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Sullivan felt exhausted after talking to Nina.

She crawled back inside her tent and lay down.

She didn’t know how long she slept for. It was still light when she woke up.

The ATVs were still blaring classic rock as they roared up and down the beach.

She’d slept the dead-deep sleep of a woman trying to escape her life.

Her throat was dry. She felt slightly oxygen deprived. And someone was shaking her tent.

“Sullivan! Sullivan?”

“Kia?”

A shadow crossed her tent, then Kia was unzipping the flap. She looked flushed, and her hair was a collection of nests and springs and wisps. It was a one-person tent, barely tall enough to sit up in, but Kia crawled in, nonetheless. She wrapped her arms around her knees, rocking back and forth.

“I figured something out.” She looked like she was going to bubble over with excitement and cry at the same time.

If Sullivan had been angry at Kia, her anger would have drained away. But she didn’t feel angry. Sullivan drew her into a hug.

“How did you know where I was?” Sullivan murmured.

“Opal has an app,” Kia said tearfully.

Right. Sullivan and Opal always shared pins on their hiking app.

“Then I asked around if anyone had seen a hot woman with curly hair who looked like she wanted to murder someone.”

“I don’t want to—”

“I got your note about camping, and I went out in the Bois because people think it’s so calming in nature.

” Kia pulled away. Her eyes shone. Her hair vibrated against the roof of the tent.

“And I don’t know how it can be calming because a snake—a fucking snake—fell down my shirt.

You would have been excited. I wasn’t. But I had to come tell you because the miniature Oregon tree snake is the answer. ”

It took Sullivan a moment to take in Kia’s words.

Sullivan didn’t realize until now how much she’d wanted Kia to run after her.

And now Kia was here, and she wasn’t telling Sullivan she’d taken a deal from Mega Eats.

She was complaining about slithery nature.

And this was exactly what Sullivan had wanted when she added miss you to her kitchen note.

Behind those words was please come find me. Don’t leave me.

Then Sullivan took in Kia’s last words.

“The tree snake?! You’ve been here a few weeks and you’ve already seen a tree snake. Jealous!”

“I will not say it was lovely, although it did kind of look like a magic ribbon. If you can overlook that they’re little Satans.

” Kia gave a watery laugh. “I can’t save us, but I think I can save the Bois.

If the snakes are only in the Bois and you almost never see them, it’s got to be endangered.

And people in Oregon love endangered species.

We have to get the judge to give us a… what was it called?

An injunction. Like Mega Eats got to stop the sale until our court case resolved.

And we say they can’t build on the land because they’ll ruin the snakes’ habitat. We’ll save it. It’s brilliant, right?”

It was… absolutely brilliant.

With one catch.

“If we did that,” Sullivan said slowly, trying to contain her excitement until she heard what Kia said next, “you won’t be able to build on it either.”

“I don’t care.”

“What about Me’shell and everyone you’ve promised to help? We still have a chance in court.”

Kia’s face fell for a moment, but she said, “I can find other locations for them. We’ll pivot. It won’t be exactly what they planned, but I’ll stay in Portland until everyone who needs me gets what they want.”

That’ll be forever if Kia counted Sullivan among everyone who needs me .

“Sullivan, there’s one other thing.” Kia’s expression was as serious as her LED likeness on the Diva was cheerful. “Mega Eats got my accounts canceled.”

“Fuck.”

Everything Kia had built depended on her social media accounts, everything she’d dreamed of on graduation night was tied to those accounts.

“They threatened that if I don’t give up my attempts to buy the Bois and say that what they’re accusing us of is true, they’ll cut them off permanently.

They shouldn’t be able to do that, but they can, and we can’t prove it’s them.

It’s a problem with influencing. You’re at the mercy of these huge corporations. ”

“If we save the snake, do you get your accounts back?”

“Nothing except taking the deal does that. I should take it.”

“I understand.” Sullivan’s heart cracked. She’d stood on this precipice herself, and Nina was right, a sensible person would have taken the deal. Kia knew that. “Why did you bring up the snake if you have to take the deal?”

“Chef, I’m offended.” Kia looked shocked, although not angry. “Of course I didn’t take the deal.”

“Mega Eats offered me the same deal,” Sullivan blurted, “except it’s my house they want. It’s on Bois property. I lose it entirely if they buy the Bois. I didn’t take the deal either.”

They stared at each other. Sun coming through the tent’s red nylon cast a soft pink glow on Kia’s face.

“We didn’t take the deals.” Kia looked incredulous but also happy. “We. Didn’t. Take. The. Deals.”

