“Tahira! This little town is so charming!” He kissed both my cheeks. “I did some research on Yelp, and you’ll have to order pizza from the place on Main. Their reviews are the best.” He smiled at Sharmin Aunty, who stood behind me. “I’m Joe Borroni. You must be Sharmin? We spoke on the phone.”
After introductions, we went inside. Mr.Borroni presented Sharmin Aunty with two beef salamis, three homemade frozen lasagnas, and six big jars of homemade red sauce.
While the adults talked about living arrangements, Gia’s dietary restrictions, and other parent-type stuff, I picked up two of Gia’s bags, leaving her with three (she’d brought even more than I had), and took her to see our new home.
“Oh, wow, this is stun-ning,” she said when we got to the backyard. “You said the garden was overdone. This is magical.”
I scrunched my nose. “You don’t think it’s a bit much?”
She shook her head. “No! It’s amazing. My Instagram is going to be so good this summer. Maybe I’ll finally get some sponsorships. Okay, I watched tours of tiny houses on YouTube the whole way here. Show me the house.”
I pointed to the granny flat.
“Oh.” She frowned. “I thought that was a shed.”
I laughed as I stepped up to the door of the flat. “You ready?”
She nodded, so I opened the door.
She frowned. “It looks really...flammable?”
“It’s like living in a sauna but without the warmth,” I said, dragging her bags in.
She stepped inside, her cowboy boots reverberating on the pine floor. “Or a tree house.”
I nodded, agreeing. “A woodpile.”
“Is this all of it?” she asked. She dropped a bag on the daybed, which was still made up to look like a sofa, with its floral bedspread and wood-print cushions.
“Pretty much.” I pointed to the back of the tiny house. “There’s a tiny bathroom back there—thankfully not made of wood. That ladder leads to a sleeping loft with another bed.”
“I’m not climbing that. I can’t even wear platform shoes.”
“I figured as much.” Gia wasn’t a heights person. “I slept up there last night; it was fine.” Mostly fine. I woke practically at dawn from what sounded like eight dozen birds in the yard. I had been told it would be quieter out in the country. It wasn’t.
“Oh, I forgot, I brought something to decorate!” She pulled a framed photo out of a bag. It was of the actor Chris Pine, in his gray-bearded phase. “You said it was pine themed.”
I laughed. “Love it. Makes all this seem...intentional.”
She leaned the photo on the table. “It doesn’t matter what the place looks like, anyway,” Gia said. “We get tolivehere. Just you and me. It’s going to belit.”
I wasn’t sure how “lit” it would be, considering I knew only Gia plus four people in town, and one of them was my fiftysomething-year-old aunt, and another found me as palatable as rotting roadkill, but sure. If Gia wanted to delude herself that this would be a party summer, I wasn’t going to be the one to burst her bubble.
The plan for the day was for me to spend the rest of the morning getting Gia settled in and unpacked. Then Juniper would meet up with us late morning, and the three of us would walk together to Lilybuds at noon for our first day of training.
Finding space for all Gia’s clothes was a bit tricky since my stuff was already everywhere, but somehow, we managed to get her stuff to fit. In every corner, under every piece of furniture, and even hanging from the walls were clothes, shoes, accessories, and hair products, but you could at least walk around the tiny house. And you could barely see the pine anymore. Mostly.
After unpacking, I put on my mostretail sales associateoutfit: my black high-waisted dress pants with a paper-bag waistband and a blouse I’d made myself—pale gray with bold red stripes around the sleeves. I’d sewn it out of the softest French jersey, and I loved the way it draped over my body. I put my hair up in a half bun on the top of my head and started on my makeup.
My phone vibrated with a text as I was doing my eyes. I checked the screen—Matteo. We’d talked on the phone until late last night, and I was still feeling warm and fuzzy from the call.
Matteo:Hey baby, Good luck at your new job today!
Tahira:TY! You’re the best. You on your way to work?
Matteo:Yeah. On the subway. About to go underground, I’ll call you tonight. Miss you.
Tahira:Miss you, more.
