Innis Harbor

by Patricia Evans Cox

  Her phone pinged suddenly from across the room, and she jumped. It was Amir.

  Have any desire to have dinner tonight with my obnoxious brother and his family?

  She typed quickly and hit send before she changed her mind.

  I’d love to. I didn’t bring any nice clothes, though. Do I need to dress up?

  Her phone pinged back a few seconds later.

  God no, we’ll be lucky if my brother is wearing a shirt. Brace yourself. I’ll pick you up at six.

  That evening, Loch changed clothes three times before she decided on black skinny jeans, a white button-up, and black boots.

  Great, she thought, unbuttoning the shirt and dropping it back in her bag. I spend an hour deciding what to wear and end up looking like a waiter.

  In the end, she decided to go with a faded denim shirt and switched the boots out for her Chuck Taylors. She’d just pulled them on when she heard Amir’s truck pulling up outside. She raked her hands through her hair and grabbed her jacket just as she heard the doorbell. On the way out, Loch remembered the six-pack she’d gotten to take with her as she passed the kitchen and finally stepped out on the porch, beer in hand. Amir took it from her and set it on one of the chairs, then pulled Loch into her arms and kissed her, hands sliding from her shoulders into her hair, holding her gaze as she finally let her go.

  “Ready?”

  “I was,” Loch said, dropping her gaze to Amir’s mouth. “But now I just want you to do that again.”

  Amir smiled, picking up the beer and taking her hand as they walked down the steps. “Hopefully, you’ll still think that after you meet my family.”

  Hamid’s house was only five minutes away, an old Victorian at the north edge of town with a wraparound porch and kids’ toys strewn across the yard. The scent of charcoal and burgers on the grill surrounded Loch as soon as she stepped out of the truck.

  “Oh, no.” Loch stopped in her tracks as she suddenly remembered what she’d meant to tell Amir.

  “What’s wrong?” Amir asked, coming around to her side and shutting the truck door behind her. “Changed your mind?”

  “Not at all. I just forgot to tell you I’m a vegetarian. I usually try to tell people that before I come over, and I totally blanked.”

  “Thank God,” Amir said as she reached into the paper grocery bag she was carrying and held up a package of veggie dogs. “Because I’ve been the only vegetarian in the family since I was eight.”

  She took Loch’s hand, and they walked to the door, which opened dramatically the second they stepped onto the porch. A little girl in a fireman’s hat and a pink tutu stood in the doorway and studied them. “Am I supposed to let you in?”

  Amir matched her doubtful look. “Maybe. But you’d better ask your dad just in case.”

  She flounced back into the house and dragged Hamid back to the door a few seconds later. “They want to come in, Daddy.”

  Hamid paused, narrowing his eyes and studying Amir. “What do you think, Yasmin? Should we let them in?”

  Yasmin threw open the screen door and ran down the hall. Hamid motioned them in, then sprinted to the kitchen to pull a pot off the stove, turning around and offering his hand to Loch when it was safely on the counter.

  “Loch, this is my brother, Hamid,” Amir said. “Hamid, this is Loch Battersby.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” He glanced at Amir with a raised eyebrow before he turned back to Loch. “What can I get you to drink? We have white wine, I think, if Anna didn’t get into it last night, or we definitely have beer.”

  Amir handed him the six-pack. “Loch brought this, so you can put it in the fridge with the rest.”

  “I like you already.” Hamid pulled one out before he put them in the fridge. “I love Dogfish Head IPA. It’s my favorite, and Anna never lets me have it.”

  “What are you saying about me, Hamid?” Anna walked into the kitchen and thumped him affectionately on the arm. “Telling lies again?”

  She smiled at Amir, then froze. “Oh, my god,” she said slowly. “You’re Loch Battersby.”

  Loch smiled warmly and held out her hand. “I am, and thank you so much for having me over. I met your little girl when we got here. She’s precious.”

