Lucky nodded. Hellos and goodbyes, that was what their family was good at.
“I’d like that,” she said, meaning it.
Avery smiled and patted her head, but her eyes were already roving back to the page she’d abandoned.
—
The next day, Lucky was sitting on the bed beside her packed duffel bags, ignoring a stream of texts from Troll Doll that were intermittently pleading and attacking, when she heard a light knock on the bedroom door.
“Coming, Aves!” she yelled.
She looked up to find Chiti standing in the doorway.
“Is she here?” Lucky asked.
“She just called,” said Chiti. “She’s stuck at the office. I think she texted you.”
Lucky looked at her phone and saw that between the manic messages of Troll Doll there was indeed a perfunctorily apologetic text from Avery.
“Oh,” said Lucky.
She worried if she said any more her voice would betray her.
“I know she’s sorry not to say goodbye,” said Chiti. “I’ll get you a car instead.”
Lucky cleared her throat.
“You don’t need to do that. I can get one.”
Chiti looked up from her phone, which she had been busily tapping away at.
“Six minutes.” She stepped tentatively into the room. “Do you have a moment before you leave? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Lucky scooted over to make room for Chiti beside her on the little bed with its rose-quartz-colored sheets.
“Look, sorry I’m leaving so soon,” Lucky began. “You know I love seeing you guys. I just need to get to New York.”
Chiti raised her hand.
“That’s fine,” she said soothingly. “It’s a good idea for you to go home for a little. I wanted to speak to you about something else.”
She reached into the pocket of her skirt and placed a small packet on the bed between them.
“I know it’s none of my business,” she said. “But I found this in the trash of the guest bathroom. And I just wanted to say…Well, if you need someone to talk to, I’m always here. I wanted you to know that.”
Lucky picked up the packet and inspected it. It had an empty plastic circle in the center where a pill had been. She turned it over and read the writing on the back. It was Plan B. She looked at Chiti’s face, which was creased with concern.
“Chiti,” she said slowly. “This isn’t mine.”
Chiti’s eyes widened slightly.
“But it was in your trash can,” she said.
Lucky shook her head.
“I don’t know what it was doing there, since I haven’t had sex with a man in—” Lucky paused to think about this. The taxi driver. But she hadn’t, thank god. “A minute,” she landed on.
“I see,” said Chiti quietly.
“Maybe it was one of your clients’?” tried Lucky.
Chiti gave her a distracted look. “I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
“Obviously.” Lucky nodded hard enough to hopefully convince them both. “Definitely.”
Lucky thought of Avery’s face last night. You have no idea how far from perfect I am. A tense silence descended between them. Chiti stood up and smoothed the creases in her long silk skirt.
“Right, let me give you a hug before the car gets here.”
She embraced her and Lucky did her best not to radiate the sadness she suddenly felt about leaving.
“I’m really sorry,” she said into Chiti’s hair.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I wasn’t a very good houseguest.”
Chiti pulled herself back and put her hands on either side of Lucky’s face.
