“A slumber party! But I’m glad to see you still have jokes.”
Grace glanced at the deflated mattress slumped against the wall. “Obinna is so kind to offer, but I’m sure he doesn’t want his girlfriend’s best friend sleeping in the same room.”
“What about my parents? They have plenty of room. It’s still a bit far out. You couldn’t walk to the campus anymore, but I could go with you. We could both stay there.”
Grace crossed her arms. “I know you don’t want to stay with your parents, Alma. You would fight with your mother constantly. Seriously, this isn’t a problem you have to solve for me, and you have to take the opportunity to spend extra time with Obinna. This will be fun for the two of you, and I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Rafael?” Alma tried another possibility as if Grace hadn’t even spoken. “He has an extra room.”
“You’re kidding.”
“What? That could work. I just feel terrible for putting you through this. I was supposed to protect you. All I have to offer is some shitty rental insurance that barely covers anything. Or Obinna, my parents, or Rafael.”
“This isn’t your fault, babe.” Grace said. “And I’ll figure something out without you bending over backwards to fix it. End of discussion. Go to the lab already. I’ll be fine.”
Alma puckered her perfect lips in a pout, but she still accepted her defeat. She crossed the small room and gave Grace a quick cheek-kiss, before doing as she was told and going to the lab.
“Tough week?” Rafael asked as Grace climbed into the car. He was wearing a white shirt with a button undone and damn it if she didn’t stare at the triangle of bare chest peeking out, just for a moment.
“You could say that.” She flipped her hair out of the way and put on the seatbelt, and when she glanced up to find Raf’s eyes on her, he simply gave her a lopsided grin and turned back to the steering wheel.
“Ready?” he asked.
Grace nodded, but since he wasn’t looking at her anymore, she took a breath and coughed out, “yes.”
There was something about the small space of the car that made her feel a little claustrophobic. Rafael’s arms were right there, almost brushing against hers, and his scent filled the entire vehicle. Shesmelledhim even though she didn’t mean to, and he smelled like warm laundry right out of the dryer. “Thank you,” she said, “for driving me. I know you probably had other plans today, so I really appreciate you taking time?—”
“Alma was right.” He cut in with a sigh.
“What?”
“She said you would ramble on and on about how grateful you are to me just for giving you a lift. It’s nice that you’re so appreciative, Graciela, but you don’t have to thank me. If the situation were reversed, I know you’d do the same for me.”
“I don’t have a car.”
Raf let out a little laugh. “Fair point.”
Grace leaned back in the seat trying to relax, but without her overwrought outpouring of gratitude, she wasn’t sure what else to talk about, and the silence hovered over them.
“Are you feeling homesick for America?” Rafael asked.
Grace glanced at him, surprised he’d made the effort to start a conversation. She wasn’t really homesick forAmerica.She was homesick for the things that weren’t there anymore, things that no longer existed anywhere. Not that she was going to start wading into her emotional turmoil with Alma’s older brother…again. “Mostly, I could just go for a good hot dog,” she said.
She swallowed as a lump formed in her throat. Beer and hot dogs, that was how she and Derek celebrated everything. The end of the semester? Derek’s big raise? Anniversaries? They marked every occasion with beer and hot dogs. It had been a long time since Grace felt like celebrating, though.
Rafael was aghast. “A hot dog? No.”
She shrugged. “Something from Portillo’s. That’s all I want.”
“A hot dog, Graciela?” Raf shook his head in disgust, just as she suspected he would.
She exhaled a little laugh, inordinately pleased to have irked him. “Is there something in particular you miss from your time in America?”
He pressed his lips together, thinking. “As far as American cuisine goes, there is not much to miss. Certainly not hot dogs.”
Grace rolled her eyes.
“But there was a pizza place in New York City. Scarr’s. I get a craving for that on occasion.”