  Anna nodded, still staring, then managed to pull herself together enough to take Loch out to the back deck to meet Yasmin’s little brother, Hameen. Hamid waited until they’d just rounded the corner to turn to Amir and set his beer on the counter with a thunk.

  “Okay, obviously, that’s the girl from the pictures, but explain to me how Anna knows her by name.” He paused. “She’s fucking gorgeous, by the way. What the hell is she doing with you?”

  Amir laughed and punched at him, whispering for him to keep his voice down. “The last thing she needs is to have everyone make a big damn deal out of her being here. Just treat her like you would anyone else.”

  “So, she’s famous or something?”

  “She’s a model. I’m sure Anna knows her from ads or beauty campaigns or something.”

  “Oh, shit,” Hamid said suddenly, looking into the fridge. “I forgot to actually hand her a beer.”

  “Come on,” Amir said, still laughing as she picked up a plate of burgers from the counter. “Let’s get these on the grill before I starve to death.”

  “Not that the grill will do you much good.” Hamid took the plate from her and headed through the living room and toward the back deck. “I know you’re eating wheatgrass dogs or whatever you call them, don’t try to pretend you’re not.”

  “Every damn time.” Amir shook her head as she followed him out the glass doors. “You just can’t miss an opportunity to make fun of my grass dogs, can you?”

  Once everything was ready, they all sat around the long farm table at the end of the deck to eat, the fireflies out in luminous force as evening fell around them. The kids raced back and forth from the deck to the wide expanse of green grass beyond, stopping to eat a hot dog only because Anna threatened to hide the ice cream if they didn’t. Hameen was particularly displeased and stomped up the stairs, scowling until he saw Loch. He walked over to her, standing on his tiptoes to touch her hair with the flat of his hand when he was close enough.

  “Hameen!” Anna said from the other side of the table. “You need to ask before you touch people.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Loch said, leaning toward Hameen so he could inspect it more closely. “He’s just curious.”

  “Your hair is gray like old people,” he said, lifting it with his fingers. “Why do you have grandpa hair?”

  “That’s such a good question,” Loch said, smiling. “No one really knows. It just started growing in that way when I was about ten years old.”

  “Well, I like it,” he said as she sat back up. “It’s pretty.”

  He ran over to his spot at the table and poured a river of ketchup on his burger, chattering to his sister about Loch’s hair and grabbing a handful of chips off her plate when she turned to look.

  “Sorry about that,” Anna said. “You never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. He gets that from his dad.”

  “It was perfect.” Loch smiled. “I wish everyone was that honest.”

  “My niece Kelly is actually a huge fan of yours,” Anna said, handing Yasmin a napkin to wipe the mustard off her cheek. “She’s a sophomore in high school, although she’s threatening to drop out. She’s been having a rough time lately.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s gay and presents as masculine. She doesn’t identify as trans, but she prefers to be called Kiran.”

  “Presents as masculine?” Hamid swiped at the relish on his lip with a thumb. “What the hell does that mean?”

  He looked at Amir, who just smiled and shook her head in his direction. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”

  Anna rolled her eyes at Hamid and went on. “Anyway, the kids in her school just can’t get their heads around it, I guess.”

  Ami
r looked across the table at Loch. “Bar Harbor High is year-round, so she’s in school now, even though it’s summer.”

  Anna smoothly grabbed the butter knife Hameen had decided to pretend was a sword and put it on her plate. “Anyway, I think it’s really starting to get to her.”

  “Are there any other gay kids at her school?” Loch asked, pushing her plate toward Amir, who just slid it back to her.

  “So far, just some gay boys, and they’re great. I’ve met some of them, but it’s just not the same as having butch friends that get you.”

  “Okay,” Hamid said. “Someone needs to start explaining this stuff to me.”

  Anna nodded toward Amir. “Butch.”

  He looked at her blankly, then nodded, his face lighting up. “Ah, got it.”

  “Does she live around here?” Loch said.

