“Hey Lils, you made it!” Becca stood, beaming. “I thought Friday would never come.” She was wearing a jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up, cuffed cutely. Her green plaid scarf and black purse were draped on the back of the chair.
Eliza smiled back at her. “Becca, hello."
Becca gestured to the chair across from her. “Actually wait, do you want to order first before you sit? The line’s not bad right now."
Order, right. Lord help, Eliza thought glancing toward the counter where a young man with multiple earrings stood behind a machine, behind of which was a giant wall of drinks and the chalk menu that accompanied them.
“Becca, I must confess..."
"Oh, a confession? Go on."
"Well, I know not what to order,” Eliza admitted.
“Oh, have you never been here?" Becca's eyebrows lifted. "You should let me order for you."
Eliza nodded yes, then watched as Becca walked up to the counter, leaned over and greeted the barista. Everything about her seemed effortless... the way she flipped her hair, the confidence in her voice. There was no one like her in all of Salem Village.
Eliza's attention drifted to the window. People bustled past in their coats, bundled up as snow swirled all around. Snow back home meant gathering and rationing wood out for the cold night, bundling up for warmth with hides smelling of smoke. Here, people walked around freely, protected by endless layers of warm fabric.
“Here you go.” Becca returned with a generously sized mug decorated with candy canes, setting it in front of Eliza. “It's a crème brûlée latte, you'll have to trust me on this one.”
Eliza lifted the mug cautiously, blowing on it the way she’d seen Lucy do with hot chocolate.
“So,” Becca said, sipping her own latte. “How are you feeling? You seem to be doing better since...you know, everything."
Eliza nodded, understanding she was talking about the incident in Gains' History class.
"You had me scared, you didn't seem like yourself. Even Gains looked worried.” Becca’s expression turned serious. “Has that happened before, those panic attacks?”
Eliza took a sip to buy herself time. The latte was creamy and sweet, the brown sugar flavor nearly overwhelming.
“This is strong,” she said, genuinely caught off guard.
“Right? I told you.” Becca grinned. “But seriously, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
There was a genuine concern in Becca's look that made Eliza want to be honest.
“Much has happened recently,” Eliza said carefully. “It has been... difficult to adjust.”
“With Stevon?” Becca reached across the table, her hand coming close to Eliza’s, but not quite touching.
Eliza was grateful that Lucy had throughly briefed her on Lilith’s best friend who had died. “Yes, Stevon. Among other things.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I’m really sorry, Lils.” Becca put her hand fully on Eliza’s. “I know he was your best friend and y’all were always together. Losing someone like that so suddenly... I can’t even imagine.”
The kindness in her voice made Eliza want to cry, even though this was about Lil's friend. She thought of her own mother, whose loss she still felt down to her core.
“You are...” Eliza squeezed Becca’s hand briefly and set her hands back in her own lap. "Uncommonly kind."
Becca grabbed Eliza's hand under the table, her thumb tracing a small circle on Eliza’s wrist. Eliza very nearly froze and fell off her chair. Modern people were so overly friendly. But yet it was oddly welcome, a confusing feeling.
“So what have you been doing with all your extra time now that you're off socials? Besides reading every history book in existence, I bet.”
Eliza searched for a safe answer. “I...I have been spending time with Lucy and Aunt Ivy."
“That’s sweet. I barely talk to my brother anymore. He’s a sophomore at UMass and acts like he’s too cool for me now. Are you close with Lucy?"
“Yes, Lucy is dear to me,” Eliza said, and she meant it. Lucy had become her absolute lifeline in this strange new world.
“You’re lucky." Becca smiled. “Okay, another question. If you could travel back in time to any period in history, where would you go?”
Eliza nearly choked, setting her drink down. “If I could... what?”
“Travel back in time. If you could visit any time, where would you go?” Becca’s eyes were searching. “I feel like I already know your answer."
“I...” Eliza’s mind blew through a variety of answers. “I think... I would stay here, in this time.”
