“Wren, the whole point of us working so hard to get here was gold. I got mine, now go get yours. Don’t worry about me. I’ll let you know how surgery goes, but promise me that between now and then, you’ll put all your energy into focusing on the gold medal match.” Her voice strained as she tried to convey her seriousness without waking her mom.
“I promise,” Wren grumbled with a small laugh.
More silence passed before a thought popped into Lily’s head, and before she could stop herself from thinking it through in detail, the words were already leaving her mouth. “Would it make you feel better about missing my surgery if we told everyone we’re dating?”
“Are you serious?” Wren asked quickly. “I thought—the rules? Not until after the Olympics.”
“Semantics,” Lily whispered, looking over at her mom to make sure she was still asleep. “They’re basically over, right? Besides, I want people to know you’re my girlfriend, don’t you?”
Wren considered her for a moment. “I mean, yeah, but, like, I don’t want you to feel like it’s rushed or anything?—”
“Wren, I want this. Compromise? How about an Instagram story soft launch? I’ll put something up, and you repost it. Here, I’ll do it now.”
“Wha—now?
“Yes, now. C’mon, Wren.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
Lily navigated to the app and opened a photo of the two of them taken at her mom’s house right before they left for the Olympics. Lily had her arms wrapped around Wren’s lanky frame, and she was looking up at Wren like she hung the moon, because in her mind, Wren Parker had. She added text to the screen that read “always, forever @wrenigade.”
She hit send, and the photo disappeared, out into the void of the internet.
“There. Done,” Lily confirmed.
“Holy shit,” Wren said, shock still in her voice. “I mean, I’m so stoked…butholy shit. We just came out.”
“Yeah, we did.”
FIVE
BETH
AUGUST
Beth stood behind the baked goods display case at the Grumpy Goat, delicately lining up pastries, arranging them in pleasing patterns and stacks.See?she told herself.A small win for creativity. She made a mental note to tell Lenore about it at her next session.
In the whirlwind of the Olympics, Lily’s injury, and just life, Beth had canceled her last two therapy sessions—or at least that was the rationale she had given herself. But in reality, she felt guilty. She hadn’t made much of an attempt to work on the homework Lenore had tasked her with at the end of their session in May. She had been meaning to get around to it, but as she often repeated to herself, life had other plans.
The bell over the door rang out as Lily attempted to push her way in on the mobility scooter she had been given for her recovery.
Dylan whipped around the counter, holding the door for Lily.
“I’m so ready to be done with this thing,” Lily mumbled, rolling herself towards the table at the end of the coffee bar where she had taken to posting up for the afternoon on days Beth worked.
“Get bored at the house already?” Beth asked, reaching for a cup and a pen. She scrawled Lily’s order across it and handed the cup off to Dylan.
“Yup. This has been pure torture.” Lily groaned, gesturing to her foot as she elevated it on a chair in front of her, situating herself. “I’ve never been very good at sitting still.”
Beth slid into the chair opposite Lily. “Unfortunately, no, you haven’t.”
“I brought something for you!” Lily said excitedly, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a package of markers then thrusting them into Beth’s hands. “Here. I wanted you to draw something on my cast. You said you would, remember? Everyone else already has, and I even got Nell to sign it.” Lily shifted her leg, showing off the various signatures, wishes, and doodles that adorned the cast.
Beth turned over the package of markers in her hand. She had said that and she didn’t want to break her promise. It was a little doodle.You can do it. Just like the rosetta. Just a little something.Her fingers worked a few of the markers free and she began to draw.
“What did you decide on?” Lily asked, smiling brightly.
“You’ll have to wait and find out.” Beth stuck out her tongue, angling her head so her hair fell in a curtain, blocking Lily’s view, causing her to laugh.
