“I want to go out to dinner with you,” Vanessa said, kissing Joan’s neck as they lay together under the sheets.

“Can we do that?”

“Can we eat dinner?”

“In public? I’m just not sure how all of this works. With, you know…”

“Being with a woman in this world?”

“Being with anyone in this world. But yes.”

“Do you want to get dinner with me?” Vanessa asked.

“I want to do everything with you. I want to be so close to you that I’m worried I’m being creepy about it.”

Vanessa threw her head back and laughed.

“So then let’s decide where to have a romantic dinner.”

“What if someone sees us?”

“They will see two women having dinner and think nothing of it. We’re in a busy hotel, in a city where no one knows us. As long as I don’t lean over and kiss you, no one’s going to notice.”

“Okay,” Joan said, nodding.

“Back home, we have to be careful. But there will also be times when there’s nothing to worry about. No one will look twice at us here if we don’t give them a reason to. I’m not going to pretend this is always easy, but this weekend, right now, it can be.”

“Okay,” Joan said, smiling. “I like easy.”

Vanessa laughed as she got up and started unpacking.

“Which side do you want?” she asked.

Joan pointed to the right. “Uh, this one.”

Vanessa nodded. “Good, that way I’ll be by the door.”

They each unpacked their things, one by one. Joan placed her T-shirts and jeans in one drawer. She hung her dress in the closet. And then she reached into the bottom of her suitcase. She’d bought a lavender bra-and-underwear set yesterday at the lingerie store. That’s what the saleswoman at the store had said to do, to match her bra with her underwear if someone was going to see it. As Joan reached in to get them, she dropped them on the floor. She bent down to grab them and dropped them again.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” she said.

Vanessa looked at her. “Are you nervous?”

Joan calmed. “Yes!” she said. And it felt good to admit it. To just get to be nervous without the extra effort of hiding it. “Aren’t you nervous? What are we doing?”

Vanessa smiled. “I’m not nervous, no.”

Joan’s cheeks started to burn.