Em frowned. “Honestly, that sounds like a really bad idea.”
She was probably right, but I didn’t want to give up. “Do you think I could set up one of those little cameras to watch the guy's front door?”
Em raised an eyebrow and that was all it took for me to realize it wasn’t a practical idea.
“Right, it would be hard to hide in that place and easy to steal,” I agreed with her unspoken objection.
“I know what will help you,” Em said.
“Yeah?”
“Pizza,” Em said, trying hard not to grin. “You’ll never come up with a solution if you're hungry. Getting food is the first step.”
“You are absolutely correct!” I said. This woman was full of great ideas!
Forty minutes later, we were lounging on the couch watching a detective show on TV and munching on perfectly greasy pizza.
She was halfway through her slice when she let out a sigh and put the slice back down on her plate. “I’m feeling really guilty.”
“Because you forgot to tip the driver?” I asked. “Don’t worry, I took care of it.”
“No, it’s not about that,” she said. “Well, it’s kinda about that. I bought this pizza with the allowance Mila sends me every month. I’m living in a nice condo, and I don’t pay rent because of her kindness also.”
“I don’t pay rent either,” I reminded her. “Gio won’t ever take money from either of us. The two of us living here makes Mila happy, and what makes Mila happy makes Gio happy. So by being here, we’re causing a lot of happiness!”
My attempted humor didn’t even crack a smile.
“I know that Mila wants us to be somewhere nice and safe,” she said with a little shrug. “But I’m trying to become an actress, shouldn’t I be a starving artist or something?”
I didn’t answer right away because Em was only nineteen and had every right to be questioning her place in the world. I wished I’d questioned myself more in my teens and twenties. Now at the ripe old age of thirty-one, I could see I hadn’t demanded enough out of life.
“Being a starving artist is one way to go,” I said. “Mila wants you to be happy so if starving would make you happy, then I’m sure she’ll try hard to control her instincts.”
“That’s the other problem. I don’t want to move into a place where I have to share a one-bedroom apartment with five other people and work seven jobs to afford rent.”
“It’s expensive here, but I don’t think it’s that bad,” I said.
“Still, it’s nice to have an entire room to myself,” Em said. “This is the first time in my entire life I’ve got that. I don’t want to give it up.”
“You can always starve later,” I said.
She laughed. “That’s true.”
We watched TV for a few minutes before she spoke again.
“I almost forgot, do you want to go out with me tomorrow night?” Em asked. “The guy who plays my executioner in the play says he knows the best dance club to go to. They even have a dance floor that lights up.”
“Sounds fun,” I agreed. “I’ll drive us.”
I was following one rule: If someone asked me to do something new, I had to say yes. I wasn’t that interested in dancing, but I’d never seen a light-up dance floor. If I didn’t have fun, I didn’t have to do it again.
Em looked pleased. “Great! He has a roommate that needs a date.”
“Please tell me this roommate isn’t nineteen also,” I said.
“No, he’s super old, just like you,” Em said. “He’s thirty-something!”
Laughing, she ducked away from my exaggerated attempt to smack her upside the head.
