Hailey:I just met her yesterday.
Mom:I thought I raised you better than to be a prude. It’s just sex. Just be careful though honey. People like that, they’re way different from us. Not just their lifestyle, but their morals and priorities. Have fun, but don’t fall in love and get hurt.
Hailey:I won’t Mom. Thanks.
I just hoped I could keep that promise.
Torie came out of the shower wearing the shorts and tee shirt I’d loaned her to use as pajamas, a pair of socks on her feet.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I grabbed a pair of socks from your drawer.”
I couldn’t decide if it was rude or surprisingly intimate that she’d go into my dresser looking for socks. Then again, I had told her to make herself at home...
“Are you hungry?” I asked. “I know it’s early for dinner, but we didn’t have lunch so I’m ready to eat my own arm.”
“We don’t want that,” she said, her eyes dancing. “You need your arm to make coffee. What were you thinking?”
“Do you like Thai? I was thinking we could just order a mess of stuff and eat it for the rest of the day whenever we’re hungry.”
Tori looked more excited than I’d ever seen anyone be about Thai food in my life. “I love that idea.”
“Hold on.” I went to my phone and dialed the Thai place up the street. “Kim? Hi, yeah it’s Hailey. Can you do a delivery?”
Tori hid in the bedroom when the food arrived. I’d warned her that Kim usually came into the apartment for a few minutes to chat. Once I’d gotten my kind-of friend out of my place, Tori came back out.
“Do you have a laptop?” she asked.
“Of course, I’m not a total luddite.”
It was ten years old and I needed to keep it plugged in at all times because the battery only lasted thirty minutes, but I didn’t need to share that.
“Would it be weird if I asked you to watch one of my movies while we eat?” Her question seemed surprisingly vulnerable. “We can use my phone as a hot spot.”
I shrugged. I had to admit I was curious.
“Sure. What do you want to watch?”
“People say that the firstSusie Snipermovie is my best movie.”
The way she said it gave me pause. “What do you think your best movie is?” I asked curiously.
She looked at the floor for a second, then back up to me. “I did a low budget film that was shown at the Venice Film Festival calledMy Mother’s Funeral.The critics loved it, but it wasn’t a commercial success.”
I couldn’t interpret her expression, it seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and sadness.
“Do all your movies have to be commercial successes?”
“A lot of people depend on me financially,” she said after a long pause. “If I don’t make money, neither do they. I agreed to make this film right after I fired my mom, and before I signed withBob. He’s my current agent. It was the only acting decision I made totally on my own. It was also the hardest movie I’ve ever done, and the one I’m most proud of. I know without a doubt it’s my best work.”
“In that case, that’s the one we should watch.”
Because my laptop was tiny, I went downstairs to borrow the projector that we used when we had presentations or movie nights at Morning Jolt. I didn’t usually work those shifts, but I knew how to work the projector. Tori activated her hotspot and signed the computer into one of the streaming services, cueing up the movie while I unpacked the food and brought us in plates and silverware.
“What would you like to drink?” I asked. “I usually have a beer when I eat Thai food.”
“Sounds great.”
We settled side by side on the couch, filling our plates and then turning our attention to the movie. It had an arty quality to it, the film almost grainy.
