“You weren’t listening before?”
“No, I was entering the last few paper grades I needed to put in before we went to lunch.”
“Jesus, Aggie,” she replied with a laugh as the elevator door opened. “We were watching a movie last night after Harlow got home.”
“From work?”
Agatha walked into the elevator.
Larissa followed her in and replied, “No. She went to a bar to watch sports or something. She said she had a long day at work and needed to have a beer out. Anyway, she got home late. I was working, and she made me dinner.”
“Again? This woman continually cooks for you. Can she come tomyhouse and cook dinner forus?”
Agatha pressed the button for the lobby floor.
“I’ll ask her, but yes, she cooks. It’s how she pays rent. She’s really good at it. And I went shopping, so–”
“Tell me something.”
“What?”
“When you grocery shop – and I’m talking about when she’s not living with you; when she was with her ex, even – do you still buy stuff for Harlow?”
“Stuff? Like food?”
“Yes.”
“I guess. Not as much as right now because she’s there every night, but yeah, I like to have her favorite stuff there if I can. She loves cooking pasta dishes, so I usually try to have dry pasta and some kind of canned sauce, just in case. She’d make it from scratch; her mom taught her how, but she says it has to simmer for a while, and we don’t usually have time for that, so we use the canned one, and she doctors it up to make it taste better. I don’tknow what she does to it, really, but she gave me a list of spices I’m supposed to have all the time, so I keep those there, too.”
“Larissa…” But the elevator door opened then, so her sister walked out and added, “I love you, but come on…”
“I’m not naïve. I know how it probably looks to outsiders, Aggie.”
“How many of her exes have dumped her because of you?”
“What? None.”
They left the building and turned right on the sidewalk.
“Oh, yes, they have. You should askherthat. I bet that question would lead to an eye-opening conversation that you two definitely need to have.”
“You want me to just come up to her and ask her if any of her ex-girlfriends have broken up with her because of her friendship with me?”
“No, I want you to word it differently. I want you to ask her how many of her exes have dumped her ass because of her very clear feelings for you, her best friend she practically lives with, even when she lives with a woman she’s having sex with.” Aggie then pointed quickly at Larissa. “I fucking knew it! There.” Aggie laughed.
“What are you talking about?”
“I chose the word ‘sex’ very intentionally. I wanted to see your reaction, which was exactly what I thought it would be. You love her, Larissa. Just admit it. The thought of Harlow sleeping with another woman, having hot, up-against-the-wall kind ofsexwith her, making love to her slowly, or touching her in any way–”
“Okay. God! I get it, Aggie.”
“Get what?”
“I getit, okay? Can we talk about something else now?”
“Something else? Really? Like what?”
“My… dissertation.”
