Chapter 26
River should have gone home right after the ambulance left.
She definitely should have gone home after she’d wandered the vibrant neighborhood and snapped pics of the many, many murals decorating the community.
But she simply couldn’t bring herself to until Marina’s plans were definite.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Marina needed her, though Marina would probably say she didn’t need anyone.
She’d found a little bookshop with a big, comfy chair in the back, and she’d lost herself in a lesbian romance novel about a group of ex-soldiers who’d started their own body shop.
She’d gone and bought the next two in the series as well and then taken her haul to a nondescript brick coffee place with seats in the window.
The two owners, Mirta and Marta, greeted her like an old friend, and Mirta said she sensed a kindred spirit.
They talked about tarot and spirits, and Marta teased them about being crazy.
It was a beautiful experience, and she promised to come back soon after she’d received Marina’s text about dinner.
The community here was tighter, smaller than her own, but it had a similar vibe.
As she walked to the restaurant, she again wondered how Marina had moved so far away, mentally and emotionally, from her roots.
But then…she knew at least a little about it. The photo in Marina’s house had told her far more than Marina had yet, and she wasn’t sure what to do with the information she’d gathered just from sitting in their living room.
The restaurant was small and warm and smelled divine, and she asked for a table for four, since no one else was there yet.
They gave her one right in the middle, and she took out her phone.
She’d told Audrey what was going on, and she’d received only an eye roll emoji in response.
But she’d need to talk through what she’d found out with Audrey before she broached it with Marina.
The door opened before she could send Audrey a text asking for a chat, and Marina looked around as her father and sister came in after her.
River stood and held open her arms, and Marina stepped right into them.
She hadn’t planned it, but the moment Marina’s eyes had met hers, she’d known it was exactly what she needed.
Marina pulled back and didn’t meet River’s eyes. “Thank you,” she said softly, then turned. “River, this is my dad, Ramón, and my sister, Kayla.”
Ramón shook her hand, and she didn’t miss the questions in his eyes.
“Nice to meet you. Thank you for giving Marina a ride to the house.”
“Of course. My pleasure.” River turned to the sister. “Hi there.”
At the sister’s touch, River was swamped with emotion. Frustration, anger, disappointment, grief, rage. It was a tangled mess encapsulated in a tightly knit ball of twine frayed at the edges. She held on a little longer than necessary, and then whispered, “You have to let it all out.”
Kayla blinked and jerked back a little, tears instantly filling her eyes. She sat down and picked up a menu without saying anything.
River took her seat next to Marina, and they sat in tense silence before the waiter came and took their order.
Ramón took a sip of his beer and then looked at River. “So how do you know our Marina?”
There were several answers to that, which would no doubt provoke conversation, but she felt Marina stiffen beside her and guessed which ones were off the table. “We met at an art exhibition. My business partner’s daughter is really talented, and Marina even bought one of her pieces.”
Marina nodded, smiling faintly. “I did. I haven’t had time to unwrap it and hang it yet though.”
“It isn’t going anywhere.” River shrugged, figuring Marina didn’t need any more guilt on her plate.
“And what is your business?” Ramón asked, clearly trying to keep some semblance of conversation going.
Marina tensed again, but River couldn’t help her. She’d sworn never to hide who she was. “I run Echoes and Insights over in South Shore.”
At that, Kayla suddenly looked up from her phone. “The psychic place?”
River nodded, surprised. “You’ve heard of it?”
Kayla set her phone down and looked between River and Marina. “Our mom has always been into spiritual stuff, and I’ve picked up some things from her. Marina didn’t tell you?”
Now, that was interesting. Marina’s reactions had suggested she was anything but familiar with what River did. “No, she didn’t mention it.”
Kayla snorted dismissively. “No surprise there. She wouldn’t want anyone to know where she came from or that her family isn’t white and boring as—”
“That’s not true,” Marina said, and her knuckles were white on the glass. “I don’t talk about my personal life with anyone, that’s all. It’s mine.”
