The question turns my knees to jelly. I ran into Tate? Here? I try not to show it as I flip the pages until I find the notes about our conversation, brief and to the point: Tate Dunn is back and he knows everything. My shoulders relax at that, but my mind spins trying to envision how I acted. Was I awkward? Embarrassed?

Sefina waits while I read. “It doesn’t look like I’ve seen him again.” I feel a jolt of disappointment, a flutter of shame. He probably doesn’t want to see me like this. Can I blame him? Then I stiffen. “He’s married.”

Sefina shakes her head. “Not anymore.”

I nearly smile at the news but quickly cover it up with a cough. “What happened?”

“From what Ruth said, it didn’t last very long. She said the woman was no good to begin with.” She waggles her eyebrows. “That’s good for you, though, huh?”

My cheeks warm. It’s a ridiculous thing for her to say, and it bothers me that she speaks so flippantly, as if I’m normal. “Sefina,” I say quietly. “Who would ever want to be with someone like me?” I hold out my notebook and phone, see my hands tremble in the air because it upsets me that she even suggested it.

“You are strong and smart and amazing, Claire. If I were gay, I would totally hit that.”

And just like that my anger fades because I’ve never been able to stay mad at Sefina.

She staples the top of a small white bag, smiles. “Hey, Leilani said she saw a flyer on the community board about guitar lessons with you. I had no idea you were thinking about something like that, but I think it’s fantastic!”

I’m already flipping through the pages, irked that I can’t find anything related to guitar lessons. I can feel myself start to sweat, a twisting in my gut at the idea that I can’t develop a system big enough to cover everything I forget. I chew on my nail, thinking about a spreadsheet layout or some kind of innovative design to help me keep better track of things when Sefina speaks.

“Claire?”

“I can’t teach, Sefina.” My voice is quiet, bitter.

When she doesn’t respond I look up to find her watching me, head tilted, her eyes soft. “Do you remember how you called Leilani your magical sprite? You’re still her favorite teacher, you know. I have no doubt that if you could handle Leilani, you can do anything.” The skin around her eyes crinkles. “And she was quite a handful.”