Bucked

“I don’t think so,” she says. “Seems a bit more important than that.”

Her voice is sounding a bit concerned, so I walk over.

“Do you think I should open it?” I ask. I have a pang of fear. The return address looks like it’s from the Border Control.

“Well, yeah, if not now, soon,” she says. “Who knows what it is?”

I grab the envelope and hold it up to the light.

“Wait,” says Lacey. “Are you trying to see through your own envelope?” She laughs. “It’s your name on it, you’re allowed to look at it!”

I laugh but the sound is empty. “What do they want with me?” I ask quietly. Then I give it back to her. “You open it,” I say.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” she says and smiles at me as she rips open the envelope. She grabs the letter and rips it open, scanning the page. “Huh. It seems like they don’t want you to stay in the US.”

“Uh, you’re joking, right?” I say.

“No, actually. They say your work at the restaurant was illegal, and they want you kicked out.”

“Oh shit.” The cold fingers of dread wrap around my heart. “I guess it was.”

“What?!” Lacey is flabbergasted. “You weren’t allowed to work at the restaurant?”

I pour her some wine. “Well, I guess not officially,” I say. “I’m here as a tourist.” I pause. “But how would they have found out?”

“Shit, Chas, why didn’t you tell me? It’s not like you were desperate for a job.”

“I know, but I guess it didn’t really occur to me. I mean, I know it’s a different country, but a lot of the time it doesn’t seem like one.” I look down at my glass. Shit.

“I don’t know, sometimes you seem like you’re from another planet,” says Lacey. “I hope we haven’t gotten the restaurant in trouble.”

“Should you call them?”

“Fuck, I guess so,” she says, taking out her phone. “Shit, Chastity, how did you get me into this trouble?” She starts dialing.

Leave the US? Just when I’m finding happiness? And losing Kanen for a shitty job that I don’t even need? How can I be that stupid?

“Yes, she got a letter. You guys haven’t heard anything?” Lacey is saying. “Okay, well would you mind letting me know if you get any more information on this? Thanks.” She turns to me. “I guess the restaurant is all right.”

“That’s a relief,” I say. I try to sound cheerful but my voice comes out hollow. “The last thing I’d want to do is get anyone in trouble.”

“Right.” She nervously plays with the stem of her wine glass. “Well I hope it all turns out to be nothing, but I don’t think these are the folks you want to piss off.”

“For sure not.”

We sit there in quiet, and the hopes I’d had for a fun conversation are quickly dying.

Her phone rings again. She glances at it, and I tell her to pick up. “You sure?” she asks. “It’s work.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Lacey starts whispering on the phone, so I get up and go open us a bag of chips. She’s not on the phone for long, and when she hangs up she says, “I’ve got the scoop.”

“What scoop?”

“Why you’re getting targeted.” Her voice is flat.

“Oh my God, what happened?”