Page 84 of Make Room for Love

“I love you, Mira.” Hearing it in Isabel’s utterly straightforward tones, Mira knew it was real. “You made my apartment feel like home again. I thought you were too good to be true.”

“I’m not,” Mira said. “I’m right here.”

Her phone buzzed. She reached in her pocket to silence it, but then it buzzed again.

She checked her messages. They were from the union group chat. “We won.” It couldn’t be real—but it was. “We got 59 percent of the vote. We won.”

She kneeled next to Isabel, and Isabel pulled her into a crushing hug. The pressure and uncertainty of the last several months, the exhaustion and jadedness from all her years of grad school—everything lifted off her. They had done it.

Isabel let go. She was grinning, and Mira realized she was, too. “Go talk to your sisters and brothers in the union,” Isabel said. “I’ll be here.”

Mira put her phone down and slid it across the coffee table. They would celebrate and then get to work again. But for now, the snow was falling, she was safe and warm at home, and she was about to have a quiet, restful night with the woman she loved.

“I wasn’t done talking to you,” Mira said. She pulled Isabel close. “You must have been so lonely before.”

Isabel relaxed, letting herself be held. “I was. But I’m not anymore.”

EPILOGUE

“Mira’s here!”someone shouted as Mira entered the bar, holding Isabel’s hand. A round of cheers and whoops rang out.

Mira smiled, letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting. It was hot for the first week of June, and only five p.m. on a Thursday, but everyone had left their offices early to celebrate. For months, Mira and the rest of the bargaining committee had endured endless rounds of negotiations, holed up in conference rooms with the university’s administrators and lawyers. She’d squeezed in her teaching and research, and a little sleep here and there when she could. And now they had a contract.

Isabel was finally out of her cast and on light duty at work. She was in very short jean shorts, a baseball cap, and a T-shirt for her union local with the sleeves cut off—truly a sight to behold. She hadn’t lost much muscle at all. They’d be doing more than holding hands once they got home, that was for sure.

Shreya emerged from the crowd and greeted them both. “So, you did it. We’re proud of you. How does it feel?”

Surrounded by her raucously celebrating coworkers, all of whose futures and livelihoods she cared about as though they were her own, Mira had never been so full of joy. “I think I need a vacation. Maybe I’ll take one when our back pay comes in.” Shehad enough back pay coming to her to cover her rent for months, and good health insurance, and almost everything else they’d fought for.

Shreya wasn’t so fortunate. She’d finally had her visa renewed, but the university wasn’t going to pay her legal expenses retroactively. She’d had to ask her coworkers for more help. Isabel had found out, sent her a few thousand dollars, and said, “It’s nothing.”

Maybe itwastime to take a vacation. The last few months had been some of the hardest of Mira’s life. She’d been stretched thin, doing her union work by day and caring for Isabel by night. But it had been worth every second, and the ways it had tested her relationship with Isabel had made it unbreakable.

She made the rounds. So many friends, so many colleagues, so many people whose lives and struggles she’d gotten to know. Even Patrick thanked her and shook her hand. It felt good to introduce Isabel to everyone—again—and show them exactly who Isabel was to her.

They filed out early with Shreya and a few other people; it was, after all, a work night. On their way to the subway, someone in the front started singing “Solidarity Forever.”

Mira winced and laughed. Singing in public? Seriously? But Isabel, still holding hands with her, joined in with a surprisingly loud, clear voice. Soon, other people came in. Mira had never thought much of her own creaky singing voice, but after the second verse, she joined in on the chorus: “Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong!”

When they reached the apartment,still holding hands, Isabel was more content than she’d been in some time. She’d been antsy over the last few weeks, forced on light duty at work and forced by Mira to take it easy outside of work. It had been goodto go out for once and see Mira’s friends, some of whom were becoming her friends, too.

Mira was deservedly proud of herself, and Isabel was overflowing with pride for her. The contract negotiations had worn Mira down. More than once, she’d fallen asleep on the couch or sitting at the table, and Isabel had needed to gently wake her up. She would have preferred to just carry Mira to bed, but she was making peace with her injuries.

Isabel was healing in all kinds of ways. She was keeping up with physical therapy, and seeing a new therapist, too, one who didn’t make Isabel want to rip her own hair out. She and Grace were closer than ever despite the chaos of the impending wedding. She’d cautiously invited old friends to visit her and to meet Mira.

And, most of all, she and Mira had endured months of Isabel staying at home and needing care. It hadn’t been easy, learning how to be patient against her will. They hadn’t been perfect to each other all the time. But they’d been so good to each other, and their relationship had only grown deeper, stronger, better.

Isabel would keep being patient. She had her whole life ahead of her, with Mira by her side.

Mira was thrumming with energy as they climbed the stairs. As soon as they stepped through the door, she flung her arms around Isabel’s neck, pulled her down, and kissed her. Lately, Mira hadn’t had energy for anything beyond snuggling in bed. But she clearly had something else in mind tonight.

They stumbled to the bedroom, and she backed Isabel against the dresser, exactly as careful with Isabel’s healing wrist as she needed to be. Between messy, breathless kisses, she pulled Isabel’s shirt over her head, tugged her shorts down, and unclasped her bra and yanked it off. Once Isabel was down to her boxers, Mira said, “Lie down.”

Heat swept through Isabel. Mira’s bossy side had been in full force these last few months. Maybe it had been worth breaking her wrist for. She did as she was told, getting on the bed and leaning against the headboard. Mira made a show of looking her over. “Good girl.”

Isabel laughed. She flushed, too. She adored this woman so much. Mira was still in her work clothes, and she slipped her light cardigan off her shoulders and set it on the dresser. Then she slowly unbuttoned her summery blouse, not teasing Isabel so much as simply taking her time.

The nude cotton bra underneath gave Isabel a quiet thrill. She loved Mira’s lacy lingerie sets, loved seeing Mira in them and out of them. But she also loved seeing Mira at ease, relaxing at home in leggings with her hair in a scrunchie and no makeup, comfortable and happy.

---