Page 21

The sun tried peeking through the gray clouds over Knollwood Village. Sadie squinted up at the sky, sending positive vibes for a few rays to break through.

After yesterday’s meeting, Joanie and Mark had decided to work out this morning and open the truck a bit late.

They probably had some pent-up fire and ice to get rid of, considering not much got accomplished other than Gus convincing the Supers to patrol more “boots on the ground” before declaring she wanted to head home before it got too late.

She did give them some of Quake’s old hangout spots and contacts, so that was something.

The lunchtime crowd was starting to mill about Hampton Street, the main drag of the mostly residential area.

Sadie hadn’t gotten her eyebrows tinted in forever, so she’d convinced Joan to let her go it alone for a little self-care.

What else was she gonna do with unexpected time off but visit the brow bar that could match her dyed hair perfectly?

Even if it meant trekking across the river.

She rubbed the nape of her neck under Joanie’s red-and-black flannel. Usually she couldn’t borrow anything because, hello, she had boobs and hips Joanie did not. But this was a looser fit shirt, and it was snuggly and had a hint of citrusy ginger on it.

There hadn’t been any reported Villain activity, which in itself was Villain activity. Keeping everyone on edge about when and where the next strike would occur. SuperWatch was up and running again, though internet access continued to be spotty.

Sadie smiled at a woman in a forest-green hijab pushing a stroller with a snoozing young kid tucked inside.

She stepped around two men each holding a longhaired dachshund and cooing about how cute their babies looked after getting groomed.

Knollwood Village was where queer folks settled down to start a family—especially if it was of the four-legged variety.

The Supers should’ve been in places like this, seeing how people really lived. You couldn’t argue with Gus’s old-school thoughts on that.

Amazing Gus was officially weird. But weird like Perry in that I refuse to talk about things I don’t want to talk about way. Maybe Joanie was right that it was a coping mechanism to compartmentalize their lives. A trauma response to all they’d been through.

Sadie crossed a side street to get to the bus stop. She passed the florist that had been there forever. As long as she was here, might as well check out that retail space Perry had recommended. Scratch it off the list.

The brown-brick building had a bright-blue For Lease sign in one of the wide windows. Hadn’t this been an ice cream parlor when she’d lived here? Or a tearoom?

She peeked through the glass door at the empty unit. A long counter along the wall to the right, ample space for tables and chairs, a place for a nook in the back that’d be perfect for a couch…

Her heartbeat quickened. The too-white color scheme didn’t work with the exposed brick walls. With warm earth tones and pops of color, this could be really cozy.

She shielded her eyes to stare at the counter. An image flashed in her mind of herself standing behind it, handing a to-go cup to a customer. And there was a case of fresh bakery goods. And she was smiling—grinning and happy because this was hers .

She stepped back and studied the outdoor space.

Two small tables could easily fit on both sides of the door.

And a doggie station with a little container of treats and a large water bowl for hot summer days.

She could make a super-cute open/closed sign to hang in the door.

And oh, the kitschy sayings she could write on a sandwich board to draw customers in.

And this street! Decent foot traffic. Car traffic that was busy but not hectic. Joanie and Mark could park Hot and Cold in front and easily make a killing. Perry could open an art gallery nearby.

Tears pooled in her eyes. This was Sadie’s Café.

Elation surged through her chest, followed by reality squashing it down. This was too perfect a location. The rent had to be ridiculous. What was the cost of everything now that Quake was back?

She shook her head, wiping at her eyes, and forced her feet to move. Then stopped and turned.

Sunlight burst through the clouds, brightening the whole street. Highlighting the perfect place she’d been dreaming of for years and years.

Don’t discount it, Sadie.

She had financial backers ready to invest. Maybe nobody would want to start a new business during heightened Villain activity.

Maybe she could get a good deal. Perry could negotiate for her—he’d probably really enjoy that.

And Joanie would support her every step of the way.

Give her reassuring hugs when things got hard, the way Sadie did with Hot and Cold.

