Kael interrupted whatever she was going to say. “Ray! My man!” he called out to an older Black man with a thick gray moustache standing behind the counter.

“Martin. Haven’t seen you in a while,” Ray said in a raspy voice, obviously happy to see Kael. “I barely recognize you out of uniform. What brings you in?”

Kael gave Turner a quick nod goodbye and turned his attention back to me and Ray to explain what was wrong with the laptop. Ray said it would be an easy fix but that he was so backed up with work, it would need to be left there for a day or two.

“Friends and family discount.” He winked, and Kael handed him his credit card without giving me a chance to protest. Not that I would have: I was still inside my head, wondering if Kael had dated Turner or, worse, had slept with her. Actually, I didn’t know which was worse, but I’d surely prefer neither. This growing web of acquaintances connected to the people in my life was rattling me.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

My shift that afternoon was long and I could barely keep my eyes open. It was now evening and I had already had three scheduled appointments; Stewart, who was one of my favorite clients, would be the last. Going to the mall this morning with Kael had depleted most of my allotted daily energy, but the way he’d held my hand the whole drive home had replenished it. I wondered what he was doing now. I hadn’t heard from Kael since he dropped me off at home. He mentioned he would be going back to his place, and I wished we had had time to go there together. I wanted to see where he lived, where he slept—I just didn’t want to miss a chance to know more about him. But now I was feeling self-conscious about texting him. I didn’t want to seem clingy. It wasn’t such a big deal to text him a quick “hi.” I knew that, but I didn’t, of course, and I watched the screen of my phone and the clock on and off until Stewart finally came in.

During her treatment, Stewart told me all about her upcoming move to Hawaii. On top of the perk of getting to live there, her long-awaited promotion to staff sergeant had also come through. And she spoke enthusiastically about her partner, Stacey, who ran a small business, designing and selling these cute floral dresses.

“She’s going to set up one of those little shops right on the beach. She’s convinced she’s made for beach life,” Stewart said and beamed. She was optimistic that Stacey’s business would surely do better in a year-round beach town than it did here near the border of Georgia and Alabama, almost five hours away from the coast.