, but I didn’t realize he’d go that far.”
“Well, hopefully he’ll stop. Dana had a word with Charles about it.”
“Good on Dana,” Mihira said.
Nerves bubbled in my stomach. Would Dana saying something come back to bite me?
But it had to be done. Creeping onto your co-star was one thing.
Creeping onto a much younger, more junior crew member like Ava was unforgivable.
Just like Phillip had done. A chill shot through me.
Dana’s words from last night rang in my ears.
Take your time. Enjoy Thanksgiving and give yourself a few days to think about it.
Mihira glanced behind her shoulder, where Dana was leaning against the window, eyes closed, breathing heavily. “She seems great.”
“Yes, she really is.”
Mihira looked back at me, her dark-brown eyes dropping to my torso.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
Her lips quirked. “I noticed that you’re in the same clothes you were wearing last night. Are you guys dating?”
I froze. Shit. I should shake it off and just tell Mihira I spent the night because we were stranded in the snowstorm.
But Mihira’s gaze burned into me. It would be so good to speak to someone about Dana. I glanced in the mirror. She was sound asleep. Mihira had mentioned in passing that her brother, who she was close to, was gay, and I trusted her.
I lowered my voice. “We’re not dating, but we did sleep together last night. I got lost in the snowstorm, Dana found me, and then we were stuck in her cabin overnight, and one thing led to another.”
“Oh my gosh!” Mihira let out a squeal, sending my eyes flicking back to Dana’s reflection in the mirror.
“Sorry!” Mihira lowered her voice. “And then she spent the night clearing the roads so you could get home? That is so romantic.”
Heat flooded my cheeks. The whole night had been incredibly romantic. The candles, the mattress by the fire, the two of us trapped in a cozy cabin together.
“So what’s the plan? Is Dana going to stay with you for a few days, maybe try long distance? You two are clearly into each other.”
I shook my head as we drove onto Bear Mountain Bridge, the Hudson River stretching out on either side of us. “No. Neither of us thinks it would work. We’re just going to be friends.”
“Why wouldn’t it work? Because of the distance?” Mihira asked.
“That. And I’m not really out. My close family knows, but Dyker Heights is still pretty conservative and you know what the internet is like.
I don’t feel like opening myself up to random homophobic attacks online—or in person for that matter.
I decided a while ago I’d only date men publicly.
” The metal suspension cables of the bridge whizzed past.
“I’m so sorry that’s something you have to think about. Sometimes I wish I was attracted to women, especially after a few bad dates in a row, but I know from Rohan’s experience that being out isn’t always smooth sailing.” Mihira sighed. “Have you tried online dating recently? It’s grim out there.”
I shook my head. “No, not for a while. I’ve just been so focused on trying to get acting work that I haven’t felt the urge.”
“Honestly, that might be for the best.”
After everything went down with Phillip, I hadn’t actively pursued any relationships. I’d dated a few people since then—a server at my parents’ restaurant, an actor I met at an audition—but it had all fizzled out fairly quickly.
As we drove off the bridge, I flicked my gaze back to Dana in the mirror. She turned her head, emitting an adorable little snort, and my heart bounced.
“You guys could keep it quiet? When Rohan started dating guys he kept it under wraps, and then gradually got more comfortable. Now he goes to the gym wearing a t-shirt that says, I can’t think straight in rainbow letters.”
I laughed, trying to ignore the ache in my chest. “I think it’s probably better if we stick to friends.”
Entering into a clandestine long-distance relationship with Dana would add so much complexity to our lives. Better to end things before anyone got hurt.
Before I knew it, we were on the George Washington Bridge heading over the Hudson River.
I gripped the steering wheel as we crossed Manhattan and down FDR Drive, the East River stretching out to our left.
I generally avoided driving in Manhattan at all costs and I remembered why as a yellow taxi swerved in front of me, forcing me to brake suddenly.
There was markedly less snow in New York—perhaps the storm hadn’t been as bad here, or the whole urban-heat-island effect had already melted a lot of it.
We hurtled over Brooklyn Bridge and through Downtown Brooklyn to Fort Greene.
Not long after, I pulled up in front of a red-bricked apartment building.
“Thank you so much!” Mihira leaned across the middle of the truck and gave me a hug. She glanced behind us. Dana was still slumped in the backseat, sleeping. “And please thank Dana again for me when she wakes up. Coffee soon?”
“That sounds great! Happy Thanksgiving!”
Mihira slammed the car door and I plugged my parents’ address into my phone and put on Mariah Carey’s Christmas album. Surely since Dana had slept through Mihira and I talking for the last two hours, she’d sleep through that as well.
As I parked outside my parents’ house I couldn’t contain my grin. The display looked terrific this year.
I turned around and gazed at Dana. She was still slumped against the door, eyes closed and her chest rising and falling slowly. It would be so tempting to invite her up to my room after dinner, to—
I bit my lip.
Just friends, remember?