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“Too late,” Roxi said with a wicked grin as she took a tiny bite of the donut. She’d worn long tights with another of her trademark band T-shirts knotted at the waist. Her hair was pulled into a playful high ponytail, as if she were off to go running next. Gia knew good and well Roxi didn’t run.
“Where’d you come from?” She searched Roxi’s espresso-colored eyes for a clue.
“I was late, so I stood in the back. Didn’t want to interrupt your story.”
“You heard that?”
“Sí.I can be your person, you know. If you need to talk.”
“Can you though?” Gia took a step toward the glass door and the outside world. “’Cause I’ve tried contacting you plenty, and all I get is crickets.”
“I know.Lo siento.I’m sorry,chica.I had some stuff come up with Savannah and needed to go dark for a while. I’ve been wanting to reach out, but the time wasn’t right.”
Savannah? The voice! When she’d returned from a visit to the bathroom at the Palmeranian, Roxi was on the phone. The volume was cranked high—and Gia heard a woman telling her she needed her truck.
“You could’ve at least said that. I didn’t know if you were dead or ghosting me or what.” Gia took another step towards the door. Two more, and she’d be outside and away from this conversation. “Who’s Savannah?”
“My—girlfriend.” Roxi used air quotes around the word “girlfriend.”
“And?”
“She had a stroke and needed me for a while.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve met,” Gia said, no emotion, no intonation. Just a statement of fact. What were the odds? “And I’m sorry to hear that. But you could’ve texted me.”
“You’ve met?”
“At the market. I didn’t know who she was, but I recognized her voice from that night at Palmeranian. When she wanted her truck back. You just pieced it together for me.”
“Small world. And I know,” Roxi frowned. “I should’ve texted. But I’m here now. Can we talk over coffee? At the diner? It’s on me, okay?”
“I don’t know—”
“Please? I won’t disappear again.”
“Are you sure? ‘Cause if you’re gonna, do it now. I don’t need more drama on top of my impending drama.”
“I’m sure.” Roxi reached for Gia’s hand and looked into her golden eyes. “Let’s go get coffee and talk. Let me make it up to you.”
Warm September air waited just on the other side of a tinted glass door. The parking lot led to freedom, and with a fresh half tank of gas—thanks to Savannah—Gia could leave, get in the car, and go anywhere. Well, anywhere within reason. She could remove herself from this conversation and confusion. But she didn’t. Her pulse raced as she remembered the last time she and Roxi were in a parking lot together. Remembered how Roxi’s hand grazed her hip and her lips met hers. She’d breathed in patchouli and coffee and leaned into Roxi’s body before panicking.
Any urge to say no vanished when skin touched skin and goosebumps appeared on Gia’s arms. “Okay, but if you disappear again, that’s it. It’s the third strike.”
Family tradition
“So, you’re worried about tu mamá coming to visit,” Roxi said, steam rising from the cup of coffee in front of her. Never mind August wasn’t exactly hot beverage season. They worked with what was available. So many social protocols involved “getting a drink,” but that wasn’t an option. They shared an understanding that you drank coffee when it was 115 degrees outside simply because you needed something to hold and a reason to linger in a restaurant—a low-pressure place to connect.
“Yeah, but let’s not talk about it.” Gia sipped and waited a beat. “Why didn’t you just tell me about Savannah?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I have time,” Gia sipped again. “Far as I can tell, they don’t run out of coffee here. Why the disappearing act?”
Roxi looked away, beyond Gia’s golden eyes, beyond the booth behind them—just, beyond. A couple blinks, a big sigh. “I don’t know. I guess I was scared.”
“Of?” Gia tried to maintain eye contact, but Roxi continued to look over her. She’d kept the make-up simple that day: a little mascara, some eyeliner. Roxi wasn’t remotely Texan, but she reminded Gia of some of the women she’d met in Austin. They wouldn’t leave the house without at least a little makeup. Even if they didn’t need it. Especially if they didn’t.
“Lots of things. Savannah and I have been together forever, even though we’renottogether. She’s a big part of my life, and she was in a bad place. I’m not in love with her, but I do love her, you know?”
