When I get to Steph’s, the first thing she does is offer
me tea.
“I got this new Earl Gray raspberry tea. Do you want to
try it? I don’t even know what kind of tea you like.”
Her voice is light. Her beautiful smile is genuine. She
looks happy. She’s wearing black skinny jeans and a black-
and-white tight-fitting t-shirt that has a picture of a beaker and
a test tube and says Proud Lab Geek. It doesn’t look like
there’s anything wrong. It doesn’t seem like there’s anything
wrong. I just can’t shake the feeling that there is something
wrong. My stomach feels twisty and my lungs don’t function
like they should when I think about there being something
wrong with Steph. With me. With us. We’re so new, but losing
someone right at the start often hurts more than at the end. At
the end, there’s so much shit built up that it can feel good to
get out of it.
I’m scared.
“Sure. I love any kind of tea. And coffee. I have very
low standards when it comes to both. I can’t tell a bad one
from a good one.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. But this tea. Oh my
god! I ordered it from a student’s mom. She sells it for some
company. I picked out a couple flavors and this one is insanely
good. You’d think it’s full of sugar and heavy cream, but
there’s nothing in it. It tastes like really good raspberry
chocolate. But not chocolatey. Just how that would taste when
you can really taste the berries in it.”
Instead of sitting down and waiting, I follow Steph into
the kitchen and watch her, standing awkwardly off to the side.
She doesn’t seem to notice.