Riley’s eyes flash back to the plant by the window, considering Charlotte’s words.
“Can I tell you a secret?” she asks softly.
Charlotte doesn’t answer, only slightly raises her eyebrows.
“The woman I’m talking about: it’s you. I’m here because it’s about you,” she whispers theatrically, like it isn’t blatantly obvious. It makes Charlotte roll her eyes, but it also loosens her up a little bit. She walks to a chair across from Riley and takes a seat.
“If you underestimate my ability to read through the lines that badly, I can see why we’re in this situation in the first place.”
Riley looks at her with an unreadable expression on her face, but her grip on the pillow tightens. “Well, I guess I’m just really bad at reading you then.”
Her words carry a weight; a mix of disappointment and shame, and yet they haven’t lost all of Riley’s usual confidence. It causes Charlotte to feel a sharp sting in her chest, right where her heart is.
They stay in silence for a while, letting the words land softly in between them. It’s the kind of silence that enhances all other sounds: the rain outside, cars driving by, the soft hum of the fluorescent lights. It’s also the kind of silence that makes both of them realize they areabout to reach a pivotal point in their bond, whatever that may look like.
“Scorpio,” Charlotte mutters, barely loud enough for Riley to hear. “Not a Taurus. I’m a Scorpio.”
“Fuck, that makes so much sense,” Riley breathes out. “When’s your birthday?”
“October 31st.”
“Makes even more sense. You carry yourself like a witch.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Riley hums, trying to find the right words. “You radiate a very powerful energy. Graceful, too. You lean into your femininity, and it seems like you’re drawn to other people’s minds. Not only that; you emanate your own emotions very strongly.”
Charlotte lets out a humorless chuckle. “Yeah, you’re not the first person to bring that up.”
“I bet you have a cat, too,” Riley adds.
Charlotte bites the corner of her lip. “A ferret, actually.”
Riley’s jaw slowly drops, like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. “That's insanely cute and never in a million years would I have guessed that. No seriously, that’s adorable.”
The smile that lights up Riley’s entire face makes Charlotte aware of that familiar, unsettling feeling in her stomach.
“Wait here,” she says, holding her hand up while she gets out of the chair. She walks to the door—not theoutside door that clients enter through, but the door behind the desk that connects the office to her house. She looks around the corner, her eyes scanning the kitchen floor. Then she walks to the living room and crouches down to look under the couch. She doesn’t find what she’s looking for until she gets up and spots him by the large floor to ceiling window that looks out on the backyard.
With her black and brown bandit-colored ferret wrapped around her neck like a scarf, she re-enters the office. She closes the door behind her with her foot and strides over to Riley, who looks completely awestruck. Her eyebrows knit together and her mouth curves down like she’s about to burst into happy tears. When Charlotte gently places the ferret on the pillow in Riley’s lap, she looks at him like he’s the most beautiful thing in the entire world.
“What’s his name?” she whispers full of wonder, not wanting to scare him off.
“This is Shaky. Say hello to our guest, Shake,” Charlotte tells him, and takes her seat across from them.
Shaky’s nose is clearly working overtime and he immediately honors his name by wriggling his face into the crook of Riley’s elbow.
“Hola Shaky,” Riley greets him, giggling at the sensation. She pats the spot on top of his little head with two fingers. “Shake; is that short for Shakespeare? Síte ves muy educado.”
“I’m not sure he speaks Spanish,” Charlotte muses.
Without missing a beat, Riley replies: “Yes he does. ¿Verdad, Shakespeare?”
Like he indeed understands her, Shaky presses himself even closer to Riley and flops onto his belly to enjoy her body heat and generous pets.
“I see how it is.” Charlotte crosses her arms, faking betrayal. “Teaming up on me.”
Riley, who is still entirely enamored with him, mutters: “He’s so… soft.”