“We didn’t take the deals.” Sullivan felt a bubble of giddy pride. Excitement. Glee. Strength. The feeling that they’d won just by saying no to the devil’s bargain. “Fuck Mega Eats.”

“Fuck them!” Kia flung her arms around Sullivan. “We are so much better than anything that company has ever done.”

Sullivan held Kia tight. I love you. The words almost slipped out. Instead she said, “Okay, how are we going to get everyone to care about the miniature Oregon tree snake?”

Kia wished she could ride home with Sullivan, but at least she could call Deja from her truck and not subject Sullivan to Deja’s exuberance. She waited until she was on a quiet stretch of highway, then asked her truck’s computer to call Deja. Deja picked up on the first ring.

“Deja—” Kia braced herself for the torrent of fangirl love. “I need your help.”

“Is this about the lawsuit?” Deja asked, uncharacteristically serious.

“How did you know?”

“My friend Trey. They’re not a hacker, but they helped me set up an alert.”

There was so much wrong with that Kia didn’t know where to begin. What kind of alert? Why did Deja need an alert? Why did Deja always introduce Trey as not a hacker ?

“Don’t worry. It was just a Google Alert to see how the food pod was going, so I could help if you needed me, and I was checking to see if your accounts came back.

Then I saw some stuff about Mega Eats. It’s so wrong.

I mean, anyone who sees you two can see that this is what love looks like!

Hashtag ‘relationship goals.’ And hello, Mega Eats is serving a side of homophobia.

A gay marriage isn’t real because blah, blah, blah.

You couldn’t possibly want to marry a hot woman you’ve been in love with since you were twenty and—” Deja stopped.

“Sorry. I talk too much. I am ready to help. What do you need?”

“Do you have any friends who are into the environment or hate capitalism?”

“Oh my god, do I have any friends who don’t love the environment and hate capitalism? No, no I do not.”

“I need some publicity around an issue.”

Deja didn’t say a word as Kia described the lawsuit and the snake.

“Sullivan says it shouldn’t matter whether people like an animal. If it’s endangered it’s endangered, even if it’s hideous.”

“The miniature tree snake is gorge . But I get it. You need people to rally for the snake.”

“Yeah.”

“Like a rally !” Talkative Deja was back. “We’ll get local food trucks to serve food. And I can get your friend’s burlesque troupe to make snake costumes. And I know some anarchists that—”

“Maybe no anarchists.”

“Okay, no anarchists, but we’ll get—” Deja hesitated, probably googling.

“People from the Mount Hood Environmental Front, and the Urban Green group.” Deja listed a dozen other groups, ranging from the obviously environmental to the bud-tenders union.

“Do you think Saturday or Sunday? Maybe we can have a drag show. All snake themed. Barb, Mike, Benny, Greg, and Mira will totally be on board.”

“Barb, Mike…?”

“The board. You know. The white people with woke water bottles.”

That basically described all of Portland. Maybe all of Portland would come.

There was one more thing. Kia took a deep breath.

“Deja, I need to tell you something. I don’t want you to feel like I didn’t tell you because I didn’t trust you.”

“Okay,” Deja said.

“What Mega Eats said about us just getting married to get the land deal… that was partly true. And I’m sorry I let you believe that and call us hashtag ‘relationship goals.’ I should have trusted you with the truth.”

“But you’ve been in love with her since school, and she has been too, but she didn’t realize that she was in love with you too until she saw you again.” Deja recited the words like an article of faith.

“That’s just what we told people.”

“No, that’s what I told you .”

“What?”

“I saw the video of your kiss at graduation. Total fire. You don’t kiss someone like that and just forget them.

I saw the way you and Sullivan looked at each other.

Legit from day one. Whatever you thought you were doing getting married, I know you did it for Sullivan.

You didn’t have to buy the Bois to save Sullivan from Mega Eats.

You could have gone anywhere. Your investors didn’t say it had to be the Bois. ”

“The Bois was a good deal.”

“Since when has getting sued by Mega Eats been a good deal? You did it because you want Sullivan in your life.”

“Are you hurt that I didn’t tell you?”

“A little.” Deja’s voice dipped toward sadness, then perked up again. “But you don’t share your business. I get it. Half your life is online, you don’t want to spill the tea after that.”

“How did you know I was in love with Sullivan?”

“You don’t have to spill to me, ’cause I see you, girl. I know everything you know before you know it. GOAT assistant.”

Kia smiled. “Yeah you are.”