Page 133 of Tasty Cherry

“I hate exercise.”

I laugh. “I know. What are you painting?”

“My feelings about your predicament.” She dabs another petal-shape onto the canvas.

“All blue?”

“Kind of on the nose, huh?” She brushes a piece of hair back, getting blue on her forehead.

I look it over. “Well, it’s an abstract, so I’m not sure anything else about it could be called on the nose.”

“I’m mad.”

“But blue and not red?”

She sighs. “I don’t do much red.”

That’s true. Even when Arya packed up and spent her nights wherever anyone would have her, she never got angry about the situation. I think she gets her quiet strength from our mother.

Mila texts me around midday. Havannah had a girl. Big party here at her deli.

I wonder if they’re doing anything at the hotel. That’s something I would have organized. Jessie will probably do it.

Mila: You should come here.

I turn to Arya, who has given up on the painting for the day and is reading on the sofa with Alfalfa. “You want to head up to the deli?”

She lowers the book. “To see Mila?”

“Havannah had her baby. They’re celebrating.”

She shakes her head. “Nah. Go kiss your girl.”

I change into jeans and a sweater before driving to the Tasty Mango. If not for Mila, I wouldn’t have even known about the baby. Nobody at the hotel thought to tell me.

It’s strange how quickly you can be forgotten, or maybe they don’t want to associate with me while I’m on the outs.

That familiar feeling of displacement comes over me, one I grappled with in the days after Dad left. Maybe that’s why I felt the urge to do Uncle Roger’s hike. It was one of the things that helped back then.

When I arrive at the deli, there’s clearly a party going on inside. I hear the music the moment I open my door. Inside, the employees are all dancing.

Customers sit at tables, amused by the antics.

I spot Mila, wearing a pink and orange apron, swaying back and forth with her hands in the air. She’s making the most of this strange ostracism.

When I open the door, I’m flooded with noise and food smells and warmth. Mila dances her way to me and draws me in.

There’s no way the hotel is celebrating quite this hard. Probably there were colored decorations and a cake for the employees in the staff room.

But here, one song flows into the next. As customers arrive, they are served, but the party goes on.

A cake shows up and everyone eats, employees and customers. The dancing is still going on as the shift changes between lunch and dinner, and the new employees are eager to take part.

Magnolia and Anthony arrive right as Mila is about to get off work. They have pictures of Havannah and the baby. As their phones get passed around, Magnolia dances over to me.

“Your situation has been noted by my sister,” she says. “Anthony spilled the beans when things settled down. Havannah is really mad. Expect a call as soon as she can manage.”

I nod. Mila and I hug each other. Hopefully, we’ll be back at the hotel soon. Until then, we stay at the deli, where things feel good and right. We dance and eat cake.