I was stewing in all this at work when Katie and Veronica came in. Their conversation trailed off as they walked up to the counter and squinted at the menu above my head.

“Oh hey,” Katie said. “Did I meet you the other night?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Your name is Nora, right?”

“Leonora,” I said.

“I was close,” Katie said, still scrutinizing the menu. “Do you like Nora as a nickname?”

“I go by Leo sometimes,” I said. “I could see it.”

“Leo’s a good name,” Katie said. She looked down at me and smiled. “Can I call you Nora?”

“Yes,” I said.

“It’s good to see you,” Veronica said. “Violet had some nice things to say about you. You should come around more.”

“I texted Violet the other day,” I said. “She never got back to me.”

“She’s a terrible texter,” Veronica said. “You should just double-text.”

They both ordered lattes, and even though I assumed they were fine on money I didn’t charge either of them. When I handed Katie her drink she winked at me. They sat in the corner booth by the big plant and talked to each other for the rest of my shift, leaning over the table so their faces were almost touching at points. I tried not to look at them too much.

♒

I went home and showered and smoked a bowl and sat on the couch, considering what I should text Violet.

Hey, I’d like to meet up and talk a bit. The other night took me by surprise, but . . .

I didn’t overthink it this time. I just sent the first thing I typed. Violet texted back immediately, which hit me with a rush of adrenaline.

Yeah I can talk, you free tonight? She named a bar in Bushwick.

At some point, Adelaide and Minna came into the kitchen and started making tea. Whenever they were together in the same room they talked to each other constantly, about the tea, about their friends, about work, about their inane preferences for this thing over that thing. Adelaide had her arm around Minna’s waist, both of them facing the counter. Just then, Nadine unlocked the front door and walked in with groceries in two big paper bags. I waved to her but she didn’t seem to notice me. Her eyebrows were drawn in, and there was a deliberate, careful way that she took her shoes off and set the bags of groceries down.

“Can one of you do the dishes?” Nadine said.

They pretended not to hear her and went on talking. Minna snuck a nervous glance over her shoulder at where Nadine was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

“I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” Nadine said. “I do them every day.”

“All right,” Adelaide said, turning around and facing her. “You’re gonna evict us and then we have to clean up after you?”