Somehow, as they’ve talked, they’ve reshelved all the books.
“Do you want to get Frappuccinos? My treat,” Vi says. “As a thank you for helping.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Cece gives her a dimpled grin. “But I’ll never turn down a Frappuccino.”
“Yeah? Des, I’m going to take a break, okay?” Vi gives her sister a quelling look. If Des objects, Vi will murder her.
“Take your time. I think I can handle things here.” Des gestures to the empty store. “I owe you for fixing my mess.”
They dash around the corner to the Daily Grind. By the time they push open the door, Vi’s green Chucks are soaked, and her hair is dripping wet. As they wait behind a pair of elderly women taking a really long time to decide which herbal tea they want, Vi unwinds her messy wet braid.
She looks up to find Cece watching her. “Your hair is so pretty.”
Her hair? Her hair is stick-straight and hangs limp in the summer humidity. Cece’s hair is all thick dark curls. Vi wonders what it would be like to tangle her fingers through it, and then she flushes. “Thanks. What kind of Frappuccino do you want?”
“Mocha chip. Always. What about you?”
“Black cherry.” Vi doesn’t say that anything cherry reminds her of Cece’s lip gloss.
“Let’s play the question game,” Cece says, and Vi’s mind races. Does Cece think she’s a terrible conversationalist, or is this Cece’s way of getting to know her better? “I’ll start. What’s your favorite color?”
“Violet. Violet for Viola. Cliché, I know. What’s yours?”
“Pink.” Cece holds out her shimmery fuchsia nails and grins. “When I was ten, I convinced Mami to let me paint one of my bedroom walls hot pink. The other three are bubblegum.”
“I remember. From when we were kids.” Cece had a big, wooden dollhouse, and they acted out stories with their dolls. They made their Barbies kiss. Is it weird that Vi remembers that? Do straight girls do that too?
“I still like it, even though I hate the stereotypes that go with it. People assume that if I wear pink and do my nails, I must be super girly and not very smart. You wouldn’t believe some of the comments I get at the restaurant.” Cece rolls her eyes. “So many gross old guys telling me how pretty I am and asking if I have a boyfriend. Or they see that I’m brown and I speak Spanish, so they ask where I’m from. Sometimes they compliment me for speaking English so well.”
“People seriously do that?” Vi asks, horrified.
Cece nods, pursing her lips. “All the time. A couple of months ago, Papi was bussing some tables at the restaurant, and he spoke Spanish to one of the waiters. Some dumb ass told him to speak English because he was in America now and asked if he was illegal. It’s ‘undocumented,’ first of all, and second, Papi was born right here in Remington Hollow. Obviously, the guy didn’t know our family owns the restaurant.”
“I hope your dad spit in his drink.” Vi feels clueless for never considering the microaggressions that Cece and her family must encounter on the regular. Unless she chooses to wear one of her Pride shirts, her neighbors can’t tell she’s gay just by looking at her, whereas Cece is one of only three Latinx kids in their grade.
“Papi kicked him out. But he made sure he left that night with some of the kitchen staff in case the guy and his friends were waiting around to cause trouble. I heard him tell Mami about it, and she said he should have just let it go.” Cece makes a face. “Anyhow. Sorry to be a downer. Let’s change the subject.”
“You’re not a downer!” Vi protests. “Let’s see…what’s your favorite TV show?”
“Jane the Virgin. Is yours The 100?”
Vi can’t believe Cece remembers that detail from their conversation a week ago. She remembers pretty much everything Cece has ever said, but that’s different. “No. I still watch it, but my favorite is Riverdale. I kind of have a crush on Veronica.”
She has a type. Dark-haired, feminine, badass but big-hearted. Like Cece.
“I’ve seen commercials for it,” Cece says as the elderly women in front of them finally pay for their blueberry iced teas and strawberry scones.
Vi and Cece order Frappuccinos, and Vi pays for both. Almost like it’s a date. It’s not a date, obviously. It’s a thank you. But she can’t help wondering what a date with Cece would be like.
As they settle at a small café table in the back, Cece grins at Vi. “Okay…what’s your favorite book of all time?”
“Of all time? That’s a terrible question,” Vi teases. “How can I possibly choose? But I read a really awesome fantasy book yesterday, Reign of the Fallen. It’s about a badass bisexual necromancer who has to save her kingdom from monsters called Shades, which are kind of like zombies. The world building is so good. And it’s going to be a duology! I can’t wait for book two.”
Cece looks interested. “Do you have it at Arden?”
“We do, but you can borrow mine…if you tell me what your favorite book of all time is.” Vi sips her Frappuccino.
Cece laughs her high, fizzy laugh. “I can’t choose either! I’m such a hypocrite. Um…my recent favorite is Wild Beauty. I love that it’s intersectional, you know? There aren’t enough books about queer Latina girls.”
“Truth.” Vi wonders if Cece is especially interested in that representation, not in an academic way, but because she wants to see herself in more books. “Ooh, I’ve got an even more evil question. Who’s your favorite dog?”
Cece’s eyes widen. “That is evil. There are so many adorable floofs!” She drums her pink fingernails against her chin. “Okay, no, I do have a favorite: Algernon.”
“Aw, Algernon! He’s so sweet!” Vi says. Algernon is Mrs. Ellinghaus’s three-legged white terrier. He has the run of her flower shop, In Bloom, and he’s super friendly. “I have to go with Juno. At least until I get my own dog. I love Des, but she has to move out eventually, right?”
“What kind of dog would you want? Would you rather have a big dog or a little dog?”
“Both!” Vi laughs. “I want to rescue all the dogs who need homes. When I have my own house, I’m going to have three or four.”
“Me too.” Cece grins at her, and Vi can’t help thinking about an episode of Riverdale—okay, she happens to know it was the second episode, actually—when Betty and Veronica got milkshakes at Pop’s and vowed never to let a boy come between them. It was totally adorable. After she saw it the first time, she wrote a fic where Betty and Veronica had their first kiss and then held hands across the table as they drank their milkshakes.