Do it. Call to get more information.

Just a phone call. Gather data. Laugh when the landlord or realtor or whoever told her the exorbitant cost.

She walked back to the—well, to Sadie’s Café. Dialed the number on the sign before she lost her nerve.

Voicemail kicked in for a woman named Lorraine at the management company.

“Uh, hi. Hello. My name is Sadie Eagan. I’m calling to inquire about the retail space available in Knollwood Village.

The—” Don’t say super cute, that sounds unprofessional.

“—space at 1007 North Hampton. It looks like it would meet the needs for my current project.”

There, that was profesh.

Then she grinned and couldn’t help gushing, “Okay, I know this sounds some kind of way, but this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I think it would fit my needs for a coffeehouse I’ve been wanting to open for years. I’d love to get more information from you, and possibly schedule a tour.”

She left her phone number, then said, “I look forward to hearing from you.”

She ended the call and squealed, dancing in a little circle. You did it! Way to go!

It probably wouldn’t amount to anything, but…

No, she had to stay positive on this one. This was it. This was Sadie’s Café, and she had to push past her fear. She had the support to get through it.

Joan had been brave enough to start a whole new life, and was brave every time she interacted with the Supers.

Time for Sadie to be brave, too.

* * *

Joan didn’t think she’d ever been to Vector City Coffee without Sadie there. But Sadie was working with Mark that afternoon to keep their food truck going. Trying to connect with Greta had been hit and miss. Grets had picked this day and time and place because it was—as she put it—neutral ground.

She paused outside the entrance to make sure her phone was silenced.

Zee had been texting about helping them gain access to some of the seedier spots of the city.

There had been a flurry of Villain activity last night.

Squawk had shattered almost every window at City Hall, and Ether basically shut down the airport with funky skies.

Mark was most likely going to help Zee out, even though Joan had told him it was a bad idea. Anyone recognizing him would be no bueno.

No one was listening to her lately. The Supers just wanted Villain intel. Perry was still being weird and cagey about why Gus wouldn’t stay for dinner. That was something to dig into another day.

Sadie had gone all the way to the Village without her yesterday.

It was great that she was excited about finding a perfect location for her café, so Joan had to bite her tongue and not freak out.

And then bite her tongue again when Sadie mentioned this morning that Greta actually left the other night because she was on to Joan’s Super meeting.

She knew why Sadie hadn’t told her, even before Sadie explained. The ex-Villain and thief needed one another.

Joan entered to the familiar scent of coffee grounds and quiet indie music. She reached to pull off sunglasses she wasn’t wearing, ever the creature of habit.

Greta was chatting with Nyah and Amit at a small table against the wall. “Well, well, well,” Amit said. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

More like the cat burglar. “Hey, Amit. Hi, Nyah.”

“Hey, stranger,” Nyah teased. “What, your girlfriend stops working here and you don’t come by anymore?”

“Terrible, I know.” Joan gave Greta a small smile. “Hey.”

“I ordered for you,” Greta said. That meant she wasn’t planning on staying long.

“Thanks.” Joan slid into the metal chair across from her friend. “What’s new at VCC?”

Amit nodded toward the front. “We still have all our windows.”

“That is novel,” Joan joked. She snagged the paper cup with Kick Me Up written on it. “Ah, my favorite.”

She took a sip. Not as good as when Sadie made them, but still a banger with the cayenne pepper kick.

They chitchatted for a few minutes until Amit and Nyah went back to work. “Nice scar,” Greta said, gesturing at Joan’s right eye.

“Gift from Ricki.”

Greta’s upper lip curled. “You shouldn’t have messed with her.”

“I tried not to.”

“You have to get to the truck soon.”

“I have time. We haven’t hung out in forever.”

“You haven’t been around. What with spending so much time with your new pals.”

Joan conceded that with a slow nod. “I owe you an explanation.”

“Not really. Sadie explained it just fine.”

