Page 42 of Love Hollow at Last
That was before the whole mess with the museum, of course, so they spoke pretty freely about other subjects.Aya was amazed by how much Stacy hated her job.She seemed to like kids, so perhaps she wasn’t a terrible teacher, but she went on at length about systemic problems and her specific problems with most of her coworkers.When Aya gently brought up the subject of a career change, Stacy completely dismissed it.She already had her degree, thank you, and had absolutely no plans to make any changes.
It was a little hard to admire someone like that.Then again, Aya had a creeping feeling that she had the same problem.For a long time, she’d lacked the courage to finish her PhD.But that could all end.Aya decided that she would call her advisor again that day.There was no use putting it off.She could take the next couple of years to finish while staying in her role at the museum then look for a teaching job.It would be hard to do it all long-distance, especially when she’d all but stepped away from her research, and it would require her saving the museum.
But that morning, she felt like she could do anything.
“So?”asked Emi.
“So what?”asked Aya.
Emi dutifully put on her blinker, pulling into the parking lot of an abandoned church.Typical Emi.She signaled even when there was nobody around.
“I’m going to ask you again,” said Emi.“Only don’t play dumb with me this time.”
After a long silence, Aya nodded.“Yes.”
Emi gasped.“Yes?”
“Whatever question you were going to ask, I think the answer is yes,” said Aya, blushing furiously.
Emi laughed.“I knew it!Twyla thought you would be too stubborn, but I knew you’d fall for him.Noah Kato, who you definitely weren’t ever thinking about.Ha!”
Aya sighed.“So you and Twy put bets on it, huh?”
Emi shook her head.“I’m about to have a very nice income, thank you very much.I refused to take Twyla’s money.It would have been too easy.”
She reached into a cooler bag next to her feet and brought out two plastic bottles of green tea.“Here, take one.I think we should be having champagne, but I can’t, for obvious reasons.”
Aya accepted it gratefully.“Oh, thank God.I could really use this.I’m so tired.”
Emi laughed again.“I’m sure you are.”
Aya was still blushing.“Okay, okay.But tell me how you knew.”
Emi tilted her head.“I mean, how could I not have known?That’s the question.You’ve been in love with him ever since that talent show.‘Black is the color of my true love’s hair?’Come on.”
Aya paused.She lowered her green tea bottle.“Back then, it wasn’t love,” she said carefully.“It was lust.Noah wasn’t in love with me.”
“And you?”
Aya found she couldn’t answer.“It doesn’t matter now.Anyway, I don’t even know what happened yesterday.”She could have added that what had happened had been repeated more than once in the morning, but she and her friends had never been that explicit.Maybe it was because their attitudes had crystallized in high school, when only one of them had dated.It still felt strange.If Emi had decided to have a bachelorette party, it probably would have been the tamest thing ever, as Sheena was the only big drinker and nobody would have had the nerve to buy penis candy.
“So you don’t know where you stand?”said Emi.“I mean, that’s normal.If it were an actual date, you probably wouldn’t even be talking about exclusivity now.”
Aya groaned.“I don’t think I’m a good fit for dating anyone where that isn’t, like, implied.”
“But I thought you hooked up with that hot guy from Bremen.The one who was poly, who had that primary partner in New York.”
Aya shook her head.“Please don’t remind me about Marcus.There are many reasons I didn’t become his secondary partner.Or tertiary partner.Or Chicago side piece.I don’t know.The whole thing just wasn’t for me.”
Emi patted her arm.“Well, whatever.You and Noah will figure it out.You were made for each other.”
She put the car back in gear and pulled out of the parking lot carefully.Her words had made Aya thoughtful.
“Do you think that exists?”she asked.“You know, soulmates?”
“For the two of you?Definitely.”
“No, really,” said Aya, watching as they drove past their old middle school.It looked sad, abandoned in the middle of summer.The district had never been able to afford air-conditioning for most of the buildings, so on average days, they were fine, but if they happened to have a warm September, the classrooms were miserably hot.“Do you feel like Charles is the one person for you?”
