Page 32 of The Love Match

She only tuts as she brings Amma the old butterscotch candy tin containing her sewing supplies, but there’s sad pride shimmering in her brown irises. “I’m sorry to say youdon’t have the coloring to pull off white like me yet, betti. You should listen to your mother.”

“Fine, I can take a hint.”

Drained like my savings, I lumber over to my room. For the briefest instant, my focus turns to the messy table-turned-desk that I used to write at, which Nanu has been using to pray on since her knees grew arthritic. The sight of the scattered Post-it notes stuck to the wall sends a surge of anxiety through me.

Not today.

It’s been hard enough without having to contend with a blank document.

I could probably collapse in my bed and sleep until I’ve grown a Rip Van Winkle–esque beard, but what I sorely need is a distraction, so I text the twins and Ximena to ask if they’ve got plans. With Mr. Tahir taking the day to train Nayim in tasks other than dishwashing, this is the perfect opportunity for the rest of us to catch up. I want to tell my friends everything that happened with Harun and at home.

Dalia replies,We’re about to head downtown.

My lips purse.

They never hang out without inviting me along. I can’t always swing it, whether because I’ve taken on extra shifts or I can’t afford wherever they’re going and my dignity won’t let them pay for me. Hell, if Mr. Tahir didn’t force me to take the day off so he could turn the full force of his Mr. Tahir–ness on poor Nayim, I’d still be at the tea shop. But at least my friends usuallyask.

What’s up downtown?

Just some summer sales,responds Dani.

My thumb lingers over the keypad, typing and deletingI love sales!once I accept that it makes me sound like a desperate loser.

But Dalia, bless her Mom Friend heart, must detect the conflicted ellipses across the screen, because she says,I’m sorry, Zar. We were going to look at stuff for our dorm rooms and didn’t want to hurt you. Do you want to come? We can swing by on the way?

Yeah, girl, come!Ximena adds.

I hesitate, until Dani sends an animated GIF of a white bear grabbing a brown bear’s paw and looking up at it with puppy eyes, the wordsPlz… I’m sorryflickering across the top.

Fighting a smile, I reply,I’d love to, and return one of the Golden Girls hugging.

Five minutes later, Dani yells from the Coop, “Get in, loser, we’re going shopping.”

I smack her shoulder, laughing, then enter the backseat next to Ximena, who drops her curly head on my shoulder at once, burrowing into my side like a koala. Dalia regards us through the rearview, a guilty expression furrowing her brows, until I say, “I’m okay, Dal. Thanks for worrying about my feelings, but if you’re all going to be busy with college starting fall, I want to spend as much time with you this summer as humanly possible.”

Ximena hugs me tighter and Dani reaches behind her seatto pat my leg. Dalia, meanwhile, wipes at her mascara-lined eyes and dredges up a watery smile. “Oh, don’t make me cry or I won’t be able to drive.”

“I’ll do it,” her sister volunteers.

Dalia kitten-glowers at her. “Not a chance. It’s my turn.”

“ThenIget to pick the music!”

I sit back and smile, hoping that’s the end of all the icky-stickyfeelingsand we can go back to normal. I’ve had as many Lifetime moments as I can handle in one day.

The wind blowing through my loose hair feels so soothing that even though I want to give them a status update on the Harun situation, my eyelids droop and the city blurs around me. I have to blink several times to wake myself up.

We pass the Great Falls National Park along the way, packed to the brim with parents pushing strollers, families barbecuing, and couples sitting on the benches.

An ice cream truck parked in the gravel lot plays a merry jingle. Screaming kids holding drippy Popsicles dash toward the railing around the wide cliff’s edge, so enamored by the sight of the waterfalls that they pay no mind to the foamy, yellow-tinted water, the trash littering the grass, or the construction crews working high above. The air smells of sea salt and smoke.

Traffic picks up downtown.

As the central hub of Paterson, it contains not only city hall, the police station, and other important clerical buildings, but Passaic County Community College and dozens of localbusinesses, including food carts, electronic stores, boutiques, and other restaurants.

The Mini Cooper whooshes by a billboard announcing PCCC’s impending open house.

Dalia parks next to a meter in front of a store with a sign that readsMO’S DISCOUNT FURNITURE. I scope the street before entering, recalling many wonderful memories of back-to-school shopping in the area with my family or the girls, snacking on churros and snow cones from the carts or a greasy but delicious slice of pizza from the parlor on Broadway.

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