Chapter 26 #3
She also told herself that she didn’t miss the hell out of one very handsome Italian public servant with a bad stomach.
Though they had never been in New York together, she saw him everywhere, and even she knew that what she was seeing was mostly a mix of her own imagination and regret.
When she walked by an optometrist who had similar frames to his in the window; when she saw a jar of Nutella in the bodega; and this morning, when she saw a man with a button-up shirt and a floppy chunk of dark brown hair that fell across his forehead.
When she started to get heart zoomies just seeing slices of pizza, she figured she was in trouble.
And she knew she was going to have to do something about it.
Soon. Her first order of business was to run it by Vilmari tonight.
She straightened the long silver chain around her neck that held Ivo’s ring.
It was too big to wear on one of her fingers without possibly getting charged for assault with a deadly weapon if she had to shake someone’s hand.
Instead, she’d hung it from a chain and allowed it to thump gentle reprimands into her sternum.
It had become a talisman, a compass, and something to hold on to when she needed it. Right now, she needed it.
“I’m going to meet Nico’s parents this time, did I tell you?
I’m nervous! I’ve never been nervous around parents,” Vilmari said, taking a sip of the dregs of her Cuba libre.
“I’ve heard some interesting things about Italian mothers, and I don’t want her to think I’m some uncouth American.
” She looked down at the V-neck of her top and tugged it up slightly.
“I probably need to go shopping, right?”
“I would suggest keeping your boobs on the inside of your shirt to start, yes,” said Lora as the band started up again. “But don’t think too much, honestly. I don’t think they will care about what you look like if they’re sure you love their son.”
“Aww, Lor, I like this version of you. You’re so soft and squishy now that you’re adrift,” Vilmari yelled over the congas. She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Shit, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No worries. It’s true, I am adrift. Would you rather talk about my lease running out very soon?” Lora yelled back. “I can pull out the Pokémon deck of all the things I am concerned about, and we can see if I have any energy cards left. Actually, I wanted to ask you what you thought of something.”
“What?” Vilmari asked as she slipped off her stool and began a shimmy step to the beat.
“I want to tell you something!” Lora yelled. The band picked up the pace with a faster song that had the horn section blaring. How they fit a ten-piece band into a room that was less than thirty feet long, she would never know.
“Go!”
“I miss Andrea!”
“You have sleep apnea?” Vilmari screamed, her feet still moving.
“No!” Lora shook her head. She leaned closer and tried again. “I miss the mayor!”
“He’s here?! John Mayer?!” Vilmari’s head swiveled around.
“Nooo!” Lora picked up her phone and flipped open a picture of Andrea standing in front of the Panda one afternoon she’d forced him to pose. He was laughing, suddenly shy. Her heart hurt just looking at it. She turned the screen around to show Vilmari and pointed to her heart. “I miss him!”
“It looks like he misses you too,” yelled Vilmari, pointing at the screen.
Lora shook her head. There was nothing in that photo that could tell anyone what he was thinking right now.
“No, Mami, look!” Vilmari stopped dancing and pointed at the screen as a text message notification slid into view.
Lora squinted to see who it was, and her stomach dropped. She picked up the phone and turned the screen to Vilmari again, her eyes wide. She couldn’t speak.
“Is that him?”
“Yes!”
“Well, what is he saying?” she asked, scooting closer to Lora.
“I don’t know, I haven’t read it yet,” Lora said, pulling Vilmari away from the band and closer to the doorway, where it was slightly quieter.
“Read it!” commanded Vilmari.
Lora opened WhatsApp, and they both hunched over the phone to read. Her eyes ran over the words, tripping on “I came all the way to New York.”
“When did he come to New York? Does that mean he’s still in New York?” Vilmari asked. “Nico didn’t tell me anything.”
“I don’t know. I thought he was in London. This is the first I am hearing from him.”
“Which is also ridiculous,” said Vilmari, scowling. “But I will yell about that later. You need to text him back!”
Andrea:
You don’t have to respond
I hope Zurich is amazing
“He still thinks you’re in Zurich!”
“I told you we haven’t talked.”
“This is the saddest shit I have ever heard of,” said Vilmari, pointing to the phone. “I’ve seen raccoons going at my garbage with better communication skills than you two. Ask the man where he is!”
Lora:
I am sorry I said something that made you get on a plane.
Andrea:
Don’t be sorry.
Worth it for the halal cart yesterday.
Lora:
Are you still in NYC now?
Andrea:
Yes
I wanted to be sure this place not for me
It’s not
“He’s here,” Lora said, her mouth going dry. “What do I do?”
“Lor. You’ve been the walking dead since you got back from Europe, and while I completely respect your decision to change your plans from something that was not right for you, if you sit here and tell me all of that is because of a career decision, I am going to knock you on your ass.
You fell in love with that man over there and you’re too scared to say it.
So why don’t you do yourself and me a solid,” she said, clutching her chest and raising her eyes heavenward, “and put your research skills to the test. If that man is in this city, figure out a way to get to him.”