Page 62 of Love in the Lab
The day after Olivia texts, Dr. Gantt encourages Jonathan and me to get a full research article manuscript written up as soon as possible. The four of us—me, Jonathan, Dr. Gantt, and Terri—spend time discussing and writing the paper. We’re hoping to have it far along enough to post it to a preprint server called EarthArXiv for earth and environmental science research by the end of the month. Preprint servers are a first step in disseminating research findings quickly, while letting other scientists know with a date stamp that we have priority and credit for the findings. From there, we’ll watch for the reaction of our colleagues around the world, make adjustments to the data analysis or write-up, and then submit the manuscript to a scientific journal for peer review and publication.
The submission, peer review, and official publication process can take months, so posting to the preprint server sooner ratherthan later will hopefully get people talking about our findings now.
So, with the countdown on to Olivia’s visit and posting to the preprint server by the end of the month, October flies by.
Chapter twenty-four
Molly
Halloween in New Orleans is a pretty big deal; any excuse to dress in costume and celebrate is a worthy one here. Every year on the Saturday before Halloween, the Krewe of Boo! hosts the official parade with marching bands, dance crews, and the over-the-top floats New Orleans is known for.
The parade is why my sister Olivia and her friend Annie are in town this weekend, and why I’m trying to entertain them as they sit in my living room. Or I’m holding them captive, more like. Insert evil laugh here. Okay, not really, but I am letting them stay in my tiny apartment, so they kind of owe me.
“Actually,” I tell them, “the history of parades in New Orleans is fascinating.” Olivia groans, but I ignore her and continue. “In the 1800s, the city didn’t have a lot of governmental resources, so communities formed mutual aid associations to bridge the gap. These were usually formed around cultural groups as immigrants with shared language and tradition gathered together.”
Olivia’s eyes have started to glaze over while Annie politely smiles and nods her head.
“When a member of one of the societies died, their group honored them with a grand celebration of life, which evolved into parades with bands and mourners marching down the street,” I finish.
“That’s really interesting, Mol,” says Olivia dryly, “but we came here to watch a parade, not learn about them.”
“Fine.” I chuckle. “What made you guys decide to come this year?”
Annie has been Olivia’s best friend since middle school. By then, I was already away at college, so even though I know Annie, I haven’t spent very much time with her. She seems soft-spoken and calm, in stark contrast to my baby sister who thrives on being the center of attention and the life of every party.
Olivia looks away, and Annie clears her throat. “Uh, my brother invited me and then his, um….” Annie glances quickly at Olivia, who is focusing intently on the messy stacks of books and papers on my coffee table, her jaw tight. “His girlfriend decided to tag along, so I asked Delaney to come so I wouldn’t feel like a third wheel.”
Everyone outside of our family calls Olivia by our last name, Delaney, which is a nickname she switched to sometime around high school, I think. I’m not sure why.
I decide to ignore the weird vibes happening right now and instead ask, “Oh yeah, you have a twin brother, right?”
Again, Annie glances at Olivia, who is still acting like she’s not part of this conversation. “Yes. Gage.”
I smile. “I remember seeing the three of you running around together whenever I’d come home for a visit.”
Annie’s expression turns wistful. “Yeah.”
Olivia tosses her hair, her blonde ponytail swishing on top of her head. “That was a long time ago,” she says in a stony voice, her face impassive.
I narrow my eyes and swivel my attention between the two friends. “This is weird, right? There’s a subtext here I’m not understanding?”
Annie’s eyes widen, and she shrugs. Olivia pinches her lips together. Neither of them answers, so I let it go, for now.
After all, I’m not exactly showing my whole hand, either. I’m not ready to share Jonathan and my fledgling relationship with my family yet. Last night, snuggled on the couch together after watchingYou’ve Got Mail, I told Jonathan he needed to make himself scarce this weekend while my sister is visiting. I also reclaimed my spare key from his key ring—at least for the next few days—so Olivia can use it.
He flashed that ever-present smirk of his. “What, are you ashamed of me?”
“No, it’s just that as far as my sisters know, I hate you. I’m not ready to explain everything yet. They will definitely have … opinions.” I scrunched my nose, thinking about the merciless teasing Nicole and Olivia would dish out.
Jonathan tilted his head, the corners of his mouth turning up. “You never actually hated me, though, did you?” As he asked, he twirled a strand of my hair around his finger in a way that made my whole scalp tingle.
It was my turn to smirk. “I thought I did.” He continued twirling, and I felt a shiver travel up through my shoulders andescape out the top of my head. I closed my eyes at the sensation. “But I don’t hate this.”
As the girls and I finish dinner, Annie asks, “Are you sure you won’t come to the parade with us?”
We’re at a restaurant in the French Quarter about a twenty-minute walk from my apartment, close to where the parade will pass through. The end of the parade route is actually only a couple of blocks from my apartment, but Olivia and Annie are supposed to meet up with Gage and his girlfriend at Jackson Square.
I shudder involuntarily thinking about the chaos and crowds surrounding the parade. “No. I’m good.”
