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“You talked to Joanne?” Lorrainne interrupted.
“No, ma’am. Emily. She said you’d asked her to call me.”
“Oh, that girl. I never know what she’s up to. Free spirit, she is. I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you sit and tell me more?”
On the second offer, Gia and Roxi sat on a Mission-style wood-framed couch. Roxi’s phone was no longer visible—she’d sprung to life in the real world instead of the online one when they were invited in.
“Okay.” Gia took a deep breath—but not as deep as Roxi’d instructed—and let it all out. She told about looking for Emily Lorrainne Mitchell on account of her friend Jennifer, who spoke of her often. Gia explained Jennifer didn’t know she was searching, or that she’d gone down many internet rabbit holes that led to dead ends. Gia asked if perhaps she—Lorrainne Mitchell, of Pasadena—was Emily Lorraine Mitchell, from Burbank. Might she know Jennifer?
“Wow.” Lorrainne rubbed her chin, which was remarkably taught for someone her age. “You really care for your neighbor. That’s a lot of work, following leads and chasing whims.”
“She does.” Roxi nodded. “Jennifer’s like a grandmother to her.”
“I can tell. But I’m sorry—I’m not the woman you’re looking for.”
She felt the tears on deck and willed them to wait. Gia didn’t want to cry in front of a stranger. A kind stranger, but still. Roxi’d grabbed her hand at some point and squeezed. “I’m so sorry we bothered you. I was sure—”
“Don’t be sorry at all. I love a good mystery. The British ones are my favorite. But your mystery, Gia, isn’t so much of a mystery at all.”
“It isn’t?”
“Not at all. I’m not your woman. But I do know where she is. Or, rather, where she last was. You see, we share a nameandbirthday, if you can believe that. All our lives, we’ve been getting confused for one another. We met in the ‘70s, after decades of getting each other’s mail. Can you imagine? Two people born the exact same day in the exact same year—sharing a name? It’s been the folly of my life, and I’ve embraced it.”
As Lorraine spoke, Gia’s smile grew. This wasn’t Emily. But she knew where to find her.
“And you never changed your name?” Gia interjected.
“Neither of us did. We didn’t want to give up our chosen sisterhood. She goes by Emily. I go by Lorrainne, but we’re bonded in time and life by our shared name. Until recently, we got together every summer.”
“I’m speechless.” Gia’s cheeks were starting to hurt from so much smiling. Wait until she called Derrick. Wait until she told Jennifer. She’d found the path to Emily.
“There is one thing. I hate to tell you. Last I heard from her, Emily was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and her family moved her to a home.”
“Do you know where?” Roxi asked. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, ready to spring into action. Was she enjoying the detour to Pasadena?
“I sure do. Let me go get my Rolodex. I send her a birthday card every year, and she sends me one, too. Stay right there.”
Trust me
“Pick up,” she repeated as Roxi drove.“He answers his phone more than anyone I know. But now, when it’s important, he doesn’t? Gah!” Gia hung up and started a text message, thumbs typing as fast as possible.
“Maybe he’s on a date?” Roxi tried to help.
“It’s Wednesday!”
“So?”
“People have dates on Wednesdays. Just sayin’. Or maybe he’s with a client. Realtors work weird hours. Or maybe he’s with his other lesbian BFF. You can never have too many, I’ve heard.”
“Be serious, Rox. This is a huge development.” Gia typed and talked. It wasn’t text message material, but she had no choice. Derrick didn’t listen to his voicemails. He returned calls without bothering to listen to messages. Leaving one was a waste of time.
“I know,chica.And maybe you should lighten up a little. It’s still early. We’ll be back to Newport to get you in bed before your curfew. And you can talk to him tomorrow. Seriously—she gave you a curfew?”
“Sorry.” Gia nodded. While typing. Before she finished the text, her phone rang. Roxi was playing ‘80s metal through her tricked out sound system, complete with tweeters in the doors. “Shh. Can you turn that off, please? For a minute?”
“The boy calls.” Roxi flipped the dial. Was she still jealous of Derrick?
“Hey.” Gia answered with a swipe. “You won’t believe this. Have a second?”
