“You too, Megs. Happy birthday again.”
After ending the call, Megan returned to the I-5, anxious now to reach Marcano’s.
She had decided she was going to give herself an extra special birthday present this year.
Chapter 29
Vanessa checked the clock on her living room wall. A little past eleven-thirty. Megan should be at that steakhouse in La Jolla by now.
She sighed, wondering what to do with herself now.
Stop being so down! What’s the matter with you?
It was about the hundredth time Vanessa had chided herself, because down was how she felt, which was ridiculous. After all, she had gotten to wake up with Megan on Megan’s birthday; she’d gotten to taste Megan before leaving for work; and Megan was due back from La Jolla by late afternoon, at the latest, to spend the entire rest of the day and night with Vanessa. Really, she had nothing to be down about!
Yet, she knew what was bothering her, even though she didn’t want to admit it.
Spying her laptop on her dining room table, Vanessa decided to take her mind off things by focusing on work.
California’s partial reopening was going well. Even though Covid cases continued to rise and fall depending on the region, on the whole the State government seemed to think that it was still okay for establishments like coffeeshops and restaurants to remain open as long as precautions were taken. As Vanessa and Chloë were cleaning up La Vida Mocha after closing at ten this morning, Vanessa told the younger woman that starting next week, La Vida Mocha would return to its regular hours. The announcement had made Chloë say “Yes!” with such exuberance that Vanessa had pulled her into a hug.
“But not until Monday, right?” Chloë had asked.
Vanessa confirmed that. She’d keep the coffeeshop closed this coming Sunday because this weekend was Beach House Weekend.
Angela and Desiree, two of the most efficient women Vanessa had ever known, had managed to find a remarkable-looking beach mansion on Airbnb just south of Carlsbad. Starting tomorrow, eight lesbians were going to be able to live like rock stars for a few days. The cost wasn’t even outrageous once it was split eight ways, one of the advantages of a pandemic being that homeowners with listings on Airbnb were desperate to get any kind of bookings.
And because Megan’s birthday was today, the Beach House Weekend was also going to be a de facto birthday celebration as well.
Yeah, Vanessa and Chloë would still have to run La Vida Mocha Friday and Saturday nights until eight p.m., but that still meant they’d have plenty of time to enjoy the mansion. And since the booking was until Monday, Vanessa and Megan could actually have the whole entire day of Sunday just chilling at the place.
Now, however, Vanessa had to make up the work schedules for La Vida Mocha for next week. Luckily, Luli wanted to come back. This meant that Vanessa wouldn’t have to train a brand-new person from scratch. With three people available to run the coffeeshop, Vanessa could keep all their hours down to normal, even though she knew that she, as the owner, would still need to be there more than either of her two employees.
But once she was done making the schedules, Vanessa started feeling restless again. It truly was ridiculous, she thought.
She picked up her phone and called William.
“Oh. My. God!” William answered dramatically. “Does Megan have a cold? Is she out of the country? Did she decide she likes boys instead? Because I can’t imagine why my best friend Vanessa would be calling me instead of being all lesbian with her new girlfriend.”
“Shut up!” Vanessa said, groaning. “And she’s not my girlfriend!”
Fuck, how many times did she have to tell people that? Including herself?
“I know I’ve been a bad friend but, well…Megan.”
“No apologies necessary,” William said. “Remember my little dalliance with that guy Warren a few years back? I saw you, what, twice in six months?”
“Have you had lunch? Can you get away?” Vanessa asked.
Twenty minutes later, Vanessa, wearing a mask, walked into her and William’s favorite seafood place a couple of blocks from the beach in Oceanside, a spot they had frequented often back when they were living together. She spotted William at a table in front of a window looking out on Coast Highway. He already had two margaritas waiting on the table.
“Oh, you’re a mind reader,” Vanessa said after hugging him and then sitting down, removing her mask and taking a sip of the cocktail. A masked waitress made her appearance after a moment, asking Vanessa if she wanted anything other than the margarita.
“Just water, please,” Vanessa told her. “And I think we’re ready to order.”
Her and William had been to this place so many times, they each had their favorite dishes: shrimp skewers and hush puppies for William; kale salad with a salmon fillet for Vanessa.
“Okay, spill it,” William said when the waitress departed. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “What’s troubling you?”