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Construction equipment, two semitrucks, and three shipping containers—all in Mega Eats–brand orange—lined the street that ran alongside the Bois. On the other side of the street, a man stood in front of his house watering his lawn with a handheld sprinkler, looking shell-shocked.

Kia parked, lining Old Girl and her truck up against the curb behind the semi.

“What’s going on,” she called to the man with the sprinkler.

“They just appeared,” he said. “I didn’t realize the sale went through.”

“It hasn’t,” Sullivan said.

Mega Eats slogans covered every piece of equipment. MEGA EATS: CHOOSE FLAVOR and on the back of the semis Mega Eats franchises were listed in bubbly red font: MEGA MEXICAN , MEGA BURGER , MEGAPOLITZ , MEGA PIZZA , MEGA SOUTHRN COOK’N .

“This is unbelievable,” Kia muttered, scanning the street. “It’s like they’ve moved in overnight.”

A woman with a brown ponytail and an orange Mega Eats windbreaker hurried up to them, a flyer and a handful of coupons extended. When she saw Sullivan, she stopped.

“Sorry about the other day.”

Sullivan’s jaw tightened.

“You served me.”

“It’s not personal. I work for Mega Eats. We’re excited to work together to build a happier, healthier Oakwood Heights.”

“ Healthier? ” Sullivan’s voice soared an octave.

“The off-ramp will cut an average of four to seven minutes off commute times. If you factor that over years…”

“That’s health? An arm of freeway chopping through our neighborhood so we can eat pink slime?”

The woman shrugged as if to say, If that’s what you want to call it, I don’t care . She turned to Kia, who cut her off before she could speak.

“There is a court case to decide who buys this land. You do not get to build on the Bois just because you want to.”

“Standard operating procedure. We want to be ready to go as soon as the verdict comes in.”

“You better go!” Kia shoved her hands in her pockets.

“I mean ready to get building. You must be Kiana Jackson.” The woman held out her hand.

Sullivan was glad she’d never pissed Kia off, because an angry Kia looked like an avenging goddess.

“I don’t want to know you,” Kia hissed.

“Well, my company is suing you, Ms. Jackson, so we’re acquainted, but this isn’t personal.

Mega Eats is a multibillion-dollar company.

You’re not going to win. I’ve overseen a dozen projects like this.

Mega Eats moves their equipment in so they can break ground the minute the judge signs the papers, and he will rule in favor of Mega Eats.

You can pour a bunch of resources into fighting them and then lose, or you can get your lawyers to strike a deal.

Mega Eats is actually pretty reasonable.

” She looked at Sullivan with fake sympathy.

“They’ll buy your house and your restaurant at more than fair market value.

” To Kia she added, “They’ll probably pay to relocate your food pod.

I could negotiate something. Would twenty thousand make it right? ”

“You falling off a cliff would make it right,” Kia shot back, then stopped herself. “Not you personally. I’m sure you’re a decent person when you’re not hawking pink slime for the devil.”

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me this week,” the woman said dryly.

“Mega Eats just wants to provide delicious, economical food options to make hungry Americans, happy Americans.” The woman winced as she quoted the slogan.

“They’re not out to fuck with you, but they will if you don’t back down.

It costs a lot of money to bring in this kind of equipment, to have blueprints drawn up, workers hired.

They wouldn’t invest that money if they didn’t know they’d win.

Go to them with an offer, but if you don’t do that, when they come to you, whatever they offer you, say yes.

You seem like nice people, and I don’t want to see you ruined. ”

They walked back to the truck in silence.

“It’s going to be okay,” Sullivan said, her faith in that sentiment shaken. “That’s the woman who served me. She’s a flunky. She’s just flexing because she doesn’t have any real power. She doesn’t know what the judge is going to decide.”

“She doesn’t!” Kia’s conviction sounded brittle.

“Whatever happens, I’ve got you.” It felt good to speak those words to Kia. She might not believe they were going to be okay—whatever okay was—but it felt good to be in it together.

The next day, Sullivan woke to find Kia gone out of bed. She expected to see Kia in the kitchen at her laptop. Instead, Kia was outside, dressed, and sweeping leaves off Old Girl. She waved.

“Come on up, babe. The view is great. I can see your weird squash vines and into the bedroom of the most beautiful woman I know.”

Sullivan could tell Kia was trying to brush off yesterday’s encounter with Mega Eats. Mega Eats wanted to intimidate them. Better to pretend they hadn’t.

“Why are you sweeping leaves at eight in the morning?” Sullivan shielded her eyes from the morning sunlight cutting through the trees and silhouetting Kia like an angel.

Kia clambered down the ladder, jumping off the last two rungs. She put her arms around Sullivan’s neck and gave her a kiss.

“Can we go camping again?” Kia asked. “Just get in Old Girl and drive away and never do anything except cook hot dogs and watch the birds?”

“So you like camping now?”

“In Old Girl with my pavilion.” Kia leaned her forehead on Sullivan’s shoulder.

“I have to go out of town tomorrow.” She sighed.

“I don’t want to, but these great chefs—I call them the Chets—they’re supposed to take their truck to the Grants Pass Spring Festival, on their way up here to…

Taste the Love Land. But Chet Jr. got the flu, and his dad and granddad, who work with him, are worried they’re getting sick too.

If they don’t find someone to replace them, the festival will charge the Chets the lot fee and a penalty for being a no-show.

The festival organizers are kind of strict.

I get it. It’s a new festival. They’ve only got five food trucks.

If even one of them cancels, the lines will be insane.

People will get frustrated.” Kia sank into Sullivan’s arms. “I told him I’d fill in.

But what I’d rather do is just run away with you. ”

“I’ll run away to Grants Pass with you,” Sullivan blurted. She shouldn’t leave Mirepoix, but Opal would chide her if she acted like the restaurant couldn’t survive a day without her.

A road trip would give them a few more days before reality set it.

The court case was approaching. It was quite possible they’d lose everything in a few days.

The judge would rule against them. Kia would leave.

Sullivan would start looking for a new place for Mirepoix.

If she was smart, she’d sell her house before Mega Eats broke ground on the Mega Plex.

But they could steal a few more days of joy.

“Ah, babe. I wish you could come with me, but I shouldn’t bring company. I am so far behind in everything I need to be on top of. And I can work the whole time I’m gone. We hire a driver for the Diva. Deja drives Old Girl, and I sit in the back and work.”

Kia was turning her down. Sullivan was ready to throw responsibility to the wind, and Kia wanted to travel alone and work. Sullivan’s brain understood work. In her heart, she felt like a kid who’d expected a hug only to be told to go away and play in her room.

“I’d love to have you there, but you’d be a wonderful, terrible distraction.

” Kia kissed Sullivan again. “I mean it. I can’t believe I’m so nice I volunteered to be away from you for forty-eight hours.

I will die of missing you. Deja will just bring back a little box of ashes that says, Kia was an idiot and went to Grants Pass when she could have been with Sullivan . ”

That made it a little better.

“But I’ve done fairs in Grants Pass. You know those guys who drive decommissioned police cars because they wanted to be cops but the police didn’t want them and now they think they’re protecting America by buying guns?

It’s that vibe. It’s not really the interracial lesbian couple vibe down there.

” Kia pulled back, a disappointed frown on her face.

“I go to places like that all the time… I used to before I got so many sponsors. I can charm Grants Pass, but I don’t need to put you through that. ”