36
O n the night of Nora’s closing, MC stood at an unfamiliar farmhouse door holding a stack of steaming pizzas.
She’d pressed the bell once but hadn’t listened for the ring.
Now she was worried she hadn’t used enough force.
To press it again, if it’d already worked without her realizing, was to risk the projection of an unthinkable insistence.
The sun had nearly set. She shifted her weight from leg to leg, forearms scorched, looking at the budding oak tree on the side of the house, a swing set fallen into disrepair beneath it.
She’d finally mustered the courage to try the button again, potential insistence be damned, when the door swung open.
“Yo,” Heather said, stepping aside. “Welcome to my crib.”
She gestured for MC to take the hall off the mudroom. It led to a kitchen, which was filled with the Explorations kids, stacks of printouts, crumpled bags of chips, and some new kind of energy drink MC had seen in bodegas lately.
Sitting up at the bar-style countertop were Joe and Gabby.
“You’re late,” Joe said, but he was smiling, pointy incisors on full display.
“Are you criticizing the person who brought you dinner?” MC slipped the boxes down next to the sink.
Gabby gave her a side-hug from behind. “Please spare my friend, he struggles with social graces.”
Gabby had picked up Joe from the train station a few hours ago, and the two of them had gone on a short hike along the rail trail.
It’d been Joe’s idea, a way to get some one-on-one time, a coda to their night in Brooklyn that fall.
It must’ve gone well. Gabby seemed more relaxed than she’d been in months.
Joe seemed more relaxed than he’d been in years.
“Delfino’s,” Ben hissed, leaping over a chair on his way to the counter.
Heather set out a stack of paper plates and napkins and threw back the box tops, filling the air with cheesy goodness. MC let the kids serve themselves first.
It’d been Sheila’s idea to gather the whole group to assemble the magazine.
MC had thought it sounded great. So far, it didn’t seem like a whole lot had gotten done.
But the spirit was good. Even Patrick was there, taking up what looked like permanent residence at the dinner table, hair gathered in a high bun as he tapped around on his laptop.
At the moment, he was trying to show everyone—anyone—his cover mockups.
The deadline with the printer was the next morning.
MC suspected it was going to be a late night.
The doorbell rang again as she was serving herself two slices, Joe telling the kids about the strategic value of blank space, Gabby asking if anyone had finalized the table of contents yet.
When Heather came back, Nora was trailing behind her.
She’d told MC she wasn’t coming—she wanted a few hours to herself after handing over her keys. MC figured she must’ve changed her mind.
“Hey,” Sheila said, eyes wide, “can I get you a slice of pizza?”
Nora smiled. “I can grab it, but thanks.”
“Are you going to look at the draft?” Patrick asked. He sounded downright eager.
“If you want me to...”
Nora’s eyes met MC’s, but the next second, she was being dragged over to the table and hustled into Patrick’s chair, which he’d vacated so she’d have a prime view of his screen.
MC tried to hide her anticipation, focusing on her pizza instead.
But even after three weeks of nonstop time together, it still gave her a thrill to realize Nora was anywhere near her.
“Wow,” Gabby whispered, lightly punching MC’s shoulder.
MC’s mouth was stuffed with cheese. “What?”
Gabby shook her head, smiling. “You said things were casual.”
“They are.”
“That’s how Conrad looked at me when I walked down the aisle, girl.”
MC almost choked. “Her closing was today.”
“So?”
“So now she’s going to travel for a while before she figures out the next place she wants to live.
” Though it hadn’t escaped MC’s notice that no tickets had been purchased, and no plans had been made, except an occasional mention of the fact that she could always stay with Lois for a while until she had a better handle on her itinerary—and besides, Helen still hadn’t found anyone to fill her position at the reference desk anyway.
MC knew it couldn’t last forever. But the absence of concrete details made it easy not to dwell.
“Speaking of places to live,” Gabby said, “what’s the latest on your teaching programs?”
MC swallowed, not wanting to think about the fact that she’d just thanked Jae for an effusive letter of recommendation. “I should start hearing back in a month or so.”
“And if you get accepted somewhere in the city?”
“I was kind of thinking I might spend my first year out here and commute. Help you guys with the baby.” She frowned. “Did Conrad not run that by you yet?”
“He did. But are you seriously trying to drown in diapers while getting a graduate degree?”
“I need more grown-up cred.” She shrugged. “I told Conrad I can find my own place, though. If you end up moving back in.”
Gabby sighed. “I want to see how the first few months go. If I stay with my parents, my mom can be on hand, and everyone’s promised me they’ll be civil when Conrad’s around. I just don’t want to risk putting the baby in a toxic environment, you know?”