“We don’t have a choice. We’re basically on permanent probation.”

Greta tapped her fingertips on her coffee cup. “At what point will it go from a necessity to something you want to do?”

“Hopefully never.”

“You don’t hope that.”

After glancing over both shoulders, Joan leaned in and said, “It sucks. I just want to be at Hot and Cold. This crap keeps dragging me away from it.”

“And keeping you from me.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

Her oldest friend looked at her with rare sadness in her dark eyes. “If you work with them, I can’t be around you anymore.”

“Grets—”

“It’s not safe. I met you here because I also come here to see Nyah and Amit. It shouldn’t raise suspicion.”

“They’re not watching every move I make,” Joan said.

“They’re at your food truck. If Mark’s hanging out with Zee, it’s only a matter of time before they turn up at your place.”

“Maybe if either one of you let me know before you drop by unannounced…”

“I have to look out for my own ass,” Greta said.

Joan nodded in understanding. Greta was a lone wolf—always had been, probably always would be. While they’d both been kicked out as teenagers, Joan had joined Team Villain. Even when things weren’t great with Melvin or Ethel or Irving, she’d always had Mark and Perry.

“I get it,” she said. “But this is temporary. Once we get rid of these new Villains?—”

“Did you just hear yourself?” Greta snapped. “You’re trying to get rid of Villains? In case you forgot?—”

“I know that sounds shitty. But Quake? These assholes who want to destroy everything? Nobody wants that.”

Greta’s nostrils flared. She crossed her arms, gripping her biceps through her black leather jacket. “I told you about them for your benefit, not the Supers’.”

“I know, and I didn’t give up my source.” Joan’s fire bubbled under her skin in irritation.

“You see how I can’t trust that something won’t get traced back to me.”

“I will never let anything happen to you.”

“Even if that means lying to my face and disappearing on me?”

“You’re the one who disappeared first,” Joan pointed out.

“When you worked with Superheroes to take out three members of your found family.”

“I never really thought of them as family. You know that.”

Greta made her smarmy Yeah, right face that was so damn annoying.

“Sadie said she told you how hurt I was,” Joan said.

“ You were hurt?” Greta scoffed. “I’m losing my only true friend, but you’re hurt.”

“That’s not fair. You know the situation. I’m doing the best I can.”

“You’re doing what’s best for you.”

Joan felt the angry sparks glinting in her eyes. “That’s literally what you’re doing.”

“Mine is survival.”

“ Mine is survival.”

“No, yours is wanting your sweet girlfriend and your cozied-up apartment and?—”

“I’m having nightmares about what I did, okay?” Joan spat. “Does that make you happy?”

“No.”

“I feel like shit about it. But you know what? I don’t regret it. If that means taking a step back for a while, fine.”

Tense silence settled between them. This was their relationship: everything was flowers and sunshine, then something happened and they got pissed at each other and didn’t talk for a while. Still, it was their friendship on the line this time. That had never truly wavered.

Greta took a sip of her half-caf-whatever-the-fuck-complicated drink she’d ordered. She set her cup down. “Sorry you’re having nightmares,” she said in a calmer tone.

“I’m waking Sadie up. That’s the worst part.”

“What are they about?”

“Melvin and them yelling at me. Sometimes they have Sadie and I can’t get to her.”

“You’re afraid that’ll happen again.”

“Every day,” Joan murmured.

“You’re a mess.”

She met Greta’s eyes, and they both laughed lightly. “I really am.”

They quieted again as someone passed en route to the restrooms. Greta seemed wistful. Well, as wistful as Grets could get. She slid her cup off the table and stood. “Take care,” she said.

“You, too.” Joan touched her arm before she could breeze out the door, but Greta was already focused onward.

Her heart sank. Maybe this was just another speedbump. Or maybe it really was goodbye.

Nyah paused with a plastic bin filled with dirty dishes. “Did she take off?”

“Yeah.”

“She does that.”

Joan heaved a heavy sigh. “Yeah.”