You Are Not Alone(41)
I open it and see the sisters looking as if they just stepped off the runway. Cassandra wears a black-and-white-patterned sheath, and Jane is in a belted suede minidress with over-the-knee boots. Their hair is shiny and smooth, despite the fact that it’s a windy day. The vision of the two of them standing in my narrow doorway with the peeling paint feels almost like a mirage.
“Come on in.” I smile.
Their heels click against the wood floor, and the faint scent of their floral perfumes mingle in the air.
Jody sits up instantly, yanking out her scrunchie to release her ponytail, her attention no longer on the movie. Sean clicks it off and looks back and forth between the sisters.
“Cassandra and Jane, this is my roommate, Sean, and his girlfriend, Jody.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jane says.
“How do you all know each other?” Jody’s puzzlement is obvious.
I have no idea how to answer.
But Cassandra gives one of her high-wattage smiles: “Oh, we met a few weeks ago and became instant friends.”
Jody looks at me as if she’s never before seen me—or maybe it’s just that she hasn’t seen me in this particular light: as someone whose company is sought after by these cool, mysterious women.
“Here.” I hand Jane the necklace.
“You’re the best.” She hugs me tightly.
Cassandra reaches for the chain and fastens it around her sister’s neck. The pendant rests in the hollow space between Jane’s collarbones.
“Perfect,” Cassandra says.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Sean says. He and Jody are both standing up by now.
I see Cassandra and Jane take it all in: the matching wineglasses in front of Sean and Jody, the blanket that had been covering them, and the absolute lack of anywhere else to go in the apartment.
“That’s so sweet of you,” Jane says. “But we’re going to pass.”
My heart sinks. When they leave, they’ll take the light they brought with them into my apartment. I’ll probably spend the evening alone in my bedroom, searching Apartments.com again. But that’s not the worst part. Now that they have the necklace back, I don’t have an excuse for trying to get together with them again.
A lump forms in my throat, but I swallow it down.
I’m about to thank them for coming when Cassandra wraps her arm around me. “Hope you don’t mind if we steal Shay.”
* * *
An hour later, I stand in the middle of a small but stylish apartment, feeling as if my luck is finally beginning to turn around.
The fourteen-story doorman building on East Twelfth Street has everything a single woman in New York City needs, and more, including a little gym in the basement.
The efficiently designed kitchen is stocked with an espresso maker and a Vitamix, along with the usual dishes, pots, and pans.
In the living room, an L-shaped sofa faces the flat-screen TV and built-in bookshelves, which are filled with novels and memoirs. Against the windowsill is an iron plant stand displaying several delicate-looking orchids, and a small aquarium with a few brightly colored fish.
“The master bedroom is over there, but here’s the guest room you would use,” Jane says, opening a door.
When the Moore sisters told Sean and Jody they were stealing me, I expected to go out for drinks again. Instead, they said they had a surprise for me: a house-sitting job, if I wanted it.
Now I step inside the bedroom, knowing I don’t even need to look at it to say yes. I’d be happy sleeping on the sofa in the living room.
The double bed is made up with a crisp white comforter and fluffy pillows. It looks so cozy I wonder if I’ll even need my Ambien. A window with a built-in seat overlooks the rain-dappled street below. In the corner, a small desk hugs the wall. A candle is on the nightstand, with a red tulip in a bud vase.
It looks like the kind of place I’d splurge for on the Airbnb site.
“There’s an empty closet.” Cassandra gestures. “And a little guest bathroom with a shower.”
“It’s perfect,” I tell Cassandra and Jane.
“I’m sorry she isn’t going to pay you for this, but you’d be doing us a favor, truly,” Cassandra says.
“Oh my gosh, are you kidding? I’m thrilled!”
We walk back into the kitchen again, and I imagine making my coffee without having to put on a robe—or worrying that I’m going to hear intimate noises coming from Sean and Jody in his bedroom.
“It was meant to be,” Jane says, leaning against the granite counter.
Everything in here is so bright and spotless. Even though it’s temporary, it feels like a fresh start. I can hardly wait to go home and pack a bag.
“All you need to do is feed the fish and water the orchids every other day. The flowers are a little temperamental, so just put an ice cube on the soil,” Cassandra says.
“I’m happy to do anything else your friend needs. Steam clean her carpets? Renovate her kitchen?”
They laugh, and I add, “I hope your friend’s sister gets better soon.”
“I have a feeling she will,” Cassandra replies as we step into the hallway and she locks up. “And she’ll be thrilled to know her home will be watched over.”
When we exit the building, I hug the sisters goodbye. I stand there for a moment, feeling the whisper of the sky’s last few raindrops against my skin, as if it is washing me anew, too.