“Not even with your hot friends, apparently.” Kayla smirked.
“We haven’t known each other that long,” River said, feeling the need to defend Marina even though what Kayla said was true.
“She’s always been private,” Ramón said, nodding thanks to the waiter who set down the chips and salsa.
“Even when they were kids, she didn’t like people knowing our business.
That’s not easy when you live in a tight community like this one.
” He laughed and smiled at Marina fondly.
“Isabella was your opposite. She told everybody everything whenever they’d listen. ”
River felt Marina’s energy drop like a stone. “Isabella?” she asked, not looking at her. This was information she needed.
Ramón looked between them, a deep frown line between his eyes. “Marina?”
Marina sighed and shrugged, looking around the restaurant like she was searching for an exit.
Her father tilted his head and went on. “Isabella was their sister. She was Marina’s twin, but they were different in every way.
” He stopped to sip his beer, and his hand trembled a little.
Kayla rubbed his arm and turned back to her own drink.
She seemed to grow smaller. “One day, Isabella and Marina were at the park. They were playing on the swings, seeing who could go higher, who could make the swing go all the way around the bar, that kind of thing. Isabella challenged Marina to jump off, to see which of them could jump the furthest away from the swing.”
“I went first,” Marina said, her voice nearly a whisper.
“I leapt off when it was really high, and I hit my knees hard. She laughed, shouted that she could go farther. Then she jumped.” Marina’s tears slid down her cheeks.
“She got caught in the swing when she jumped and left it off balance. She landed wrong.”
“On her neck.” Ramón’s voice was gentle, but his energy, unlike Marina’s, didn’t flicker. “She was killed instantly.” He gazed at Marina, his fingers moving over the condensation on his beer bottle. “It was a long time ago. A tragic accident and nobody’s fault.”
River shivered at the memory of desperation in the ghost’s expression back at her place. The whiff of vanilla was the same as the scent she’d caught on Marina.
“I’m glad you think that now.” Marina barely looked up when she gave her order to the server.
“Now?” He frowned. “We always thought that.”
Marina’s head snapped up, and there was fire in her eyes.
“No, Dad. You didn’t. You constantly asked why we had to play that way.
Why we had to be so competitive all the time.
Why I didn’t try to stop her.” She dashed at her eyes, clearly unwilling to let any tears fall.
“For years, you made it clear you blamed me.”
He stared at her, eyes wide. “I didn’t… We didn’t—”
“It’s true.” Kayla finally looked up from her phone, but her eyes were on Marina.
“You did, Dad. I heard it, and I blamed her too. Because you did, I guess.” She pressed her lips together and sat a little straighter.
“But you left us. You ran away and left me with their grief. I wasn’t their dead kid, and I wasn’t their super smart kid.
I was the leftover.” Her gaze finally shifted toward their father.
“But maybe Marina did the right thing. Maybe I should have left too.”
Ramón began to cry. Not gently. Not quietly. His shoulders shook, and he covered his face, sobbing into his hands. Everyone froze, words seeming to fail them all.
“Can I?” River asked Marina softly.
Marina nodded, looking dumbstruck. She didn’t even ask what River meant to do.
River motioned at Kayla, who moved to sit next to Marina instead.
River sat beside Ramón and put her arm around him.
A waiter looked on from behind the counter, and River sent him a reassuring smile.
He gave a quick nod and turned away. When the waiter came out with their food, she motioned and he took it away quietly, but not before setting down a pile of napkins clearly meant for Ramón.
Ramón’s sobbing slowed and ceased, and he hiccupped a couple times. He accepted the wad of napkins and scrubbed at his face before looking at his daughters. “I’m sorry. Your mother would be so disappointed to hear how you feel.”
Marina’s eyes narrowed a little, and he held up his hands.
“Not disappointed in you. That you feel like we blamed you. Or that you don’t matter,” he said to Kayla and reached for her hand.
“I’m sorry, girls.” He finally seemed to notice that River’s arm was around him, and he gave her a weak smile.
