Immaculate Read Free

white smile that was made all the more perfect by the tiny gap in the middle of his two front teeth. Had I not been tangled up in one of the oddest conversations of my life, I would have been powerless to do anything but grin stupidly back.
    I vaguely remembered Frankie saying something to me about the new kid, though I hadn’t cared enough at the time to ask any questions. But in this moment, he was my new favorite person, my savior, and relief surged through my body.
    â€œJesse! It’s so nice to meet you,” I said, rushing forward to grab one side of the tray. “Let me help you with that.”
    As soon as I was close enough, I whispered into his ear. “The old woman over there is crazy, seriously crazy. I can’t talk to her anymore. I’ll explain more later,” I added, though I didn’t really mean it. For starters I wouldn’t even know where to begin in explaining my conversation with Iris to anyone, let alone a stranger. And for some reason, repeating what she said, even if it was complete nonsense, made me feel uneasy. I’d much rather have just forgotten everything about Iris. Pretended the whole meeting had never happened.
    â€œWould you mind covering for me and making sure she leaves while I go back into the kitchen?”
    â€œUh, sure, yeah, I guess,” he said, looking over at Iris and then back at me as if I were the crazy person in the room. This wasn’t the best first impression I’d ever made, but given the circumstances, I could deal with my less than stellar showing.
    â€œThanks, Jesse, I really owe you,” I said, grabbing my phone and my purse from under the counter.
    â€œMina,
no
! Wait!” Iris called out. “I need your approval, you have to accept . . .”
    â€œ
Yes
, Iris,
yes
, whatever you need to hear,” I said, without turning back, already trying to erase her face from my memory.
    I pushed through the kitchen door and found Frankie in the freezer taking cheese inventory, and told him that I had to leave straightaway—family emergency, no time to clean everything—but I’d make up for it during my next shift. He waved me off, lost in his calculations. I realized as soon as I stepped out into the back lot that I’d forgotten to grab my pile of tip money from the shelf near the register, but there was no way I was going back to the front of the restaurant. I’d just have to pick it up in the morning. The risk of losing a few twenties was greatly preferable to a second round with Iris. I ran to my old silver Jetta, never more beloved than it was in that moment, jammed the key in the ignition, and drove away from Frankie’s and Iris as fast as the car would take me.
    I debated driving away from Nate’s, too, and just heading straight home, where I could hide away under my blankets and wake up tomorrow pretending that this all had been some silly nightmare. But I needed him close to me more than I needed to be alone. Nate was calm and predictable. Nate was solid, always. The world somehow felt much less scary when I was standing next to him, breathing in the same air he touched.
    The street in front of his house and the driveway in the back were already packed in with cars, so I parked a few blocks over in an empty lot next to a hair salon. I jumped out and circled my car a few times, hesitating, before grabbing my phone and calling Nate.
    â€œMina?” he asked, yelling over the loud music and the laughter in the background. “Where are you? Are you still coming?”
    â€œHey,” I said, relief flooding through me at the sound of his voice. “Can you . . . Can you meet me outside quick?”
    â€œIs everything okay?” He paused, the noise around him fading away. “Hold on. I’m already on my way out.” The phone clicked off.
    I sprinted for three blocks, stopping to catch my breath at the edge of the sidewalk outside his house. The front