Page 57 of Dearly Unbeloved
SIERRA
Thank you for the coffee. I liked the pistachio syrup. - R
P.S. The rose cardamom cookie was pretty gross. We don’t need to be eating flowers.
“This is your plan to make me feel better?”
Rose peers up at the storefront with a raised eyebrow. Admittedly, the weathered black and pink sign reading, THE ALTAR, leaves a little to be desired. But it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
“New toys make everything better,” I say, dragging her inside.
A bell chimes over the door, but the adult toy store is otherwise silent. I spy a few other shoppers milling around, but it’s not like 10 a.m. on a Saturday is peak shopping time for stores like this.
“And what would you know about new toys, Mrs. OliviaNewton-John?” Rose asks, looking around, taking in the store.
“That’s Mrs. Rose Cannon for now,” I reply, and she laughs. It’s nothing more than a small bark of laughter, but, after the past few days, it’s perfect.
I convinced Rose to take the rest of the week off, but made sure she had a couple of things to do every day while I was at work. Every day, she’s been waking up a little more like herself. And it’s a real fucking problem how much of a relief that is for me.
She hasn’t brought up anything we talked about earlier this week, and I haven’t either, but at least she’s taking care of herself again. She also hasn’t brought up how I’m acting—or maybe she hasn’t noticed that I just don’t have it in me to fight with her over stupid things anymore.
When I look back at the past year and a half, I can’t for the life of me understand what the fuck our problem was. My mind is muddled, my heart is confused, and we’re just a couple of weeks away from our appointment with the inheritance lawyer.
A fun morning at a sex toy store and an even more fun evening playing with our purchases is exactly what we need.
Despite it being her first time in the store, Rose takes the lead, and I follow her to a wall of restraints. There’s everything from leather cuffs to thick metal chains, but Rose runs her finger over a deep-purple satin ribbon.
“You’d look amazing tied up with this,” she says, plucking it off the hanger. “And, for the record, if we weremarried for real, I’d be taking your last name. Hayashi is undoubtedly the cooler last name.”
Not to mention that Sierra Cannon sounds like a cheap, off-brand, ambiguous liquor that gets you wasted in thirty seconds flat. That’s what I try to focus on, instead of thinking about Rose with my last name.
“Did you have something particular you wanted in mind?” Rose asks as we head away from the restraints. “Finally ready to move on from Olivia?”
“Never. She’s the longest relationship I’ve ever had.”
“Well, yeah. You’ve had her your entire adult life.”
“And she hasn’t failed me yet,” I say, while Rose shakes her head. “As for anything specific, I was thinking—oh shit, sorry.” Not looking where I’m going, I walk back into someone. She drops her bag and a bunch of tissue paper-wrapped packages and boxes spill out.
I crouch down to help her pick them up, apologizing again.
“It’s all good, don’t worry.”
When we stand, coming face-to-face, we both blink in surprised recognition.
“Hallie?” Rose says over my shoulder, and the familiar sapphire eyes Hallie shares with Maggie widen as she looks up.
“Rose. Hi! How are you?” Maggie’s sister asks, clearly flustered. Which is fair. A sex toy store is arguably the worst place to run into someone you know.
“I’m good, yeah. How are you?”
“I’m great.”
There’s an awkward silence before Rose clears herthroat. “Oh, right. This is Sierra. I don’t think you guys have met.”
“We met at Maggie’s bachelorette party,” I say softly, and Hallie looks down at her feet. I’m pretty sure that’s the last time she saw her sister. She was supposed to be in the wedding, but Maggie’s family didn’t show up, and she hasn’t spoken to any of them since.
“Right, of course.” Rose winces. Clearly, she’d been hoping to avoid bringing Maggie up. “So, are you living in the city now?”
