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All three of us looked up as we heard yelling coming from the kitchen, but it was just Nick arguing with his husband, which was all part of the atmosphere at Nick’s. I didn’t understand Greek, but the tone was always playful banter.
Our garlic knot appetizers arrived first, and I grabbed them from the counter and carefully brought them back to the table.
They were absolutely drenched in garlic butter that I knew was going to get all over my hands, but I didn’t care.
“Your mom makes mugs, right?” Mia asked out of the blue, and it took me a second to realize what she was asking me.
“Yeah, she does.”
“Has she ever sold them on consignment? I bet Liam would love to support a local business and carry them at the coffee shop,” she said, taking care as she selected a garlic knot.
“I’d have to talk to my mom about it, but if Liam’s on board, I’d love to sit down and talk with him.” It was a great idea, and I was kind of mad I hadn’t thought of it myself.
“Great, I’ll ask him,” she said, giving me a wide smile.
Lark was still quiet, eating her garlic knots methodically.
Mia carried the conversation on her back, while Lark gave one-word answers. At last, our food was ready and I was grateful for the distraction.
I didn’t realize how hungry I was and tore into my Greek salad.
“Lark told me she joined your book club and I was wondering if they’re accepting new members?” Mia asked as she ate her chicken ranch pizza.
“It’s not my book club, but yeah, it’s always open to anyone who wants to join. The majority of the books we read are queer, though, just so you know,” I said. I braced myself for her to say never mind, she didn’t want to join, but her face lit up.
“That’s perfect! So I can join anytime?”
I told her to send a message to Joy so she could get all the details. She had plenty of time to read our newest book to catch up.
“Yay, I’m so excited now. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this sooner,” Mia said.
“We’d be happy to have you.” Something told me Mia would be a great and energetic addition to book club.
We finished our pizza and walked back to the apartment.
“I’m so sorry to eat and run, but I have to get home,” Mia said. She hugged Lark and said she’d see her at work on Monday and gave me a little wave as she walked through the door.
Then she was gone, and the apartment was so quiet, I could hear the pitter patter of Clementine’s feet on the floor as he ran over to yell at me about food.
“Did you maybe want to watch a movie?” I asked her tentatively.
Lark finally looked at me. “Sure,” she said, but she didn’t sound enthused.
What was up with her?
I fed Clementine and then filled the kettle to make tea because it seemed like the right thing to do.
“Want some?” I asked as I filled my mug.
Lark nodded. Okay, I guess she had gone nonverbal with me. That wasn’t a good sign.
I fetched her a mug as she went through our tea selection and picked out a calming blend. Hmm.
We carried our mugs to the couch, and I picked up the remote to go through the selections.
“What are you in the mood for?” I asked.
Lark just shrugged, staring off into space.