“Of course. Conrad will be ready when you’re ready, even if it takes a while.”
“Hey,” Nora said, walking into the kitchen alcove where Gabby and MC had posted up. She looked to Gabby first. “How’ve you been?”
MC saw that Joe had taken Nora’s spot over at the table, gesturing all over the place.
“Okay,” Gabby said, brightening. “I mean, I feel like a walrus, but that might just be the Snack Barn milkshakes I’ve been treating myself to every day.”
“They’re definitely giving you a glow.” Nora cleared her throat and flicked her gaze to MC. “Can I talk to you?”
Gabby winked at MC.
MC followed Nora out onto the back patio, a blue stone expanse off the kitchen.
MC closed the sliding glass door behind them.
There was a short set of stairs in the corner leading down to a neat garden, circular beds of spring flowers in bloom.
Nora walked until they were out of sight of any windows, then stopped, pausing with her back to MC.
“I have to tell you something,” she said.
Nora’s serious tone made MC nervous. She tried to crack a joke: “You find me insanely hot?”
“That’s... not it.”
MC waited, her suspicion that Nora had finally figured out her departure plans becoming more and more of a certainty.
Nora turned around and took a breath. “They’re making Girl Next Door into a movie.”
“Oh.” MC breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing the back of her neck. “Weird.”
“Yeah.”
“Or not weird, given how successful it is. Just weird because it’s us. Kind of.”
Nora bit her lip. “I’ve been asked to help write the script.”
MC paused, wondering where this was going. “That’s awesome.”
“A few months ago, I would’ve turned it down. No question. But with my identity being out there anyway, and some issues I’ve been having with figuring out where I want to go from here... I’m going to accept the offer.”
MC nodded. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Nora tucked her hair behind her ear. “They think I should move to LA.”
“Right. LA. Movies.” MC’s heart sank again, but she forced a smile. “At least it’s closer than Myanmar.”
Nora frowned. “What?”
“Nothing. It’ll just be easier to visit you on the West Coast versus somewhere on the other side of the world.” MC cleared her throat. “If you want me to visit.”
Nora took a deep breath, consciously dropping her shoulders from her ears. “Actually, the bigger thing I wanted to ask you is... I was wondering if you wanted to move with me?”
MC stared.
The idea of going with Nora, anywhere, in any capacity, hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“When?” she asked.
“I would fly out in a week. But you could come later. When you’re ready.”
As soon as MC’s mind had started to fill with possibilities, she realized what they all meant. “The teaching programs I applied to are local.”
“I know.”
“And the baby’s due next month.”
“I know.”
“I guess technically I might be able to defer with some schools. Or see about transferring? But my brother...”
“It’s pretty much the opposite of what you were planning on. And there’s a lot to work out in terms of logistics.” Nora’s eyes were wide. “But I wanted to ask you anyway. Just in case.”
MC watched her closely, trying and failing to avoid thinking about the past three weeks—the past nine months. “You know I want to be with you,” she said softly. “But I can’t leave here again so soon. Not after how long I’ve been gone.”
Nora nodded. “That makes sense.”
“I would really like to visit you, though. In your fancy Hollywood apartment.”
Nora rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to live in Hollywood.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” Nora rested her shoe on a gargoyle. “Visits would be good.”
“I’m sorry it’s not as good as living in the same place.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who needs a fresh start. To try something different for once in my life.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself. “It was just a crazy idea, I guess. That we could both get to do what we need to do and still be together.”
“I keep having the same type of thoughts.” MC took Nora’s hands in hers. “But maybe a long break won’t be so hard for us. Having had some practice.” Her heart sank at the expression on Nora’s face, so she added, “I really appreciate you inviting me to come with you.”
Nora blew out a breath. “Don’t mention it.”
“And who knows what’ll happen in the long run?”
“You could decide that teaching is boring.” Nora planted her hands on her hips and straightened, like she was gearing up to spit. “The baby could be a nightmare.”
MC laughed. “I can’t even imagine you in California.”
“Me neither.” Nora sighed. “That’s kind of the appeal.”
“You’ll have to take up surfing.”
“You just want to see me in a wet suit.”
MC raised an eyebrow. “We’ve got ocean here. There’s still time.”
“Do you think I can find an all-black surfboard?”
“With, like, knives for fins? Sure.” She paused. “Before you go, there actually is something I wanted to give you.”
Nora narrowed her eyes. “You’re not planning some horrible surprise going-away party, are you?”
MC smiled. “It’s something much worse than that.”