MORGAN
As the person sitting three feet to your left,Ithink it’s safe to say it was one of the two of us.Andit definitely wasn’t me.
PHIL
Three whole feet?Troublein paradise?
MORGAN
It’s so humid out here.Jack’sjust ditched me to go swimming for the third time today.
I laughed asItapped out a reply.
CHLOE
It’s been hot here too … for lots of different reasons.
I had three responses within ten seconds:
FATIMA
Is that so?
AMY
Do tell…
MORGAN
Still????
I realised we were all online at the same time, soIhopped over to the girls’ chat we had.
CHLOE
Okay,Icould really use another perspective actually, or 3, so if you’re free pls help
I started a video call, then waited as, one by one, the three of them joined, breaking the screen into four quadrants.Wewere all outside;Amywas inEthel’sback garden (now her back garden, too,Isupposed),Fatimaseemed to be walking along the river in the town centre, andMorganwas at hers andJack’sfavourite camping spot by a local reservoir– not far fromGwenynen, actually.
“What’s the emergency?”Fatimaasked.
“No emergency,”Isaid, “Ijust feel likeI’mgetting so many mixed signals from her.And, honestly,I’mprobably giving them, too.”
“Break it down for me,”Amysaid, nodding along asIspoke. “Whathappened?”
I told them about everything that had happened over the last couple of weeks.Itold them about the blindfold, and the frame of honeycomb, and the cold reception in the greenhouse.Idetailed the wayI’dtried to get her to stay at the cheese festival with me and she’d said no, despite what had happened with the hair-braiding.Irecounted the day of the storm– the change of clothes, the tea incident (which earned a squeal fromAmyand a jaw drop fromFatima), the hair tuck (which brokeMorgan, too), and the conversation we’d had at my house.Ididn’t mention the post-tarot moment atFatima’s, butAmyremembered, and she threw that into the conversation for good measure.
“Classic enemies-to-lovers vibes,”Morgansaid sagely. “She’sclearly into you but fighting it for some reason.”
I rolled my eyes. “She’snot some shadow daddy from one of your books,Morgan.”
“Sounds likeChloe’sthe one fighting it,”Fatimasaid, ignoring me.
“I’d pull a card,”Amysaid, “butIdon’t have a deck to hand.Andbesides,Ifeel likeIalready know what it would say.Theuniverse is practically screaming at you.”
“The universe can scream all it wants,”Isaid. “Oneof us keeps pulling away every time we have a moment.”
“So, stop,”Morgansaid firmly, as if it were that easy. “You’retenacious about everything else.Whynot this?”
