Miss Lenny made a sympathetic noise and then tapped her nails on the table. “Couldn’t you teach it, dear? I’m sure you have many friends who would be willing to sit for the session.” Her gaze traced my form. “As much as we wanted you to be the model, I’m sure you have other prospects?”
I hummed because I certainly did, but I didn’t want to raise her hopes. “Thank you for your kind opinion, ma’am.” I scooped the sorted cords into my craft box and closed the lid. “Let me keep working on it and see what I can come up with. I have a good feeling about it.”
“Quite reasonable as always, Professor Liem,” she agreed, patting my hand before easing off the table. “I have a list of dates that I’ll be out of town, so make sure you don’t schedule it for one of those. I’ll leave a copy for you at the front desk with Jillie.”
I bade her goodbye, and once I finished tidying the room, I packed my supplies in my canvas duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder, eager to get back to the condo and check on Aunt Ari.
Jillie waved me over as I approached the front desk, and I adjusted the strap of the heavy bag, not at all enjoying the way it dug into my shoulder.
Intentional, expected pain from the prick of a tattoo or a piercing was different. I had perfected methods to harmonize with those. Techniques I’d started during my first apprenticeship when I was sixteen. And as an adult, I’d learnedto deal with some emotional pain via visualization techniques or expression with the stroke of a brush.
The chafing from this rough strap, though? It was irritating me.
It was irritating me badly.
“Liem, is everything okay?”
I slid my fingers under the strap of the bag to create a barrier and formed a smile for Jillie. “It is.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly but didn’t question me further. She did, however, pull a piece of paper from a pile on her desk, which she slid in front of me with an excited smile. “I’ve found something for you.”
I gave up on the blasted bag and sat it on the floor before I leaned over the desk to peer at the paper.
“Oh,” I breathed, my irritation forgotten as I scanned every detail before flicking my eyes up to Jillie. “How much?”
She wrote a figure on a neon-pink sticky note and slapped it on top. I almost wanted to laugh in delight but was too busy running the numbers in my head.
“Such a thing is highway legal?” I asked her.
She smiled conspiratorially, though there was no way she knew that Vinh had tried to forbid me from this exact thing. “It is. I researched it after the son of one of our memory care clients posted it for sale.”
“Heavens,” I whispered, my eyes glued to the photo of the shiny, new-looking Vespa scooter. Bouncing on my toes, I pressed a hand into my chest as if that would keep the elation at bay.
Jillie slid another neon-pink Post-it note toward me, this one with a name and a number written on it.
Addy DeRosa.Thanks to you, I was dead meat.
Vinh was going to kill me.
And Cody might too.
I shimmied my shoulders, welcoming the goose bumps that danced along my spine as Cody’s gorgeous scowl flashed into my mind.
Oh, yes.
It would be well worth it.
When I returnedto the condo, I was able to take my first truly satisfactory breath when I found Aunt Ari on the couch instead of curled up in bed.
“Feeling better?” I asked softly after I set the takeout bag on the kitchen bar.
“Yes,” she sighed through a tired smile as she twisted toward me. “I believe the worst has passed.” She rose gingerly from the couch, eyeing the brown paper bag. “Is that for me, my sweet Liem?”
“It is,” I confirmed as I took out the steaming containers of soup. “Would you like wonton or egg drop?”
Aunt Ari hummed as she scooped her glasses from the side table and slipped them on. “Wonton, please.”
Ari fell onto her soup enthusiastically, and my worry was eased by her newfound appetite. I put the kettle on and started some tea for her as I caught her up on my day at the Locc.
