Denise chuckled. ‘You’re a bad bitch.’
‘Since then, he’s seen me bump into tables, chairs, desks, the kitchen sink, the fridge, the bed… you name it.’ She nodded firmly. ‘He’s getting used to it.’
Denise sat back and had a sip of her mezcalita, just as the waitress came back with their selection of tacos.
‘So, the stage is all set then,’ Denise said, as she rolled herself a Tinga de Pollo Taco.
‘Pretty much so,’ Mary replied, making herself a Taco Alambre.
‘How about the romance?’ Denise asked, in between bites. ‘How’s that going?’
Mary paused and allowed her eyes to slowly move to Denise. She bit her bottom lip to try to curb the smile that was already more than apparent. ‘He’s going to propose… when we go to Europe.’
Denise almost spat out half of her taco. ‘You guys are going to Europe? What the fuck? Have you lost your mind?’
Mary was already expecting that exact reaction. ‘Don’t worry, Denise, we’re not going anywhere near the UK. We’ll fly to Austria, and we’ll take it from there. But Quaddra will go wherever I suggest. Plus, the reason for the trip isn’t because we need a vacation or anything like that. He’s going to propose, and he wants to do it in a unique location… somewhere “romantic”.’ She used her fingers to draw quotes in the air.
‘How do you know he’s going to propose?’ Denise finished her Tinga de Pollo and began preparing another one. ‘He didn’t tell you that, did he?’
‘Because I saw the receipt for the ring,’ Mary replied. ‘Bought at Tiffany, about a week ago.’
‘Wow,’ Denise commented. ‘That’s fast, isn’t it? How long have you guys been dating?’
‘Five months. Yeah, it’s fast, but not as fast as Nelson. He proposed in three and a half months, remember? And Phillip in five.’
‘Either men are too fucking easy,’ Denise chuckled, ‘or you’re too fucking hot.’
‘Both.’ Mary laughed.
Denise laughed with her. ‘So, when are you guys going? To Europe, I mean.’
‘When he’s back from LA,’ Mary replied.
‘And when will that be?’
‘Whenever he’s done with whatever business he’s dealing with this time. It could be a couple of days… it could be a week… or it could be this afternoon.’ Mary’s tone went back to being stern. ‘That’s why you turning up at my place the way you did was so goddamn risky, Denise.’
Denise used a napkin on her mouth before replying. ‘I knew that he was away, Mary. I saw him leave the day before yesterday. I also saw you leave the gallery this morning, after the exhibition, on your own and heading towards your apartment, not his house… which clearly meant that you weren’t expecting him back yet. Give me some credit, please.’ She, once again, pointed at herself. ‘Not just a pretty face, you know? It’s not only you who’s good at this.’
‘I know. I just want to get this completely right so that we can finally stop doing it for good.’
‘I’ll definitely drink to that,’ Denise said, as she reached for her cocktail. ‘Cheers!’
‘Cheers!’ They touched glasses. ‘Where are you staying at the moment? Not in San Francisco, right?’
‘For the time being, yeah,’ Denise replied, after downing her mezcalita. ‘A nice little hotel downtown.’
‘No, you’re not.’ Mary’s tone left no room for discussion. ‘Notuntil I give you the green light that it’s time for you to casually bump into Quaddra somewhere.’
‘Mary, this is San Francisco,’ Denise tried arguing. ‘Not Woburn, Massachusetts.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Mary fired straight back. ‘Shit happens, Denise, you know that, and I’m not taking any unnecessary risks here. This…’ she gestured at the table that they were sitting at, ‘… will be the last you’ll hear from me until I give you that green light… and the last time we’ll see each other until you walk into that courtroom, as a last-minute witness for the prosecution.’
Denise filled her cheeks with air before blowing it out slowly. ‘Do I get any kind of ballpark timeframe here, or what?’
‘Hard to say,’ Mary replied. ‘Like I’ve explained, the engagement is just around the corner. From there, I’ll push for a quick wedding, and I don’t think that we’ll have any problems in making it a very small gathering. Quaddra was an only child and his parents are gone – father died of cancer a few years back and his mother passed away during the Covid pandemic. Friends-wise, he’s got no more than just a handful and like I’ve said, he likes to keep himself to himself, so I’m sure that he won’t want any sort of extravagant party or anything.’
‘So, what are we talking about here?’ Denise insisted. ‘Six months? More? Less? I really just need a ballpark figure.’
