Such a Fun Age(18)

Behind Emira was a family of six, very much not from Philadelphia, and the mother was calling out, “The next stop is ours. Does everyone hear me?” Underneath her music, she listened to the conversation to her left, where a man in a suit was saying he needed an excuse to not attend a family function. The woman next to him said, “I don’t mind if you blame me.” Emira’s hip bones were prominent beneath her black leggings, and when she caught a flash of her gold multi-chain necklace, she flattened it out against her chest in the window reflection of fast-moving concrete and darkness. She smoothed her bangs and the dark waves at her shoulders, and in the space between one song ending and another beginning, she heard someone call her name.

Emira turned to see [email protected]. Over baseball hats and ponytails and shoulders, he said her name again, but this time he said, “Emira Tucker.” Emira readjusted her grip on the subway pole and found herself remarkably nervous.

He was cuter this time around, partially because Emira wasn’t babysitting or being accused of a crime, but he was also just cuter on his own. Kelley Copeland had dark hair and eyes; a long, pale face; and a big, strong-looking chin that for some reason implied he’d played sports all through college. Emira smiled from one side of her mouth, and Kelley said, “Excuse me,” as he inched his way toward her.

“Do you remember me? Of course you do, hi.” Kelley laughed as he answered his own question. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’ve drafted about six emails to you and I’ve never sent them.” He paused. “I’ve gotta know if you quit or not.”

Emira was still startled by his very tall and friendly presence. She crossed her standing legs and said, “Sorry, what?”

“Sorry,” he said. “I was curious if you quit your nanny job.”

Kelley Copeland was so tall that he could press his hands flat against the top of the subway car, which was what he did in front of Emira. Emira thought this was both a painfully obvious show of masculinity and also insanely attractive.

“Ohh, sorry,” Emira said. “Well . . . I’m actually not a nanny.”

“Wow,” he said. “So you did quit. Good for you.”

“Oh no, I’m still working.” Emira switched her purse strap from her right shoulder to her left. “But yeah, I’m just a sitter. I’m not a nanny.”

“Can you tell me what the difference is?” Kelley asked. “I’m not trying to be weird, I honestly don’t know.”

The subway car stopped and Emira stepped out of the way of a man with four shopping bags as he exited the train. Kelley motioned the empty seat to her, and Emira sat down. “Nannies are full-time,” she said. “They’re salaried and they get bonuses and vacations. And babysitters are part-time and they do like . . . date nights and emergencies.”

“Okay, gotchyou,” Kelley said. “Sorry, I thought I heard you say you were a nanny at the store that night.”

“No, yeah, I said I was a nanny so that guy would leave me alone,” Emira explained. “Which obviously worked really well.”

“Right.” Kelley gave her the kind of goofy, annoyed look that passengers exchange when there’s a loud, drunk person on a train, or when the conductor keeps announcing that there will be more delays. “Well, if you stayed you obviously had a reason to. But I’m hoping you got a raise at the very least.”

Emira swiped a strand of hair out of her lashes and the zipper at her sleeve jingled delightfully. She smiled and said, “They took care of me.”

Kelley leaned both of his hands on the bar above Emira’s head. “Where are you going right now?” he asked.

Emira raised an eyebrow. She looked up at him and couldn’t help but think, Really? It was Kelley’s casual determination mixed with the sight of twelve uncreased hundred-dollar bills that gave her the spirit to think, You know what? Yeah, okay. Fuck it. She pursed her lips and said, “Dinner with some friends. And then Luca’s. Why?”

“Luca’s.” He put out impressed lips and said, “That’s very fancy.”

Emira raised her shoulders in a sweet I don’t know motion.

“What if I buy you a drink real quick?” he said. “Then we can go our separate ways. I’m meeting friends tonight, too.” The train stopped and a woman pushed past Kelley to claim the seat next to Emira.

Emira feigned reluctance; she was enjoying this as much as he was. She was counting down to the last time she would see him tonight, and from what she could tell, it would be around two a.m. “I’m already late,” she said. “You could buy me a drink at Luca’s, though.”

Kelley laughed. “Yeah, I’m never gonna get in there.”

Emira looked down at his shoes. They were laced and brown, beneath dark jeans and an expensive-looking gray hoodie. “You’re dressed okay,” she assured him. “You should be fine.”

“I didn’t mean my clothes, but thank you, I am now brimming with confidence,” he said with a grin. “It’s just I’ve heard they don’t let you in that place unless you’re with a woman.”

Emira’s stop was next, and as the train started to slow, she stood up in the space next to him. “Well, you have my email. Just shoot me a note and I’ll come outside.”