Grace laughed — a low, delighted sound that did not help Alix’s resolve to bury feelings. “Honestly? The cat would be a hit. My mother feeds every stray.”
“I really didn’t mean to overstep a boundary,” Alix rushed on, because if she didn’t, the part of her that meant it might start talking. “We’re bros, and I would like to continue being your friend at a pace that does not make your relatives alert the authorities.”
“Alix,” Grace said, kind in a way that made Alix’s eyes go suspiciously hot for a second. “You didn’t overstep. I wasn’t offended.”
“Okay,” Alix said, blinking ceilingward until the glitter in her lashes turned the kitchen light into a tiny disco. “Good. Great. Normal.”
There was another one of those thoughtful pauses. She could hear something clink on Grace’s end, a mug against a counter, the sound of a cabinet. “And,” Grace added, just enough air around the word to make it land. “For what it’s worth… I’m kind of into the idea.”
Alix forgot about her head for a second while everything else in her body ignited. “Into…”
“The idea,” Grace said, not rescuing her from the fluster. “Of you coming. Not this week. Obviously. But… yeah. Meeting, in person, that whole radical concept. Honestly, Thanksgiving here is chaotic and loud and full of cousins and domino tables and I’m definitely not looking forward to being secretly heartbroken over Julie in that crowd, and obviously I wouldn’t want you to be overwhelmed, but—” She stopped, then laughed at herself. “I’m sorry, I’m doing that thing where I’m suddenly nervous and I can’t stop talking, even now, realizing that I’m…”
Grace cleared her throat and Alix nearly melted at how adorable she was.
“No, I like it,” Alix said, not realizing she’d whispered until she heard it.
“Oh, okay,” Grace said, sounding thrown-off.
“But, just to put it out there, and not to pressure you into really inviting me or anything,” Alix added, unable to help herself. “But I do own a pair of stretchy pants with tiny turkeys on them because Phyllis thought it would be funny and I have no shame. So I would be appropriately attired.”
Grace made a smiling noise with her throat. “The court appreciates your preparedness.”
“There she is,” Alix said, delighted. “You lawyering today?”
“Always,” Grace said. “But today I’m also the person who sends Gatorade and hash browns to a glitter vampire. That and hanging out with the cats.”
“Working from home sounds delightful.”
Grace hummed a noise of affirmation and Alix smiled into the phone, thanking the cellular gods it wasn’t a video call this time, that Grace couldn’t see how bad she looked or smiley she felt.
“How’s your head?” Grace asked, breaking the tentative silence that had begun to stretch between them.
Alix took a much-needed sip of tea. “Your mother’s tea has saved my life. Please tell her she has my eternal gratitude and that, if she ever needs a haircut, I will fly to Miami and do it in her kitchen.”
“She will absolutely take you up on that,” Grace said. “She has had exactly two people cut her hair: her aunt, and my cousin who went to cosmetology school for three weeks. Adding a real professional to the list would be a boon.”
“Professional is such a generous word for someone who spends half her day talking people out of bangs.” The self-deprecation was a knee-jerk habit at this point. A flinch. She knew she was good — she was booked out with loyal clients, her work Insta account was popular, and she was making the best money she ever had. But some small part of her still knew she was settling, still knew that she was staying in a small pond for comfort. And if she kept saying things likeOh it’s just hair, then the ache of never trying for more might someday fade away.
“That’s a public service.”
“See, I’ve been saying that, too.” Alix laughed, then groaned. “Can you die of a hangover?”
“You okay?” Grace asked, quieter. “I should let you rest. Or, you know, shower off the glitter.”
“It’s embedded,” Alix said grimly, looking at the tiny constellations on her arms. “It’s a part of me now, and I think we’d both just better accept that.”
“Like my IT department always says, consider it a feature, not a bug.”
Alix smiled into the phone until her cheeks ached. “I should probably sleep.”
“You should probably hydrate,” Grace corrected.
“I’m gonna do both. Look at me multitasking.”
“I’ll check in later,” Grace said.
“Okay.”
