“Okay.” She paused. “River broke up with her partner a little while ago.”
“Oh? Is she coming alone?”
“Nope.”
There was a beat of confused silence. “Babe, your family is so fucking weird.”
Audrey laughed. “You’re telling me?”
“Only because you need to hear it constantly until you realize you don’t need to keep subjecting yourself to these people. You’ve got a fucking PhD, an incredible job, and you’re one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life—”
“You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.”
“Mm. No. I’m saying it because it’s true. Deal with it. And they can too, while we’re on it. Who gives a shit if you’re not dating anyone?”
“Oh, my family. I don’t know if you got the memo, but it’s really important to them.”
Zora snorted. “Yeah, fuck them.”
Audrey paused as she heard someone on the other side of the call asking Zora if she could watch her language. Zora apologized, but Audrey didn’t think it would generally impact her vocabulary. She sounded like she was walking through the street, so she’d probably passed someone with a child. Awkward.
“Anyway,” Zora said after a few more steps, “who’s River bringing this time?”
Audrey shrugged. “Some new girlfriend. Apparently, they work together and she was simply waiting in the wings for when River and Triss broke up, desperate for her chance.”
“Babe… come on, now.”
Audrey glanced around the tiny terminal, not sure what Zora was getting at, and her eyes landed on that adorable couple again. One with bright pink hair, the other dressed like a grandpa and rocking the look. She couldn’t help but smile as they squeezed themselves into the same seat despite the significant availability of places to sit. She wondered whether they were simply ridiculously early for check-in that hadn’t started yet, or whether, like her, they were waiting for their ride to arrive.
She also wondered whether she’d ever be in love like that. Completely oblivious to the world around them, desperate to be closer to each other. It wasn’t a hard question to answer. She definitely hadn’t thus far and it didn’t seem likely in the future. What would be the point?
She cleared her throat. “You’re going to have to explain that a little better, Zora.”
“Oh, my god.Sooblivious.” She sucked in an audible breath. “Okay, so, River’s fine and all—cute, decent personality, a little… naive and excitable, but perfectly lovely.”
“Right…?”
“But there is no way so many people are sitting around, pining after her, just eager to jump in the second she has a breakup. And have you never noticed how so many of her breakups tend to come right after your family events?”
“You’re asking if I’m surprised River stays in relationships until she’s cleared the world’s most annoying family get-togethers? No. I am not. Sure, it’s a little shitty to string people along, but I’m assuming she discusses it with them and everyone consents to maintain the… illusion for an extra few days that they’re still in love.”
“Right. So, what’s to say she’s not bringing a fake-ass girlfriend this time?”
Audrey spluttered in surprise. “You think she’s fake dating someone she works with? There’s no way. How would she even pull that off? She’s a terrible liar.”
“As if your family’s going to ask anything that’s not designed to be mildly insulting.”
“I…” Audrey trailed off. That was a really good point. And, if it was about a relationship, they wouldn’t have anything to say. It was… the baseline, expected. Be there and be with someone. That was all they wanted.
Zora scoffed triumphantly. “You see my point.”
“Yeah. Remind me again why I’m here…”
“Beats me. You’re better than all that, babe. You could be here, with me—well, you probably don’t want to be right here, but back in LA.”
“Where are you?”
“The courthouse in Beverly Hills.”
