She really looked like a mermaid today with her hair still damp and her makeup light. Just washed up from the ocean.
I’d had an intense mermaid phase when I was a kid. I’d begged my dad to decorate my bathroom with mermaids, but my mother had said it would be “tacky,” so I was only allowed to have mermaid toys in the tub. That was before the divorce. After, I got stepmother Anita, who put black rugs in the bathrooms and a shimmery gold shower curtain. No more mermaids.
Even now my bathroom had a lot of blue and green in it. Like I was still attached to the theme.
“Is there something on my face?” she asked because I’d literally been staring at her silently for multiple moments as we’d been walking.
Oops. I needed to get myself together. Fortunately, we’d reached the sandwich shop. I reached for the door without thinking, but she pushed my hand out of the way and gripped the handle but waited for me to move out of the way before she opened the door.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her why she always did that, but I wasn’t sure if I’d like the answer, so I kept my mouth shut.
The shop was cozy and loud, with the scent of fresh bread dominating the space. It was the kind of place where they were always in a hurry and if you took even a second too long, they’d get annoyed. Nobody minded because the sandwiches were worth it.
“I can order for you,” Vail said, but I shook my head. This was just like the coffee shop.
“I like mine done a certain way.” I needed to see my sandwich made to my specifications or else I wasn’t going to trust that it was right.
“Okay.”
Vail let me go first and I turned my head to watch her scan the menu. The line moved swiftly and soon it was my turn to order my turkey club, making sure it was thinly shaved, had just the right amount of oil and vinegar, and not too much shredded lettuce.
They wrapped my sandwich with efficiency, and I tossed a bag of chips and a soda on the counter to add to my order.
Vail was right behind me with her classic Italian sub.
We both paid separately and managed to get a booth near the front when a couple got up and left.
I took one side and Vail took the other. For a moment I’d thought she might sit on the same side as me, which would be weird.
“This place is great,” Vail said, looking around.
“It is.” We both unwrapped our sandwiches in silence, but the noise around us faded into the background.
I was hungry after teaching, but I didn’t want her see me practically unhinge my jaw to eat, so I took daintier bites and hoped that oil wasn’t dribbling down my chin.
“Soooo,” she said after a few bites with no talking. “How has your week been?”
The words came out haltingly, as if she was unsure of them.
“Oh, fine.” She was expecting more than that. “Um, I’m thinking of launching a beginning Pilates online program. Really short workouts and tons of instruction. Lots of modifications. For people who are wanting to move their bodies, but who are intimidated to try.”
Too much information. I hadn’t meant to put all that out there.
She smiled. “That sounds like a great idea. It can be really inaccessible for people. It’s got a reputation as only being for a certain kind of person.” Didn’t I know it. I always tried to be extra welcoming to everyone in my classes, especially the ones who looked like they were stepping out of their comfort zones.
The words came easier after that. She spoke about how she’d gone to college for both theater and English and had done some low-level voice acting before she’d switched to working as an audiobook narrator.
“You did theater?” I asked, completely flabbergasted. That didn’t sound like something she would have chosen to do.
“I did. I know I didn’t do it in high school. I’m not sure why I picked it for college, except I wanted to choose a major that would absolutely enrage my mother. I also ended up absolutely loving it. Getting to be someone else for a while. It was like freedom. I might go back and do some shows someday. Maybe.” I couldn’t picture it, but I absolutely wanted to see videos if there were any.
“Did it enrage her?”
Vail grinned and then chomped on a chip. “For weeks. She got so mad that she pretended I wasn’t even there. I’d come home on breaks and she’d treat me like furniture. It was nice, actually. She was also in-between husbands for the first time in ages.” That was after she’d left my dad.
“What do you think made her want to get married again?”
She tapped her hand on her chin and pretended to ponder. “Hmmm, let me think… Oh, I’m going with money. It’s always money. Power too, but the power that comes with having fuck you money.”
