Stop it, Gemma thinks desperately. Gemma knows she runs away easily. Her flight mechanism is primed from many angles. Chalk it up to childhood bullshit, crap with her ex, close calls in T-girl Hookerland, a blacked-out brain that has long mixed the fragile watercolours of memory and nightmare—Gemma lost interest in divining whys long ago, but sometimes panic ripples up in her brain, and it is doing so right now as Ava’s mean, high-pitched laughing face from the bathroom last night is staring at her and circling her mind—

Stop it! Gemma pleads with herself. She is not going to leave. She felt something deep with Ava last night, and regardless of what else happened, she is going to stay right here and when Ava comes out of that room she is going to talk to her.

It becomes one of the hardest things Gemma’s done in her life, these few minutes, resisting.

The T1s kick in. The interlocking pains in her back and muscles and head all fade slightly. She draws an invisible blanket around herself. Not yet. A voice appears inside Gemma to affirm her on this. No, no, don’t leave yet.

She turns to the window. It’s a sunny morning here in the Pembina Valley, and the number three highway is moving across the plains.

Olive emerges, and then goes into her room. Ava comes out in a blue maxi dress. “Hey.”

Gemma gazes up at Ava, a cobalt obelisk standing above her. God, this lady is such a fucking knockout. If it doesn’t work out between them, Gemma might dye her hair like Ava’s. That red-black thing could work for Gemma.

“Hey,” she echoes. “Going to work?”

“Soon.”

Ava joins her on the couch. Gemma places her hands on top of hers. In real time, Gemma sees Ava’s body untense itself into something gentler. Ava strokes Gemma’s palm with one finger and the touch moves like a wind through Gemma’s body.

Ava looks down.

“I’m sorry I was weird last night,” says Ava.

“It’s okay,” Gemma says. “But thanks, thanks for saying that.” She pauses and considers how to articulate. “Your demeanour did catch me off guard.”

“Yeah.” Ava sucks in air. “Yeah, I was upset. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Ava continues to look down, moving her finger around Gemma’s hand like she’s drawing.

“Ava, I’m gonna be honest with you.” Ava looks up. “I don’t remember everything about last night. After we left Holly’s. Did anything happen I should know about?”

“Oh.” Ava exhales. “No. You were really drunk, though. You had trouble walking? You disappeared into the bathroom for a while and Olive found you sleeping on the toilet. It freaked her out. She was convinced you needed a hospital? She can get like that. Anyway, it was a whole thing. We tried to carry you home, but Olive’s not that strong … so I had to like. Half drag you, sorta.”

“That explains why my back hurts,” Gemma says dryly.

“Heh,” Ava says. She puts a hand to her face. “Yeah, your shirt rode up a lot.”