Chapter 42
LILY
Hanna Banana
Okay sorry are we drinking red or white? I know its fall and everything but…???
Nothing like texting with myself to spike my anxiety….
Well shit.
You know what? I’m getting both.
Lily heard the front door unlock as Hanna made her way inside. She heard it because the apartment was open-concept– a lofty, warehouse-style that Lily thought resembled some of her acquaintances’ places in Brooklyn more than Providence—and even if it hadn’t been, it was otherwise silent.
Maya and Lily sat on the couch in the living room, just past the small front foyer.
They’d been sitting there, stunned. Maya had gotten home about twenty minutes before Hanna.
Lily had been in the third bedroom she had turned into a studio of sorts, working on some freelance graphic work, but she went immediately to meet Maya in the living room.
Since moving into their apartment, they had worked to make the space fit for each of them, to make it a safe space, to make it a home.
There were three bedrooms, though they only used one as such, making the other two workspaces for Maya’s schoolwork and writing, Lily’s art, and Hanna’s work.
While the space was fairly raw and open, they’d warmed it up with plenty of color: teals, mauves (namely a large mauve couch Maya had to have), and yellows, and some ceramic pieces of Lily’s.
Some were purely for aesthetic, but some functional, like the custom mugs she made for each of them to have their morning coffee together.
While Lily would likely never be a morning person, it was the time of day they dedicated to just them, before the day spun off into school and work.
Lily had known what Maya had discovered on her latest phone call with her mother.
It was the same thing she’d discovered perhaps a half hour earlier than Maya: Diana and Maggie were dating.
Not just dating; her mother had told her it was serious, that there was some convoluted back story they could discuss next week when they went to the orchard for Thanksgiving—where Diana and Maggie would be hosting. Together.
Maggie hadn’t officially moved in, but she might as well have, according to her mom, who then swore her to secrecy.
In the midst of Lily’s shutting down to process, she had told her mother that would be impossible.
She, Maya, and Hanna were completely open with each other and something like this would’ve killed Lily to sit on.
So Diana must have told Maggie and Maggie called Maya.
Afterwards, Maya had found Lily and shouted in disbelief, the two of them then laughed hysterically till they melted into a silence that was equal parts shock and needing Hanna.
“I got wine, both red and white!” Lily heard Hanna shout, followed by rustling as she removed her shoes and coat. Hanna walked towards them and dropped a cloth shopping bag in between them.
“I am going to assume you meant Diana and Maggie, and not Diana, Maggie, and Mary,” Hanna said, looking down at them.
“Hanna,” was all Lily could get out.
“Somehow, though, I am not sure if that’s better or worse,” Maya said.
Hanna bent down and kissed the top of Lily’s forehead and then pulled back and said, “I will be back for both of you, I am going to get glasses.”
“Just bring jars,” Lily said. They were about to get sloppy, and she had no desire to have to clean up glass. Their everyday glasses were surplus canning jars from the Blakes, and now they made a much safer choice.
Hanna returned with three jars and plopped down on the comfy couch between Lily and Maya, who seemed just as eager as Lily to get close to Hanna.
“So catch me up, tell me what happened,” Hanna said, twisting the caps off both bottles of wine and pouring a glass of red for Maya, and a glass of white for her, and Lily felt her heart warm at how well Hanna knew them. Having her back at the apartment centered her, as she knew it did for Maya.
Hanna poured herself a little red and then scooted back on the couch so that Maya and Lily could lean on her from either side.
Maya slouched down and laid her head on Hanna’s chest and Lily curled into Hanna’s side, leaning her head into the crook of Hanna’s neck, soaking in her warmth and scent.
With each breath, she felt her shock dissipate and turn into something nameless but far more manageable.
“Okay so, where to even begin, I knew my mom was seeing someone? But—” Maya started, and Lily took a long pull of her wine, the bright citrus notes dancing on her tongue. And while they had a lot to get through that night, she knew they would, and it would all be okay.