Page 17 of Derivation

“I don’t think great instead of perfect free cookies are going to prevent them from coming over to hang out now that Violet is there permanently,” Arlowe said. “And Enya’s right: we should talk about it. I don’t know if she’ll call or not, but if she does, and she wants the room, what do you want me to tell her?”

“I’m fine with it,” Enya said. “I tried to think about how I’d use the extra room, and I’m pretty set in my ways. I like what I’ve got in my room and in the garage, so I’m fine with us having a little more money coming in each month. If it’s not her, though, I don’t really want to open up the house to a stranger. Someone else we know is a maybe for me, but I get a good vibe from her, so I think I’m okay with Gabi moving in.”

“Sarai?” Arlowe asked. “I was thinking that with our rent being much more expensive than when we first moved in, it would help out, but I had this idea last night that maybe we could take Gabi’s money and apply it to something specific for the business or even something we all want for fun. We don’t really need it. It’s a nice-to-have, but maybe we put whatever she pays monthly into an account for a fun vacation or something, and when we have enough for whatever we decide to do, we go. We could do one of those lesbian cruises, get separate rooms, and try to meet someone.”

“Someone who probably lives in another state or country because we’re on a cruise?” Sarai challenged.

“Well, we could use it for the business. It could pay for another freelancer for me or Enya in another country where the labor is cheaper,” Arlowe suggested.

“You were just telling us that you don’t think she’s going to move in,” Sarai noted.

“I’m saying we should have a plan in case I’m wrong.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you admit that you were wrong before,” Enya said.

“And I didn’t admit it now. I said if I’m wrong.” Arlowe winked at Enya. “Sarai, is it a yes or a no?”

Sarai picked up one of Enya’s cookies in an obvious attempt to stall as she tried to weigh the pros and cons. One con was that they’d be back to sharing a bathroom between three people, and she’d kind of liked only having to share it with Enya, who was super low-maintenance. A pro would be having a little more money coming in, no matter what they used it for. They had the investment money now, but that was enough to keep them moving, and if they had a little more coming in each month, they could use it for something that they might not otherwise be able to afford. Another con was that since she’d seen Gabi in that bar about a week ago, she hadn’t been able to focus on much. She kept flashing back to Amsterdam and showing Gabi around.

It had been one weekend, and yes, Sarai had had a small crush, but it had been just a mild thing, really, that had gone away shortly after. They’d shared text messages for a bit while Sarai had still been in Europe, and they’d talked about that possible trip to Paris for Sarai and maybe even Gabi coming back for another weekend, but Gabi had had a big plan for her gap year. Sarai couldn’t recall all of it, but on the second night of her visit, Gabi had filled her in on her intention to travel as much as possible. Then, when Sarai had gotten back to the US, with Gabi’s traveling, Sarai being busy with school and later graduation and work, mixed with the confusing time differences, meant that their texting had faded pretty quickly. They hadn’t talked since they’d run at each other at the bar, and now, Gabi was all she could think about… again.

She didn’t know what the right answer was about Gabi moving in should she decide to, but she also didn’t want to mention to her friends that the reason she was so hesitant had to do with the fact that one morning, she’d woken up in her dorm room to a beautiful face looking up at her from the mattress on the floor, and the memory of those brown eyes was still enough to make her smile.

“It’s fine, I guess. She’s not going to want to live with us anyway. I mean, who would? I’m sure we’d be annoying to anyone but Violet, with our history and inside jokes and the fact that we all work together and she wouldn’t.”

“So, if it’s Gabi, it’s fine. If it’s someone else, it’s not,” Arlowe summarized.

“Sure. Why not?” she replied.

“I think I was supposed to use a half teaspoon, and I only used a quarter,” Enya said, looking down at the plate of cookies.

“Enya, maybe make brownies or something. I think we have enough cookies,” Sarai suggested.

Arlowe’s phone rang on the table, and she looked down at it.

“Speak of the possible roommate… I’ll just put her on speaker.”

“What?” Sarai asked.

“Hey, Gabi. You’re on speaker. Sarai and Enya are here, too.”

“Oh. Uh… Hi, everyone.”

“Hi,” Enya said. “What’s your opinion on brownies?”

“Sorry?” Gabi asked.

“Icing or no icing? If you put icing on brownies, does that make the brownie cake?”

“I don’t think so,” Gabi said with a little laugh.

“This is Enya, by the way.”

“Yeah, I figured. Not a question Sarai would ask me.”

“Why not?” Sarai asked, curious.

“I don’t know. I think you’d ask me if I liked brownies or cake better, and if icing on the brownies would make any difference.”