“I don’t really think of myself as fitting in boxes,” said Ade, finally getting a grip of what Sylvie meant.
“I can imagine.” Sylvie tilted her head, her blond bob of hair catching the last rays of the sun. “Do you mind if I join you?”
Ade studied the line of Sylvie’s jaw, entranced by the journey from her earlobe to her chin.
Steph cleared her throat. “Don’t wait for an invitation from my sister. Hospitality isn’t her strong suit.”
“How do you find the music?” Sylvie asked.
“We saw a flyer in the laundromat,” Ade said.
Sylvie tipped her head, and her frown deepened, the silence stretching between them. Ade took a breath, gifting her a couple of seconds to process what was happening.
“It’s wonderful, isn’t it? I had no idea what to expect.” Steph gestured to the waiter for more drinks. “We were just doing our laundry and were on our way back to the apartment.”
“You’re renting locally?” Sylvie raised her eyebrow.
“Up there.” Ade pointed to her building. “We found an apartment on the fifth floor. It’s eighty-four steps.”
Steph leaned in. “I’m heading to Spain tomorrow for a little tourof my own.”
“Really?” Sylvie asked.
“A gap year,” said Steph. “I can’t wait.”
“Are you on your way to professorship, like your sister?”
“I don’t quite have the academic brain that Ade does.” Steph laughed, nudging Ade’s elbow. “I’m more of a people person. I graduated in nursing, and I’ve got an internship to get back to when I’m done. But I always said I’d love to travel before I finally settle into full-time work. When Ade was heading to Europe, it seemed like a win-win to settle her in and head off from here.”
“So, you’re leaving your sister to her day job while you enjoy the student life for a little longer. How about you, Ade, you didn’t fancy hosteling through Europe?”
“I like the idea of traveling, but I’m not a fan of unpredictability or lack of routine. Plus, I have a job to do.” Ade rubbed the edge of the table.
Sylvie’s hair bounced as she nodded. “Very conscientious of you.”
“I didn’t have a choice.” Ade folded her arms, resentment bubbling up in her stomach.
“And why’s that?”
“My boss said if I didn’t do it this year, I might not be able to stay in my job back in Monterey.”
Sylvie sat back in her chair. “Well, we have something in common, after all. My boss has handed me a similar ultimatum. Let’s drink to our collective stoicism this year.” She clinked her glass to Ade’s beer bottle as the strings revived their melody. With Sylvie and Steph’s attention on the musicians, Ade sank into the chair and traced Sylvie’s picture-perfect cheekbones with her gaze. The candlelight trembled in the evening breeze, and a shadow danced across Sylvie’s joyful face, while her chest inflated with every phrase of the music.
Ade sipped her beer, desperate to feel something other than a socially unpalatable urge to look, to memorize, to absorb everydetail of her new colleague’s appearance. This was new. This desire to hold onto the moment and fix Sylvie in her mind. Was it the strangeness of the city? Nothing would feel like home for a while. Maybe Sylvie would be someone safe to talk to when Steph left.
Steph crossed her legs, relaxed in the flow of the evening. Ade yearned for that kind of repose. To take something in so naturally, instead of analyzing every interaction as if she were performing an autopsy.
Steph would be gone tomorrow, but for the first time since they’d left home, hope rooted in Ade’s heart and her pulse steadied. Could she stay in this moment, anchored by Sylvie’s candlelit profile? That might not be so bad.
CHAPTER FIVE
The confusing smellfilled Sylvie’s nostrils. Salt? She touched the ends of her hair, already frizzing out of control. By the time she was done here, she’d look like a scarecrow. Sylvie squinted up at the strange building. The marine center squatted in the sunshine, short and functional, unlike her usual base in the stylish arts complex.
The receptionist seemed to study Sylvie’s block heels and jeans while others filed past in cargo pants and tennis shoes. Sylvie shrugged. Of course she looked out of place. She had no place being there, and she had no desire to blend in with the science crowd. She was a proud professor of the arts. Her average day was filled wondering whether history could be rewritten with all the missing stories of brilliant women, not cleaning out cloudy fish tanks.
With directions in hand, Sylvie made it to the classroom and hovered at the threshold. With her head bent in submission, Ade had already lost her students.
“Folks, could I just get your attention for one more thing on my list?” Ade clutched her phone just as she had at the candlelight concert that weekend.
