Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
I put the car in park and checked the gas tank indicator gauge again as if it might say something different. Now look what you’ve done.
Nine days until my next paycheck. I tapped my finger on the steering wheel.
The blinds were still closed, and the lights were off when I opened the door of Maria’s apartment. I tiptoed to the kitchen to set down the glass I’d picked up in my bedroom, then pivoted back toward the door.
“Kelsey?” Maria croaked from the bedroom.
“Yes. Good morning.” Well, early afternoon. “I’ll let you sleep and come back later.”
“I’m up—be out in a minute. Damn, it’s really late. Would you please start my kettle?”
“Sure.”
Maria emerged a half hour later, holding a washcloth against her forehead. “Why did I drink so much? There’s a hammer in my head. You know what? It’s Phoebe’s fault. She kept buying us ‘solstice shots’…whoa. What happened?”
I handed her a mug of coffee. “I’ll do kitchen duty while I’m here.”
“Shazam. Damn, it’s, like, basically decent now.” She turned around slowly, mouth hanging open at the clutter-free countertops and clean, empty sink. “I’d hug you, but I reek like day-old solstice shots. But, hey, what’s mine is yours. Eat anything from this kitchen. Check the date first. You’ll be doing me a favor.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yes, really. There’s tons of pasta stuff.”
“I could make a pasta salad for our lunches.”
“Oh my God, yes.”
I opened the pantry and blinked at the overflowing smorgasbord spilling out from inside. Capers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and fusilli pasta all came out on my first pass. “Thank you.”
“Psht, are you kidding me? This is good for both of us. How was your hike? Chat up any hot guys?”
I startled and dropped a pasta bag on the floor—still closed, luckily. “Uh…”
“You look a little guilty. Come on, spill it.”
My ears were hot again. I grabbed a big pot from the ceiling rack. “Yeah. Went to lunch with one.”
“Ahh,” Maria screamed. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” I turned the faucet on to fill the pot.
“A stranger?” Maria shouted.
I nodded and turned the water off. “Actually, I sort of met him at the restaurant last night. He found me in the hall and brought a silver charm I’d dropped.”
“What’s his name?”
“Dominic.”
“Ow, sexy. Dominic what?”
My stomach lurched. “Don’t know. But he saw me at Multnomah Falls this morning, and I had lunch with him and his aunt.”
“Damn. Now we can’t stalk him.” She sighed dramatically. “So you like him?”
I put my hand on top of my head. “Yeah. I’m—it seems wrong.”
Maria nodded, her eyes bright. “Nice. Ha, your face. Relax. The universe has dished up this yummy man for you. What’s the problem? Can opener’s in the drawer by the stove.”
“It’s…well…” I stared up at the ceiling.
“What? You don’t like to break the rules?”
“Exactly.” I opened a cabinet, searching for a big bowl. “I’d like to find someone like me—not another Gerry. Controlling.”
“Ah ha. Bowls? Look in the drawer by the pantry.” She sat on a bar stool. “But yeah, that makes sense. Something entirely different from Gerry.”
“What about you?”
“Me. Well, I feel like I’ve slept through all the available men in town—the ones at the bars. I’m kind of at a dead end.” She leaned over the counter to grab the coffee carafe and refilled her mug. “Raven’s bachelor auction is this week. You have a ticket, right?”
“I do.” A ticket and an empty bank account.
Maria blew on her coffee. “Do you think Raven would be sad if I bid on Travis Dashiell?” Our friend group had known for months that Raven was chasing Travis and that it never seemed to go anywhere.
“Oh.” I chewed on my lip.
Maria raised an eyebrow at me.
“I think,” I said slowly, “she’s involved with Beau Martin.”
“Oh my God.” Maria thumped her elbows on the counter. “I love that.”
“Me too.” Raven had rented a room in the handsome police officer’s home, and they’d started a fling. She was staying very quiet about it.
Her phone rang, and she scampered off to her bedroom. The shower started a few minutes later. I made pasta salad and wondered how I’d get through the next week and a half with zero money.
Maria insisted on shopping that afternoon, so I rode with her to the Treebird Organic Grocery Store, which she liked to shop at. I bought nothing. Instead, I waited for twenty minutes to get the bottle deposit for the fancy sodas Maria drank—earning a whopping forty cents. Maria commanded me to keep it.
