Page 98 of Every Step She Takes

Ro Hashmi

IS ATTENDANCE MANDATORY?11:04 a.m.

Rebecca Hartley

Dear Inez,

Will there be free wine samples?

With love, Rebecca11:07 a.m.

Inez Oliveira

Not mandatory! We should all spend our rest day doing whatever refillsour cups before the final push of our journey11:09 a.m.

Ro Hashmi

THEN I AM GOING BACK TO BED11:10 a.m.

Rebecca Hartley

We will both be there promptly at noon —Rebecca11:17 a.m.

Ari Ocampo

vera and i are going into town to stock up on supplies if anyone needs anything11:20 a.m.

Ro Hashmi

MORE COMPEED11:22 a.m.

Stefano Demurtas

Finishing up my trail run now! Will join everyone for the wines!11:25 a.m.

Inez Oliveira

Has anyone heard from Mal or Sadie today?12:02 p.m.

Ari Ocampo

no and I don’t think we will…12:04 p.m.

Rebecca Hartley

It’s cute that they think we don’t know12:05 p.m.

Mal Gonçalves

We can see this, you know…1:47 p.m.

TWENTY-THREEQUINTA COSTA VINEYARD VIGO, SPAINWednesday, May 21, 2025

Mal

We spend the day together.

We lie in the grass, even though it’s damp with morning dew beneath us, hiding from Luzia and the rest of the world. Sadie talks about the popular girls in middle school, the ones she secretly studied, perhaps confusing longing for jealousy. I talk more about Prithi, about falling like I’d never hit the ground, about loving without holding back. I talk about growing up in houses so perfectly staged, it was like living in an Ibsen play. She talks about her love for repurposing old furniture for thirty minutes straight, showing me pictures of the things she’s created on her phone, and I fall a little more in love with her with each photo. Not because the furniture is beautiful, but becausesheis when she talks about it.