“Jesus,” Lili mutters, flipping the kettle on.
“Damn, that many places?”
“Just sit down,” she grumbles. Standing on tiptoe, she grabs mugs from the cupboard. “What type of tea do you want?”
“What’ve you got?”
“Um, jasmine, peppermint, Earl Grey—I think I have some sencha, too, actually, and rooibos,” Lili says, shuffling through tea boxes.
“Rooibos, please,” Jackie chirps.
“Me, too,” Amina says.
“Milk?” Lili asks, opening the fridge. Several neat rows of oat milk cartons are lined up alongside the whole milk.
There’s almond milk,Aleksandr had said last weekend, reading 10-Ks on the couch as she’d loitered around the kitchen making a quick snack, chia pudding he’d skeptically declined.I asked the staff to start stocking it.
Almond milk?Lili looked at him, aghast.Almonds are destroying the environment. Ungodly water usage, droughts in California—honestly, Sasha. That’s not even getting into the health impacts of carrageenan! Sure, Big Oat is a problem, but it’s better than almond.
Almond, oat, what’s next?he’d grumbled. His fountain pen made a sharp, severe slash as he’d struck through a page of text, but the next day, she’d opened the fridge to this stock of oat milk.
“Yeah, thanks,” Amina says. Lili shuts the fridge with her shoulder, unscrewing the carton of Oatly. The kettle clicks as it hits boil; Lili fills their cups, the steam rising, heating her face. Rain streams against the windows, muffling the sounds of traffic on Broadway.
“You, uh—you really know your way around here,” Jackie comments.
“I guess.” Lili pours a glug of oat milk into the tea before sliding it over to Amina.
Jackie tilts her head, a curious smile.
“What?” Lili asks. She dunks her tea bag into the hot water, repetitive motions making the rooibos bloom red.
“You haven’t really acknowledged it like that before,” Jackie says. “Like it’s something, between you two. Not just fucking.”
“Huh,” Lili says, studying her tea.
“Huh?” Jackie repeats.
“Yeah,” Lili affirms. “Huh.”
“Monosyllables, stunning,” Amina says. “You say you’re in grad school?”
She sighs. “It’s something, okay?” she concedes. “I don’t know what, but it’s—I like him. Okay? I do. There, happy?”
Lili braces herself. But instead of pushing, Amina smiles.
Beside her, Jackie sips her tea, hiding a delighted grin.
“Yeah,” Amina says. “I’m happy with that.”
Lili feels discomfort buzz; the unexpected, destabilizing. She leansforward on the counter, taking a long drink from her tea. “You’re heading to France soon, right?” she asks, changing the subject.
“Yes!” Amina beams. “I don’t want to be anywhere near this city for August. Sure you’re not coming?”
Lili laughs, shaking her head. “Yeah, I’m sure. Like I said, August is incredibly busy at the farm.” She’s also due to give her decision on the job to Eileen soon; aside from the cost of a trip, she can’t just jet off right now. It feels like things are coming together, around here.
“How, exactly, did Jamie get weeks off?” Jackie asks.
Amina shrugs. “Daddy’s boy, all of that.”
