Now that the shock of seeing her again had died down, along with the slew of bad memories Lou hadn’t allowed herself to dredge up for the past decade, she could see Mia in another light. She was the kind of person most people reacted to in a positive manner because of the kindness she projected. Last night at Martha’s, when they’d been scrolling through profile pictures on Tinder, Lou’s gut reaction, before the one induced by trauma even had a chance to set in—before her brain realized it was a picture of Mia she was looking at—had been, if only for a fraction of a second, what an attractive woman.

More forceful sentiments had quickly taken over from that initial impression, but when she’d seen a woman with a charismatic smile and an easy manner—Mia again—talk to Annie in her shop earlier, she had remembered the thought from the night before. It had jolted her. And revolted her. Either you couldn’t tell by looking at her that she was a bully, or Mia truly had transformed herself.

Then later, for someone like Lou who simply didn’t enjoy going to a movie on her own, seeing Mia wait to go in by herself had struck another chord with her. Mia had been far from the only person waiting in solitude, but there had been something about her as she stood there with her shoulder leaning against the wall, trying to conceal that she knew Lou was there as well. Something so vulnerable, Lou would never have associated it with Mia. And for a split second, the thought had popped into her brain: maybe Mia was a victim too.

A thought she’d quickly shaken off, not only because she had a date to impress, but also because it was a thought she wasn’t willing to entertain. Because it didn’t matter.

Once the movie had started Meredith had gone silent and she’d sat stock still, completely entranced by what was happening on the screen. But Lou couldn’t focus all her attention on the shenanigans of the lovesick protagonist. Instead, she moved around in her seat and glanced behind her.

It was hard to make out Mia’s face in the feeble light, yet Lou found it easily. She was staring straight at the screen—which was really all Lou wanted to find out with this maneuver. But then, just before Lou turned back, Mia must have felt Lou looking at her and their gazes connected across the darkened room. Lou quickly turned around. Meredith’s attention had been drawn away from the screen and she sent Lou a quick smile, then refocused on the movie.

“I know her too,” Meredith whispered in Lou’s ear as they made their way out of the theatre. “Lesbian Tinder is like a small village.”

“Who?” Lou didn’t immediately know who Meredith was talking about.