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Lissa cleared her throat. “You could make friends,” she said. “It wouldn’t be hard for someone as smart as you.”
“What the fuck is this?” Sally said loudly. A few people at other tables turned to look, then glanced away quickly. “I’m fine. I don’t need your pity, y’know. I need a place to sleep, that’s all. I’ll be gone soon enough.”
Lissa looked embarrassed. It wasn’t a look that came naturally to her. “We’re just trying to help a little, that’s all. It might be nice to get to know you a little better.”
“How about if I get to know you a little better, then?” Sally said.
“We’d be fine with that,” Lissa replied.
Sally looked at each of them in turn, a prizefighter sizing up opponents. “How old are you?” she asked Fi
“Forty-four,” Fi
“And you’re a lawyer who lives alone in a nice apartment in Charlestown?”
“Yeah.” Fi
“So you’re gay.”
Fi
“I’ve seen your apartment,” she said. “No curtains, no pictures, no pillows on the couch. The refrigerator’s empty and there’s one toothbrush in the bathroom. There’s nothing that looks like a girl’s ever been there ever. You’re not ugly, so I assume you’re a fag.”
“I’m not gay,” Fi
“Gay,” Sally said, nodding her head.
“I am not gay!”
“Hey,” she said, “I got no problem with it. Probably make me sleep better at night.”
“I don’t have a problem with it either,” Fi
“Are you dating anyone?”
“No,” Fi
“Gay.”
Fi
“This is,” Lissa said. “In fact, it pretty much defines fu
Fi
“Who was she? Did she have a penis, or was she like, an imaginary girlfriend?”
“No,” Fi
Sally looked over at Kozlowski, who nodded. “Huh,” she said, clearly shocked that she was wrong. “So if you’re not gay, then why don’t you have a new girlfriend?”
Lissa laughed. “She’s got you nailed, Fi
She wasn’t going to hear the answer, though, because before Fi
“We are,” she said, nodding. Kozlowski shot her a look, but she waved him off. She clearly wasn’t about to back down.
“For how long?”
“A year or so,” Lissa replied. “Maybe a little longer.”
“Why aren’t you married?”
Fi
“It’s complicated,” she said.
“Why?” Sally asked. “You don’t love him?”
“No, I love him.”
“He doesn’t love you?”
Everyone at the table looked at Kozlowski. He looked at the cutlery. Fi
“No, I’m sure he loves me, too,” Lissa said, answering for him. Sally kept looking at Kozlowski for a moment, though, until he gave a slight nod.
“Okay, you love him and he loves you,” Sally said. “You both seem normal, so what’s the deal?”
“We’ve talked about it,” Lissa said hesitantly.
Fi
Lissa looked back and forth between Fi
Fi
“Are you pregnant?” Sally asked. She wasn’t letting up on the attack.
“No!” Lissa said. Her voice was loud and sharp, and cut through the clamor of the restaurant. She shook her head and took a deep breath and said in a more reasonable voice, “No.”
Fi
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lissa replied.
“Why not?” Sally asked. “You’re not getting any younger.”
Kozlowski leaned in toward Sally and said quietly, “You know, Huckleberry Fi
“No sweat,” Sally said. “I feel like I know you guys a lot better already. How about you guys? Can we put the twenty questions game on hold for a little while?”
Fi
It took a moment before anyone said anything else. Finally Sally spoke. “So,” she said. “What’s the deal with my father? Is he getting out anytime soon, or am I going to have to play Trivial Pursuit with you guys for the rest of my childhood?”
Fi
“Didn’t we just have this conversation?”
“No, this is genuinely complicated. I’ll get your father a new bail hearing. It may take a little time.”
“Why did he freak out today?”
“I don’t know,” Fi
“Maybe he wanted to get away from me.”
“You’re smarter than that,” Lissa said.
“Am I? What would you do if you found out you had a kid you never wanted? Would you run?”
Lissa considered the question. “No,” she said. “I wouldn’t.”
“Maybe you’re a better person than my parents.”
Fi
They were childish dreams, but he’d clung to them. Deep down, he still did. And that was what set Sally apart. She could hold no such illusions. She knew who her parents were, and they knew her. Her abandonment was personal. He could never convince her otherwise, because he didn’t believe it.
It took a few moments for them to finish their coffee and for Lissa to pick up the tab. They left quietly; there was a melancholy feeling they all shared in their silence. Outside, the weather matched their mood. The rain had let up enough to allow them to walk without getting drenched, but a light sprinkling continued. The air was warm and humid again. Fi