My nails bit into my palms when Gerry rose to the surface of my mind. Your fault. You don’t know who to trust. People will take advantage of you your whole life…
He’d left a voicemail. I glanced at the transcription, and it was his typical everything’s perfectly fine blather. His smug lack of concern made me grind my teeth—and want to cry. Why wasn’t he worried about the theft? I picked at my fingernails, teetering between taking action with the police right away and trying to stay civil with him.
Pippa welcomed us with open arms at the door to the big house when we walked in at five. “Come in, Kelsey. Welcome. What a pretty dress.”
“Thank you for having me,” I said, clenching my hands together as I stared into her warm face. “I’m sorry to come with nothing. This is not what I would normally do.”
She hugged me. “We take you as you are. Don’t worry—you’re here. Lucas, this is Kelsey, Maria’s friend.”
Maria’s dad was medium-height and slender like Pippa, with a long nose, short salt and pepper hair, and square glasses. He didn’t smile, only nodded and gestured me forward. “Come in and meet the boys.”
“Thank you.” I tried to smile, my mouth quivering.
It was a gorgeous interior space. The entry opened into an almost church-like great room with a beamed ceiling about three stories high and a curved staircase that wound up. Rich wood details were everywhere, along with flower bouquets, thick rugs, heavy furniture, and large pieces of artwork on the walls.
We went deeper into the house and came to the dining room next to a wall of windows with a view of the river and mountain. Two dark-haired young men were at a long dining table, staring at their phones.
“Nico, Alex,” Maria called. “Meet my friend, Kelsey.”
“Hi,” said the one wearing a black leather jacket with longer hair that flopped over his forehead. He grinned at me.
The other, more clean-cut one glanced up and nodded.
“Nico’s a musician,” Maria said, pointing at the rocker. “And Alex is in medical school.”
“Nice to meet you both.” I sat down in the chair Pippa held for me.
“What do you do, doll?” Nico asked.
Maria rolled her eyes at me.
“Accountant,” I said.
“Yeah? Sweet. Where’d you go to school?”
“Portland State.”
“Nice, me too.” He held out his knuckles to me across the table.
I managed to bump one of my knuckles against his. “Go Vikings,” I said, a little wistfully.
There was already food on the table—all Greek dishes, I was informed. Everything from the cucumber salad to the fresh pita bread was beautiful.
“You like lamb?” Pippa asked me.
“Yes,” I said, taking the platter of lamb shanks from her hands. “Thank you. This is incredible.”
She smiled at me. “Try the potatoes.”
“So, Kelsey,” said Mr. Adamos. “Where is your family?”
Maria cleared her throat and handed me a glass of wine.
I sat up straighter. “They’re east of Troutdale, sir. They have a small farm there.”
“Ah.” He spooned salad onto his plate. “Are you close?”
Maria visibly stiffened next to me.
“Not close,” I said, leaning forward. I gave Maria a reassuring smile when she glanced over. Parental interrogations felt right at home to me. “They’re disappointed that I don’t share their strict views on religion.”
He nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“Here’s to Sunday dinners,” Maria said. “Cheers.”
We all clinked glasses then dug in. Maria’s father focused mostly on grilling his sons about their educational progress. Alex had many, and Nico had few. Maria and Pippa smiled and laughed, telling me about the epic amounts of Halloween candy they handed out each year. They already had ten pounds waiting for next weekend. Maria’s father, a doctor, shook his head.
After dinner, Maria invited me to watch an episode of an epic fantasy show that had just been released. I helped Pippa and Lucas clean up as much as they’d let me, and then I went to Maria’s apartment. We settled on her couch, and she turned on her show.
My mind kept wandering until I gave up and pulled out my phone. Dominic hadn’t messaged me on any of my accounts. I hunched and pressed my lips together tightly. Definitely for the best.
There was a new message from Brad.
Brad
Thanks for writing back. Accountant, wow. That’s really great. I’m on the farm. We’re squeezing in as much as we can, racing the weather for another crop. Hey, River Gorge ain’t that far. Any chance I could take you out sometime?