Page 41 of September

“You’re notinmy hair,” Gwen said. “I was just about to order some dinner. If you want, we could do that together and then walk her. I don’t know if you need to get home or just want to be home after your first trip, so don’t feel like you have to say yes.”

“I’m okay. I stopped there to drop off my stuff before I came here.”

“Oh. Well, I could’ve taken Carly to you. I thought you came straight here.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t mind. It gave me a chance to see your place.” Juliet looked around the apartment for the first time since she had arrived. “It’s nice.”

“It’s small,” Gwen said.

“It doesn’t feel small. It’s a one-bedroom, and it’s just you, right? How many rooms do you really need when it’s just you?”

“I was almost tempted to get a studio to really piss off my mother.” Gwen chuckled. “She thinks I should live in a mansion or maybe a palace, so a one-bedroom is essentially a shack made of plywood to her. She’s very judgy.”

“You’ve mentioned her a few times. I take it, she’s unhappy with some of your life choices?”

“You could say that,” Gwen replied and handed Juliet Carly’s leash so that she could pull out her phone and order in. “In the mood for anything in particular?”

“Anything that’s not a pre-wrapped sandwich is fine by me. Shit!” Juliet seemed to remember something. “I got you that coffee, but it’s in my bag, and I left that at my place.”

“It’s okay. I can always get it another time, right?” she asked, hopeful.

“Yeah, but it’s fresh from the roaster. I want you to try it as soon as possible. Can I get it to you tomorrow, maybe?”

“Whenever is fine by me, but you’ll have to show me how to take care of it and treat it right,” she joked. “How about something local? Cajun?”

“Sure,” Juliet said. “And I can show you how to make it, but we can’t use your coffeemaker.”

“Then, how will we make it?”

“Well, I thought it might be weird if I bought you a new, expensive espresso machine, even though I get a discount on the ones we sell, and the cheap ones wouldn’t do the coffee justice, so I was thinking French press. Ever used one?”

“The one where you push down on the thing?” Gwen asked and mimicked the action with the hand that wasn’t searching for a restaurant with her phone.

“Yes.” Juliet laughed as she put Carly’s leash on. “Let’s walk.”

Gwen placed their order as Juliet explained how the coffee would somehow taste magically better if they ground the beans a certain way and let them soak for a specific amount of time before pressing down and then pouring the coffee. She listened, and she really tried to focus on what Juliet was saying, but she couldn’t stop picturing waking up next to her and Juliet making them both a cup of coffee, then bringing it back into thebedroom, and lying down next to Gwen to drink it while they watched something on TV on a lazy Sunday morning.

“So, I got you one.”

“Huh? Got me what?”

“A French press.”

“You got me a French press?”

“They’re not expensive, and I get a discount on top of it. We sell them in every store, so I just grabbed one for you. It’s with the bag of whole bean that I got you. Well, I got you a couple of sample bags. Okay, I might have gotten afewsample bags. I grabbed a light roast, a medium roast, and the espresso because you said you wanted that one specifically. I thought if you like any of them better than the others, I could get you a big bag next.”

“Jules, you didn’t have to buy me a ton of coffee.”

“They’re just sample bags. Think stocking stuffer, not a giant bag of each.”

“How much did all that run you, though?”

“The samples were free, remember? And the French press wasn’t much with my discount. I promise, I didn’t spend a crazy amount of money on you, but you’re the one who just gifted me two pet cams.”

“I got them for free, too, remember?” Gwen winked at her and looked down at Carly, who was walking aimlessly now and seemed to have lost some energy since their walk had begun. “I think she might be done.”

“Who?” Juliet asked.