For the first few weeks it was like a game. Mel and Avery would “accidentally” find each other’s feet under the table at shift meetings or bump into each other in the pantry. They’d lean over to whisper something, and they’d brush the other’s ear-lobe with their lips. Everything was tiny and well disguised, but there were little electric moments everywhere.
At the end of the day, when they were alone, the next phase would begin. There was frequently an exchange of very fast test kisses, quick little brushes of the lips that, if a witness were pressed, might not hold up in court as real kisses. This seemed to be the way they asked each other if this was okay, if they should do it again. The answer was always yes, and then making out would commence.
For Avery the game was almost better than the kissing. She liked the slightly dangerous feeling that came from doing these things right under people’s noses. No one knew, of course, because they weren’t acting any different from the way they’d always acted.
One of the most amazing things was the fact that Mel had kept this information hidden for so long. Mel was notoriously bad at hiding things. She was the great revealer of surprise parties, the one who turned three different shades of pink when she tried to tell even the smallest lie. Yet she had managed to go an entire lifetime without revealing the fact that she liked girls—a lot. And she definitely liked Avery—a lot. Avery could tell that it took every ounce of strength Mel had not to be the one who always initiated the kissing.
A month after the big event they were sitting at a back table at The Grind, a coffee shop on Broadway. The Grind was run and populated by the Skidmore College students who hadn’t gone home for the summer. These were the intensely friendly people—the girls with the unwashed hair that they wrapped in colorful scarves or tied up in intricate knots that always looked like they were on the verge of coming undone, the guys with the beards or the out-of-control curls. They were also kind of unobservant and hopeless at giving the right change.
In Avery’s mind it was the perfect place to hang out. Only a few people from their school came in during the summer, and the ones who did weren’t the types who would be looking around and trying to spot the lesbians. The high-maintenance, gossipy, “I need my latte or I’ll die” people went to Starbucks, where they had a blender and could make frozen drinks. The Grind served lower-tech iced coffees, which were kind of thick and just a little too strong. It was a trade off Avery could live with.
She shifted in her chair, pulling up her leg to tuck it underneath her. As she moved, she ran her foot alongside Mel’s calf.
“Okay,” Avery said, her eyes gleaming once she noticed the effect her stealthy move had had on Mel. “Let’s review. What’s one way to tell that a band is really bad?”
“If it has five guys who do coordinated dance moves,” Mel said, reciting the answer just as Avery had taught her.
“The exception to this rule is?”
“The Jackson Five.”
“Who was in that?”
“Michael Jackson, before he was scary.”
“Right! You get a prize!”
“What?” Mel asked.
“You’ll get it later.”
Mel smiled. “You know,” she said, “it’s a month today.”
“A month what?”
“You know what I mean.”
Avery poked around at the ice at the bottom of her glass. “Weird,” she replied.
“So.” Mel kept her eyes down. “What … are we?”
“Um, finished?” Avery grinned and held up her empty glass. “Want to walk?”
They continued down to the end of the stretch of shops, to Congress Park. Two busloads of elderly tourists had just been deposited there, and they were making their way around the Greek pavilion and the cupolas that housed the springs and the decorative ponds. They took pictures of one another and happily fumbled with their cameras and video recorders.
Mel walked along quietly. Avery could almost feel the question coming out of her pores, jumping over and invading Avery cell by cell.
“Mel,” she said.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it.”
This was a huge, obvious lie.
Alongside the path a woman in a flowing purple dress was sitting on a folding stool, stringing red and pink beads together and smiling to herself. At her feet were two flat, velvet-lined cases of beaded necklaces, earrings, and silver rings. Avery stopped and knelt to look them over.
“How much are these?” Avery asked, pointing to a selection of plain silver bands.
“Fifteen dollars.”
“We should each get one,” Avery said. “Friendship bands.”
“You want two?” the woman said. “Two for twenty-five. It’s a beautiful day. Why not two for twenty-five?”
The woman smiled at them, and Avery felt a wave of recognition. She knew. Avery was sure of it. The woman was giving her a coded message of affirmation.
Avery picked out a band for her left thumb. They had to find the tiniest band for Mel’s index finger. It looked like it took a huge effort for Mel to keep her hands from shaking. She reached for her purse.
“It’s okay,” Avery said. “Early birthday gift.”
“Know what?” Mel said when they were just out of the woman’s earshot.
“What?”
“I have the best girlfriend in the world.”
Avery squinted at one of the ponds, which was brightly reflecting the sun. She didn’t reply for a minute.
“So do I,” she finally said.
TO: Mel; Avery
FROM: Nina
ARGH! I wish, I wish, I wish that you could just come here for a day or something and meet Steve because it is almost impossible to explain how much I love him. Here is some evidence to show you just how great he is:
1. Makes me call him whenever I work late at the library so he can come over and walk me back to the building.
2. Rode his bike into town at 11 p.m. the other night to get me Pamprin(!).
3. Has never slept with anyone because he wanted to wait for the right person, and he says he thinks it is me, but only if I want—and he’ll wait until whenever I’m ready, even if that means when we both get here for school next year (!!!!!).
4. Ave: He is a huge Elliott Smith fan. That’s good, right?
5. Mel: He can’t watch that part of “Finding Nemo” either.
August 15
TO: Nina; Avery
FROM: Mel
OMG. I thought about this all day at work. Keep him!
August 19
TO: Avery; Mel
FROM: Nina
RED ALERT!
MIR (mentally ill roommate) has been missing for two days. She left for class on Thursday morning and never came back. Our RA is freaking out because they are kind of extra responsible for us since we’re the high school group. I am not freaking out so much. I sleep better knowing that a naked cork-eater is not sneaking around at night, stealing my underwear.
August 19
TO: Mel; Avery
FROM: Nina
UPDATE:
Sadly, MIR has returned. Not in M hospital, as hoped. She went to San Francisco. EWSPFHSL staff totally furious with her. She brought back a v. small turtle, about three inches big, which she keeps in a takeout container on the floor by her desk. She didn’t feed it, so Steve rode down to Whole Foods on his bike and bought it organic lettuce. He says that he is going to take it from her if she doesn’t start treating it right and will find an ecologically appropriate place to set it free, where it hopefully won’t get eaten by something.
He is so good.
August 20
TO: Nina; Mel
FROM: Avery
I drove past school today. They finally took down the HAVE A GOOD UMMER sign and put up the WELCOME BACK STUDENTS one. I guess they bought a new S.
August 20
TO: Mel; Nina
FROM: Avery
Hey! Four hours later the S thief was back. Sign now says, WELCOME BACK TUDENTS. LONG LIVE THE S THIEF!
TO: Avery; Mel
FROM: Nina
36 hours until my flight. Going to be v, busy for the next day and a half. V excited to come home, but leaving Steve is hard. So hard. I can’t think about it or my head will explode. Need serious I Power. At 9:15 tonight (your time) I will call you to take T position and say the chant. I need you!