Page 52 of Jagged

"I'm Tatiana. Come on in." She waved Clem inside with the warmest smile in the world.

Clementine's eyes sparkled, and in two seconds I lost control of the situation.

"Obrigada. Chamo-me Clementine. Como estás?"

Tatiana's entire face lit up, and she responded immediately. "Muito bem! Eu—"

And that was the moment I stopped understanding a word being said in front of me. I stared at them as they spoke in strong tones louder than their usual English-speaking voices and shared a conversation that included lots of gesturing in my direction. Tati's face told me most of what I needed to know at least. She smiled with bright eyes that looked at me often.

When their talk slowed, Clem smiled, and her gaze met mine for a moment as if she had just noticed me. I chuckled and tossed her my usual awkward wave, but this time I scrunched up my face with it. Clem snickered then glanced back to Tati. She said something to her and Tati grinned.

"I'm going to pretend that none of this was weird, and I didn't miss any social cues at all." I gave them both a thumbs up and they laughed.

"No one cares about social cues," piped Clem. "We were getting acquainted." She looked around the space, her eyes falling immediately on Tatiana's work area. Her eyes widened and she pointed. "Your work is in Everton. I recognize the style."

"It is." Tatiana beamed and motioned to her work area. "I have my own gallery showing there next month."

"Incrível." Clem wandered off as if she'd just seen the most amazing thing in the world. And Tati's art was quite like that; at least I thought so anyway.

Tati followed her and I drew in a slow breath, my hands propped on my hips as I glanced at myself in the mirror. Everything moved so fast. Clementine's speed far surpassed my processing ability. I worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with her, and that doubt only dug into me further at the prospect of spending the night somewhere in Washington State with an almost-complete stranger.

They returned a moment later, and Clem smiled at me. "Where's your workspace?"

"Um…" I gulped. "On…walls? In the city. Or in buildings where people ask me to paint…" Nervousness took hold, but Clem didn't seem to notice.

"In her room, too. She tagged the entire ceiling and one wall." Tatiana pointed to the closed door to my bedroom. "You should see it."

"Next time." I jumped in immediately, knowing that not a thing in my space was in its place, including the laundry on the floor. "We-we should go."

Clem didn't fight the suggestion. Instead, she turned to Tatiana and smiled. They shared another round of non-English pleasantries, before Clem met me at the door. Tati kissed my cheek before we parted and whispered, "Be yourself."

"I'll try," I said, then waved to her before we headed out.

Clem and I walked quietly down the hall for a moment, until I broke it to say, "I didn't realize you meant staying overnight. Where are we going to stay?"

"Hmm." She looked at me, her lips pursed for a second. "How do you feel about camping?"

"Down with it." Relief flooded me suddenly and I felt the smile that spread across my mouth lift my cheeks in an unexpected way.

Clementine's mirrored mine, and we made our way to her SUV parked in the visitor spots behind the building. I climbed into the passenger side and tossed my bag in the back. I noted the camping gear and a cooler in the backseat, along with blanket rolls and towels.

"You go camping often?"

"I do. Hikes as well."

"Do you have a group or whatever?"

She shook her head as she started the car once we were buckled in. "By myself. I don't much care for groups."

"By yourself?" My eyes widened and I adjusted my concealed service weapon so that it didn't dig too much into my back. "Really?"

"Yes." She shifted the car in gear, and we pulled out of the space. "I do most things alone."

"Same. I mean…except if it's with my small friend group or with work. The latter is obligatory."

"I understand that." Her seriousness returned in the closed space without the shared focus of a movie, and I wondered if her anxiety manifested in stoicism. "Your friend Tatiana is very lovely."

"She is. You two talked a lot…"

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