“You’ve got a gift. You made me feel warm, like I could let it all out and be okay. ”
She slid her arm away. “I’m glad. Sometimes that’s all we need to start healing.” At Marina’s quizzical look, she grinned and winked. “More woo-woo stuff. I’ll win you over eventually.”
It broke the tension, and River nodded to the waiter, who brought out their food a few minutes later.
She was a little sad not to be sitting next to Marina again, but it would be weird to ask Kayla to move now.
As if by agreement, they left the heavier topics on the side of the unspoken highway.
They talked about Ramón’s work, about Kayla’s desire for a more meaningful job, and even a little about Marina’s case in South Shore.
Friends of theirs had told them that Marina was on social media, but they hadn’t been able to find the clip among the zillions of others.
“South Shore.” Ramón looked between them as he chewed. “You’re on different sides of the fence.”
River chuckled. “Except we seem to have cut a little door in it that she and I keep walking through to hang out on the other edge.”
“Why?” Kayla asked, stabbing at her black beans. “Why don’t you totally hate each other?”
Marina looked at her with that same question in her eyes. “Yeah. Why is that?”
“First of all, hate is a big word with a whole lot of stickiness to it. I never use it lightly. Second, I do hate what Black Pinnacle is trying to do, and how gentrification erodes communities the way it does. But I’d never hate Marina for doing her job.
She even tried to help us out.” It wasn’t totally how River felt, but this little family unit needed a win tonight, not more guilt or anger.
“Thank you.” Marina suddenly looked incredibly tired, like someone had pulled the plug out of her.
River yawned widely. “I hate to say it, but I think I’m going to head home.” She inclined her head. “Do you need a ride?”
Ramón reached across the table and took Marina’s hand. “You could stay with us and go see your mom tomorrow.”
Marina stayed completely still, not meeting his eyes. “I’ll come back in the morning and go with you. But I need some time to think about everything.” She slid her hand gently away from his.
A deep sigh escaped him, and he gave a resigned smile. “Of course. Things don’t just get better in an instant, do they?” He paid the bill and they made their way outside. He pulled Marina into a hug. “Promise you’ll come back?”
She nodded against his shoulder, her response muffled by his coat. “I promise.”
He let go, and she hugged her sister. There were no words, no platitudes. Just a strong hug and brief smiles before they went back to the car and drove away.
Marina and River stood in the cold night air, their breath puffing in front of them. “So, would you like—”
“Can I go home with you?” Marina blurted, her gaze never leaving River’s face. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
It wasn’t a good idea. Things could get complicated. River’s house wasn’t exactly visitor-friendly either. “Um…” River took Marina’s hand. “Maybe we should go to your place instead. I have some roommates you might not want to get to know.”
Marina rolled her eyes. “Just because you believe in ghosts doesn’t mean I do, and I’m very sure I won’t run into any.
” Her gaze shifted to their clasped hands.
“My place isn’t…” She swallowed hard and let out a long breath.
“It’s not home. Not that yours is my home,” she said quickly.
“It’s just, I bet your place is comfortable and cozy. And it has you there.”
River winced internally but smiled. “Okay. If that’s what you want. Come on, before it gets much colder. It’s not going to be comfortable riding with the chill in the air. Do you want to take a Lyft, and I’ll meet you at my place?”
Marina shook her head. “I’ll be warm enough pressed against your back.”
River liked the sound of that. They walked hand in hand back to River’s bike, still parked in front of Marina’s parents’ house. The living room light was on, but no silhouettes could be seen. Marina stared at the house while River got their helmets ready.
“You sure?” River asked.
Marina nodded and pulled the helmet on. “I’m sure. I want to be with you.”
The words spoken under the full moon, with the crisp night air around them, sent a spear of emotion so strong through River’s chest that it made her breathless for a second.
She turned away so Marina wouldn’t see how it rattled her.
Whether Marina meant anything more by it or not, River felt the magic in them right down to her bones.