Becca laughed, surprised. “Wait, really? I thought you’d want to go back and see the Salem witch trials or something."
Eliza shook her head. “I think that the past is better left in the past."
Becca tilted her head, studying her. “I agree. You’re different recently, you know that?”
Eliza silently panicked for a moment. Had she been answering strangely? “Different how?”
“I don’t know. More... open? You're not as focused on history as usual." Becca’s tone turned teasing. “Maybe it’s just seeing you outside of school."
“It could be the company,” Eliza said without thinking. Becca’s face lit up.
“Yeah?” Becca’s voice dropped to a near whisper, and Eliza leaned in to hear her better. “I’m glad you came today. I wasn’t sure if you’d actually show.”
“Why would I not come?”
“I don’t know. You always seem so... I thought you felt like hanging out with me was boring or shallow or something. And especially after Stevon, he was so cool.”
“Boring?” Eliza shook her head. “How could I think so? This is far from boring. This is...” She gestured around the café. “This is like heaven."
Becca laughed. “It’s just Gulu Gulu... but you're charming.” She took another sip of her latte. “So, confession time. I’ve kind of wanted to ask you to hang out for like, two years.”
“Two years?” Eliza’s eyes widened. “Why did you not ask before?”
“I don’t know. You seemed really focused on school stuff, and I didn’t want to bother you. Plus you hung out with Stevon all the time and...” Becca’s cheeks pinked slightly. “I guess I was kind of intimidated by you.”
“Intimidated?”
“Yeah. You’re like, crazy smart, and you have that whole mysterious thing going on. I kept chickening out.” Becca laughed self-consciously. “Actually, when you had that panic attack on Monday, it was kind of a relief in a weird way. Like, oh, she’s actually human.”
Eliza didn’t know how to respond to that, and blushed despite herself.
“Well, I am very glad you asked me,” Eliza said finally.
“Me too.” Becca meet Eliza's gaze, taking a sip of coffee.
They talked for another two hours and change, with Eliza mainly asking Becca questions. Becca told stories about her photography class, about the art show she was considering entering, and her family’s trip to Ireland last summer. Eliza listened, occasionally chiming in. She was startled by how easy it was to talk to Becca.
“Oh my God,” Becca said, checking her phone. “We’ve been here for over two hours."
Two hours had felt like twenty minutes to her.
“I should summon my aunt,” Eliza said, though she didn’t want to leave. She pulled out her phone and managed to text Ivy a thumbs up emoji: 👍
“Okay, cool. I’ll wait with you.”
They stood together outside, and Becca stopped to brush snow from Eliza’s hair.
“Hey, Lils?”
“Yes?”
Eliza’s pulse quickened, thudding in her ears.
Then suddenly, Becca leaned in and pressed her lips to the corner of Eliza’s mouth. It was barely a kiss, but still.
A car pulled up, Aunt Ivy’s Jetta. Eliza felt a mix of relief and also dizzy disappointment.
“That’s Aunt Ivy, I need to go.” she said.
“Goodnight, Lils,” she said, already backing away. "I had the best time."
Eliza climbed into the Jetta, her hand coming up to touch the corner of her mouth where Becca’s lips had just been. Goodnight Lils. Just for that once, she wished Becca had been able to say Goodnight Eliza.
“So, how did it go?” Aunt Ivy asked, pulling into traffic, a knowing smile on her face.
Eliza didn’t answer outright, just smiled and nodded. Ivy could see that she was in a pleasant daze and knew to leave well enough alone. Her hand continued to hover over where Becca had barely kissed her, still tasting crème brûlée. In Salem Village, a kiss like that between two women who were not kin would be labeled a sin, if not out of sisterly love. But here... here it was just a simple kiss.
A kiss that was definitely wanted, Lord help her.
She found herself momentarily happy that Lucy was not here to witness this so that she could compose herself. She wanted to savor this all on the car ride home without interruption.
For the first time since she had been swapped, Eliza did not want to go back home.