  “Yep,” Anna said. “Just a few blocks down. My sister Darlene is a single mom, so she works all the time, and Kelly’s dad left when she was little.” She glanced at Hamid before she went on. “She’s not happy about her daughter being gay and kind of just avoids her, so Kelly’s over here a lot.”

  “I like her,” Hamid said. “She’s a good kid in spite of Darlene being an idiot.”

  “Hamid!” Anna said, glancing at the kids, who were trying to catch the fireflies hovering above the table. She leaned closer to Loch and whispered. “She’s my sister and I love her, but it’s kind of true, actually.”

  She reached out and caught Yasmin’s can of orange soda just as it was tipping over and set it back down on the table.

  “You know, if you think it might help, I’d love to meet her,” Loch said, then looked at her watch. “If it’s not too late on a school night.”

  “Are you serious?” Anna said. “That would be amazing, but I’m sure you have better things to do than talk to my angsty niece.”

  “Actually, there’s nothing more important than that,” Loch said. “I was in that situation once, so I kind of get it.”

  Anna touched her hand, then pulled out her phone and stepped away from the table to call Darlene.

  “That’s really sweet of you,” Amir said, pulling her close. “Thank you. I’ve been worried about her for months.”

  “So, what’s going on?” Hamid asked Amir. “I know she’s been down for a while, but Anna hasn’t told me the whole story yet.”

  Hamid opened a bottle of water and handed it to Loch.

  “She’s been dating one of the cheerleaders for a while, and someone saw them kissing and outed them to the whole school. The jocks had never really noticed her before, but now they all think it’s their job to put her in her place, like every cheerleader belongs to them or something.”

  “Great,” Hamid said. “They sound like jackasses, not that I’m surprised.”

  “Yeah,” Amir said. “They’ve been pretty relentless. She still hasn’t decided if she’s going to the summer dance coming up because she’s intimidated by those guys, and I can’t say I blame her.”

  Anna stepped back to the table and told Loch that Kelly was on her way as she scrolled through the pictures on her phone.

  “Do you remember that beauty campaign you did last Christmas for Dior where you wore a tux?”

  “God, yes,” Loch said. “It was shot in Times Square in the middle of the night and I just about froze.”

  Anna held her phone out and showed her a picture of a girl in a black tuxedo, standing by a Christmas tree.

  “That’s Kelly. She wore a tux last year to a school Christmas party because she saw you in that commercial on TV.”

  “Wow.” Loch glanced at Amir.

  “When she said she wanted to do it, we looked everywhere for a tux that was small enough to tailor to her size, and we finally found one the night before the party. I stayed up all night taking it in.”

  “Didn’t she meet her girlfriend that night?” Hamid said.

  “Yep, that’s the night she met Amy, the girl she’s dating now.”

  Everyone turned to look as they heard the front door open, and a few seconds later, Kelly walked through the kitchen and out onto the deck, stopping dead in place when she saw Loch. Loch got up and walked over to her.

  “Hi, Kiran,” she said. “I’m so happy to meet you. I’m Loch Battersby.”

  She just stood there, her hand covering her mouth, until she finally came to her senses and slowly shook Loch’s hand.

  “I can’t believe it’s you.” Her voice rattled the words as they came out. “And you know my name.”

  “Hey,” Loch said, walking back to the table and making a space for Kiran to sit beside her. “I just saw that picture of you in the tux last Christmas.”

  “You saw that?”

  “Yep,” Loch said. “And yours looked way better than mine when I did that commercial. You can’t see it, but the back was gathered with a million pins so it fit me. Yours was perfect.”

  “Anna took it in for me,” Kiran said, glancing over at her with a wide smile. “I loved it.”

  Everyone else turned back to their own conversations then and let Loch and Kiran talk.

  “If you don’t grab that girl up, you’re an idiot,” Hamid said, his voice low, leaning into Amir. “She’s a sweetheart. I can’t believe she just offered to hang out with some high school kid she’d never met.”

  “Believe me,” Amir said, watching the last of the fading sun glint off her hair as Loch threw her head back and laughed. “I know.”

