CHAPTER 132: After

POV: Selene Castellano

She woke up smiling.

She didn't know why at first. Then she remembered the garden and Maya’s face walking down the aisle. Kofi saying I forgot why I was there.

Avalon was already awake beside her.

“Good wedding,” he said.

“Good wedding,” she replied.

They stayed in bed longer than usual, just absorbing each other's presence and planting kisses in between.

“Catherine behaved herself,” Avalon said eventually.

“She was lovely,” Selene said. “She sat with Margaret the whole evening.”

“I noticed.”

“Margaret made her laugh twice.”

“I noticed that too.”

”That was actually nice, have you thought of allowing her back into your life fully?” she asked.

“It has crossed my mind but it's a process not an immediate action thing.” he replied.

He made coffee while she showered.

They ate breakfast at the counter with the radio on low, some station neither of them had deliberately chosen, just noise that filled the room pleasantly.

He read something on his phone.

She looked at the window watching San Francisco doing what it does best on a Saturday.

“I want to do nothing today,” she said.

“Then we do nothing.”

“You’re not going to suggest something productive.”

“I was going to suggest a walk,” he said. “But that’s not productive. That’s just moving.”

“A walk is fine,” she said.

They walked for two hours through neighborhoods they knew and some they didn’t, stopping when necessary, either to shop or stare at something captivating and moving when it wasn’t.

She bought a scarf from a market stall she didn’t need.

He bought a book from a second-hand shop and read the first page standing in the doorway before deciding yes.

They ate lunch at a place with outdoor tables and good soup and nothing else worth noting.

“Do you think they’re happy,” Selene said.

“Maya and Kofi?”

“Yes.”

“Yes,” he said. “I think they’re happy.”

“I think so too.” She broke off a piece of bread. “It looks different on them than it does on us.”

“How so.”

“We came through things to get here,” she said. “Them too, but differently. We fought our way to happy. They kind of just—walked into it.”

“Is that better or worse,” he said.

“Neither,” she said. “Just different.”

Walking home she slipped her hand into his.

They were a block from the apartment when she stopped.

“I want to tell you something,” she said.

He waited.

“I’ve been thinking about trying,” she said. “More seriously than before. I think I’m ready, maybe we’re ready.”

He looked at her.

“Okay,” he said.

“Just okay?”

“What else would I say.”

“Something longer,” she said. “More.”

“I’ve been ready since you told me Elena was warm,” he said. “I was waiting for you.”

She looked at him on the pavement, afternoon light, ordinary street.

“Then we try,” she said.

“We try,” he said.

That night she lay awake.

Avalon’s arm was around her.

His breathing was slow.

She remembered she still has Dr. Okafor’s number still in her phone.

She concluded she'd call her tomorrow.