Blackout: Act 2

I pat down my edges nervously, and maneuver past him.

The idea of telling him swishes around my head until I relent.

Seconds later, I’m breathing hard and standing over a singed playing card, which is still partially under my boot.

She has a handful of silver bangles on each wrist and they tinkle every time her dog moves because she’s holding the leash so loosely.

Her dog—an all-black pit bull with a wrinkly muzzle—has a blue bandanna tied around his neck and is wearing a vest that says Love on a Leash.

I’m not proud to admit it, but staring is one of my (many) vices.

And I’m still straight-up ogling her when my phone starts buzzing against my thigh.

I jump like I’ve been caught cheating, knowing it’s a text from Bree, and my heart is racing, but I can’t tell if it’s because of my recent stint as a literal fire extinguisher, the message waiting for me, or the girl in the doorway.

“Okay!” Mimi, the director of enrichment, says. She was leading the activities and was the one who suggested playing cards in a room full of candles.

Aida shakes her head, adjusts her hijab, and rolls her eyes at her husband, Mordechai, whose yarmulke is crooked atop his balding head, while setting down her cards too.

Aida shakes her head, adjusts her hijab, and rolls her eyes at her husband, Mordechai, whose yarmulke is crooked atop his balding head, while setting down her cards too.

I’m remembering all the things Grandpop Ike has said about Jocelyn, the girl who brings her therapy- certified dog to Althea House every Tuesday afternoon.

It’s why I’ve avoided visiting him on Tuesdays—I didn’t want to bump into Joss and Ziggy, the dynamic duo he was convinced I’d be obsessed with.

After the lights went out and everyone started to panic, Mimi thought it would be a good idea to try to maintain some of the activities she’d already planned for the evening. You know, to keep everyone occupied and hopefully calm—so we could all ride out the blackout in peace.

And when she starts playing something contemporary and upbeat, I can’t help but think, Who the hell is this girl?

(Obsessively rereading texts is another vice of mine.)

The dog curls up right by Pop's feet and lays his big head on the toe of Aida’s orthopedic sneaker.

I was the super in her building. And I was trying to tell the tenants to stay inside because everyone was going nuts, looting, setting fires.

In the center of the floor there’s a blanket spread out with small packets of snack crackers and chips on fancy china, a ceramic teapot, and cups with the leftover dregs of tea.

I told Pop and my mom to buy a crap ton of snacks from the vending machine, and we spread them out on her hospital bed and had this combination tea party picnic. It made her so happy and cheered the rest of us up too. So now sometimes when I’m sad, Pop will tell me to ‘bring reinforcements.’

But he was so sweet and cute. I could tell, from seeing the dogs my Nan had worked with, that he had the right temperament to be a therapy dog.

Did you know that pit bulls are the most euthanized breed?

We started out visiting kids at the hospital and then started going to old people’s homes. I make hospice visits once a month with him, but I can’t do those too often for my own mental health.

“But I’m guessing the photo must smell like the wallet, right? Since it was usually in the wallet? Maybe it smells like the leather. Maybe Zigs can help us search more efficiently.”

I slide open the door and Ziggy hops over the threshold, sniffs around, and lifts his leg before peeing a perfect arc through the railing and off the side of the balcony.

I fiddle with my necklace, a rose gold locket Bree got me for my birthday that makes me more acutely aware of my aloneness, that makes the distance from Joss seem even wider.

She just wanted to be friends the whole time but I totally thought something else was going on. Now when she checks on me, it just feels so tainted. Like she sees me as this clueless little kid she has to take care of.

She finds a laundry basket full of clean clothes and starts lifting the folded shirts and pants, meticulously checking between each article of clothing.

You put out a fire with nothing but your boot- clad feet!

I reach out and touch one of her long braids, and it feels soft and substantial, like everything else about her is too.

It’s thickly sweet, like the butterscotch candy we took from Queenie’s bedside table, but there’s something underneath the syrupy flavor that I know must be essentially Joss too.

We’re gonna have to work on your pessimism. Don’t you think it’s possible that this could be good? That maybe this won’t lead to disaster at all?

I reach out and place my hand on the part of her belly that I’ve been staring at since she walked into Althea House. I thank the universe and current fashion trends and God himself for this particular midriff top and the access it affords me.

Aida and Mordechai are bickering, completely oblivious to us.

There’s a gorgeous old lady I’ve never seen before sitting in the center of the sofa in a fur- fringed robe, holding a glass of wine.