  Hours later, Kiran went home with a big hug from Loch, and Hamid walked Amir and Loch to the door.

  “Thanks for hanging out with Kiran,” he said, squeezing Loch’s shoulder. “I want to help her, but I never know what to say.”

  “Thanks for the opportunity to meet her,” Loch said, smiling. “She’s a great kid.”

  Amir took Loch’s hand as they walked to the truck, then opened the door for Loch before she went around to the driver’s side.

  “Just so you know,” Loch leaned into Amir and whispered as she put the truck in gear and turned on the lights. “No one’s ever opened doors for me like you do. I like it.”

  Amir leaned over and slipped a hand around the back of her head, pulling her gently forward to kiss her. “My pleasure, Ms. Battersby.”

  The next morning, Amir finished loading the camping gear and filled the cooler with ice, remembering at the last minute to stack firewood in the back of the truck; the chances of Loch forgetting to start a campfire were slim to none.

  She’d just pulled up to Loch’s house when her phone rang. She picked it up and brushed a piece of bark off her shirt, then tossed it out the window. “Hey, Hamid, what’s up?”

  She listened, her fist tightening around the steering wheel. “What the fuck, how did that happen? Is she okay?”

  Amir glanced up at the house and nodded, sliding the truck into park and killing the engine. “Of course I can. I’m leaving now, I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

  She left her phone in the truck, clicking the lock as she climbed the hill to the door. Loch saw her through the window and opened the door.

  “I might be running behind a little bit,” Loch said, buttoning her shirt as she talked. “My bag is packed, but I don’t know where we’re going, so I can’t decide what to wear.”

  Amir stepped in and ran a hand through her hair. “We may actually be getting a late start anyway. Hamid just called and said Kiran got into a fight at school.”

  “What?” Loch stopped in place, her eyes wide. “Is she okay?

  “He said she’s got a black eye, but he doesn’t know what happened. He wants me to go check on her. She doesn’t want her mom or Anna to know about it, so she called him. He’s leading a seminar at work today and can’t leave.”

  Loch grabbed her jacket and opened the door. “Let’s go. You can tell me the rest on the way.”

  Amir looked at her. “Wait, you’re going with me?”

  “Only if you want me to,” Loch said, suddenly unsure. “Although I totally
understand if you’d rather go by yourself.”

  Amir pulled Loch into her arms, breathing in the scent of her hair before she let her go. “I’d love for you to go with me. It just didn’t occur to me that you’d want to.”

  “Well, what I really want to do is punch whoever hit her in the face, but I guess I’ll have to settle for just keeping you company.”

  “You may have to keep me from doing that.” Amir picked up Loch’s keys on the way out the door and locked it behind them. “Especially if she’s really hurt.”

  Loch glanced over at her as they started down the hill. “How did you know what key to use to lock the door?”

  “Because I cut it.” Amir smiled and handed her the keys. “My initials are on the back of every key I make.”

  Loch turned the key over in her hand and climbed into the truck. Amir shut the door behind her and walked around, climbing in and checking the rearview mirror before she pulled out.

  “I know this probably isn’t the best time to say this, but something about your initials being on my house key is incredibly sexy.”

  Amir reached over and slid her hand up Loch’s thigh, her gaze still on the road. “Good. Because I can cut you a thousand of them.”

  “Okay,” Loch said, turning toward her in the seat. “Tell me what else you know about what happened.”

  “That’s it, really,” Amir said. “No one saw the fight, so she’s not in trouble, and she doesn’t know we’re coming. Hamid just wants me to make sure she’s really okay.”

  “Do you think it was the guys that have been harassing her?”

  “Absolutely.” Amir changed lanes and looked over at Loch. “As far as I know, they’ve never gotten physical with her before, though, and it worries me that it’s escalating.”

  When they got to Bar Harbor, they pulled into the high school parking lot, and Amir texted Kiran to come out to her truck.