I don’t conceal my scoff. Of course, this is her fault. She should’ve minded her own business.
“Winston, oh god. I’m fucking awful.” Her sobs are louder now. “This whole thing was supposed to bring us closer together. We’d grown apart the last few years, and it haunts me that I wasn’t more supportive when she was caring for Rita in her final days. I knew this wouldn’t make up for me being a shitty friend, but I was hoping it would, I don’t know, mayb–” It’s gettingharder for her to speak, the tears big and fat as they dribble down her cheeks onto her shirt.
“Then go apologize,” I interrupt. “This is no longer about me, so if you don’t mind…”
“Uh uh. No way, buddy,” she says, wiping her drippy nose on the used tissue she pulls from her purse. “We need to fix this together. I might have been the conductor of this ten-car-pileup, but you played your part in it too.”
I pause, sitting back down. “What do you have in mind?”
A smile stretches across her face, dimples forming on both cheeks. “Have you never watched a rom-com? This is the part where a grand gesture is needed.”
How vague and unhelpful. “Have you forgotten that I’m a penniless dipshit?”
She holds up a finger in protest. “I never used the worddipshit.”
We brainstorm ideas, based entirely on examples from movies she’s seen. None of them seems right for Natalie. What we keep coming back to is the house.
“I know I seem like a greedy piece of trash,” she says, “insisting I sell this house that was just handed to me. But it’s not like that. I have a kid, Winston. Do you know how expensive children are nowadays?”
“No idea,” I tell her honestly. “It’s just you? Where’s the father?”
She grits her teeth and makes a stabbing motion with the pen in her hand. “He’s useless. Rarely utilizes his visitation, so I’m basically a single mom. It’s up to me to save for college, and potential injuries or illnesses and,”––her face crumples and the tears resume––“my baby just came out as trans, and I want to make sure they, she?shehas the money for all the gender-affirming care she needs. I have no idea what insurance will cover, probably nothing by the time she needs it.” Lindsay’sshoulders heave, and for the first time, I feel like I can see the expectations she has for herself, impossibly high, stacked on her shoulders. “Billy, my ex, doesn’t even know she’s trans, and based on, well, everything, he’s going to be an asshole about it, so I’m on my own. I just…” Her gaze returns to mine. “I want her to be exactly who she is, authentically herself, and not have to worry about what it’ll cost to make that happen, you know?”
I nod, a tightness forming in my chest.
“I make decent money, but Boston is expensive. Selling this house would’ve given us a solid nest egg for whatever she needs.”
It’s not a comfortable feeling––agreeing with Lindsay, but she’s right. Her child should come first, and if she needs costly medical care, selling this house is the best way to get it.
“But even if I could sell it,” she adds, “I’d still be kicking Natalie out with little notice. And who knows how much I could even get for it?” Resigned, she heaves a weary sigh and shakes her head. “You know what? Just take it.”
She starts shoving the loose papers at me.
“Take what? The house?” I ask, perplexed by this sudden turn of events. “You need the money for your kid.”
“I can’t sell it, remember? The zoning laws? Also, even if I could, it would probably take years to get to know the right people and the right resources to get the word out there, and I don’t have the time or the money to cover the repairs it needs beforehand, or schlep back and forth to Boston every time I need to meet with a realtor.”
I stare at her, blinking slowly as a seed of yearning is planted in my gut and begins to grow.
“If I can’t sell it without having to shell out thousands of dollars up front, I’d rather you have it. Take it, please. And I’ll do whatever else I can to help you get back with Natalie.”
A thought. My body recoils at it, fights against it, but it sinks its teeth in so deep that the words fly out. “Come with me. I think there’s a way for both of us to get what we want.”
Chapter 24
Natalie
Another week later…
Halloween Night
I’m finishing my third apple cider and vodka of the night when “Monster Mash” starts blaring over the speakers. I’ve always loved this song, but hearing it sung loudly by this particular group of beauties and literal beasts is a whole other vibe. The stacked empty glasses and beer bottles clink against each other on the tray I’m carrying, and I worry I’m about to be surrounded by broken glass, which would be a catastrophe, and I’m already in a sour mood.
Halloween in Mapletown isn’t like Halloween anywhere else. Since the town is filled with monsters, most people don’t wear costumes here. The attire is closer to New Year’s Eve, or a wedding, where the dress code is black tie optional, and if you decide to wear a costume, fuck it, that’s okay too.
However, there are still buckets of candy in the center of every table, and at each end of the bar, because, as Dominicsays, “We may be monsters, but we’re not cruel.” There are autumn-themed cocktails that Rizlan made up, and he, Vyla, and Dominic are behind the bar pumping them out at record speed.
I’m wearing my fanciest dress, an A-line orange chiffon dress with little white flowers all over it. A white petticoat beneath it makes my skirt puffy, like the 1950s spit me out in the middle of the forest just for this grand soirée. I also have a white faux-fur shrug in my cubby in the back room, but it’s way too hot to wear it in here. The crowd is thick, and the bodies in here are sweaty as they move together in raucous glee to every Halloween-themed song Vyla put on her party playlist.
