Stay a Little Longer

by Dawn Lanuza

  But he didn’t. He was an outsider. Caty looked down at her feet and thought she probably seemed the same. She did know these streets and which way to go, but since moving here she’d never felt more like she was with somebody who was just like her.

  nine

  She was talking to the guy at the customer service desk when his phone rang. He saw his sister’s name and hesitated to answer. She’d understand. She knew he was in New York, and he had told her why.

  But that only made him worry more. Since Gia knew about Caty, she must be calling for an important reason. His hand hovered over the screen, contemplating, but she dropped the call.

  She must have forgotten, Elan thought. She could text him if she really needed something.

  They were at Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers because it was on the list. The bookstore was one of the first places she’d visited in New York as a teenager.

  He stared blankly at the books in front of him until she returned. “Any luck?”

  “No,” she answered. She was looking for a certain book, and it wasn’t on the shelves. Caty peered at the shelf in front of him. “Anything you’re looking for?”

  “Actually . . .” Elan stretched his hand out and grabbed a book with a red spine—Arthur Rimbaud Complete Works. “This is the same guy, right?”

  “Same guy as what?”

  “The one you mentioned in your note.” Elan turned to her, holding the book.

  She quickly looked down at her feet. “Which one?”

  “You wrote me more than one?”

  Caty snatched the book from him. “I told you to google it.”

  “You said maybe I shouldn’t,” he countered.

  She rolled her eyes, opening the book. “You can do what you want, you know. You don’t have to do everything I tell you.”

  He smiled, watched her run her hands down the table of contents. “So you want proof that poem actually exists? That I wasn’t just making up excuses for leaving you that morning?”

  “Hey, you said it.”

  She flipped the book open and handed it to him. “Of course it exists. If you must know, it’s one of my favorites.”

  He was delighted that she was sharing her favorites with him, and now he would like to read the rest of the book, even if he didn’t know a thing about poetry. She hadn’t really talked about poetry when they were texting, just that she had read it. He wondered what more he could be missing since their time together was so limited. He took the book from her and read “Le Dormeur du Val” in French, then the translation on the next page. He had actually googled it and read it once or twice, but he really just wanted to bring it up with her now.

  Elan felt Caty’s eyes on him as he read on, and he took his time until he reached the very end. “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “You thought I looked dead.”

  Caty scrunched up her nose. “I knew you would say that.”

  And then there was that: a familiarity between them, and they knew each other well enough to guess each other’s reactions. She’d known he would say that, and in turn, he knew how she would respond.

  “You looked peaceful,” she explained. “Ignore that last line.”

  “But that was the point of this whole poem.”

  “Okay . . . for you. But I liked the imagery, so that was the point of it for me.”

  Elan closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. “I thought the point of it was that you left me your number.”

  She smiled but quickly turned around. “Yeah, well. I’ve accepted the fact that you’re not just Juliana’s law school friend or Kip’s friend or whatever. You’re also . . .”

  He caught up to her, just in time for her to say, “Mine.”

  Mine.

  Elan paused and thought his smile expressed so much relief that it showed. Caty smiled back, hers more of joy than relief, and for a while everything stopped. Time and the world around them froze as they looked in each other’s eyes.

  Until his phone rang.

  Caty quickly averted her eyes, “Oh hey, Lucian was looking for that book.”

  Elan watched Caty as the intimate moment disintegrated. But it wasn’t her fault. It was the thing he was holding in his hands.

  One missed call. Five messages.

  Gia: Who’s Mom’s doctor again?

  Gia: Where do you keep her papers?

  Gia: Don’t worry, she’s fine, just taking her to the hospital.

  Gia: Do you know if she’s allergic to anything?

  Gia: They’ve got her records here. We’ll be okay. Sorry!

  He stared at his phone for the longest time, reading the whole thread of messages. There must have been a delay.

  He quickly dialed Gia’s number for the answers. She hadn’t even said what happened or what went wrong. Why was she taking their mom to the hospital?

  But did it have to happen now, really? When he left, she was okay; she’d just had her routine checkup. What the hell happened while he was away?

  The phone kept ringing, but Gia didn’t answer. Elan sent texts asking her what had happened.

  He looked up and saw Caty turning back to him, brows furrowed.

  “You okay?”

  Elan slid his phone back to his pocket, “Yeah.”

  He saw her hesitate, worry showing on her face before she said, “I’ll just pay for this one, and then let’s go to the next stop, okay?”

  They were done. They had walked around the city, taking in the sights, talking about things they’d written about over the past six months and some that they hadn’t. It was dark, and Caty’s feet ached.

  There were some places on Elan’s list that they weren’t able to cover considering the distance and their time, but there was one place that they knew they had to visit.

  She was trying to decide whether she should introduce Elan to Lucian on this first night or if it was better to save it for the next—if there actually would be a next night. She wasn’t so sure anymore. Everything was fine for the first few hours, but as the day dragged on, Elan seemed to be in a rush. He was insisting on meeting Lucian today. Maybe he was just nervous? Overwhelmed?

  But Caty agreed it might be better to see Lucian the first night because she also really wanted the two to meet. She imagined it should be more of a lunch setting, though, with Lucian’s boyfriend, Jimmy, but she’d talked so much about Riot! that of course it made his list. So here they were, in line at the front door.

  “How are you with crowds?”

  “Okay,” Elan answered, “I live in the city too, you know.”

  Caty smiled. “Sure, but how are you with loud crowds?”

  “I’ve had my share of public transportation in the Philippines; I think I can definitely handle crowds.”

  “Right.”

  Elan paused, eyeing her. “Does Lucian know I’m coming?”

  “Yes, I told him. I even asked him to meet us for lunch tomorrow.”

  He hesitated. “You seem nervous.”

  Her eyes widened. She thought that was him, but of course, duh. He knew that she considered Lucian to be family, so this suddenly felt as big as meeting her parents. This is meeting Lucian.

  “Promise you’ll be cool with all of this?” Caty asked.

  He looked at her, confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Caty blurted out, “You might get hit on by men taller than you. In full makeup and heels. And sparkly dresses.”

  She knew it would be a deal breaker if he turned out to be the guy who couldn’t handle that. She had dropped men like flies the moment they said something remotely idiotic and rude about her friends.

  It was a risk, because she already liked Elan so much, but every time she mentioned Lucian and Jimmy or Riot!, he seemed cool about it.

  “I can’t say that hasn’t h
appened before, so it’s okay.” Elan smiled.

  She nodded, took another step, and they found themselves right by the entrance. Caty simply flashed a smile at the bouncer—they were on a first-name basis—and stepped inside. Caty loved Riot! because it was a place of freedom, love, and laughter.

  She spotted Lux’s big, blond hair right away. She was talking to friends in her usual way—loud, and a little bit obnoxious, but always fun. Caty let go of Elan’s arm to wave and get her attention.

  When Lux spotted them, she excused herself and made her way back to them. She was feeling her Britney Spears fantasy that night and wore her own interpretation of the iconic jewel-encrusted bodysuit Britney wore at the VMAs.

  “Hi, Caty Cat.” She leaned in to give Caty three kisses on the cheek, like the Dutch. One brow arched at the sight of Elan. “Who’s the dish?”

  Lux knew exactly who he was. Caty had only told her a hundred times. “This is Elan.”

  “Hi,” Elan said with a smile.

  Lux offered her hand, and he took it. They shook once. It would have been better if he kissed it, like Lux wanted, so she pursed her lips. “Well, if it isn’t Caty’s nap buddy. In the flesh.”

  Caty coughed and laughed it off. Elan straightened his back, then laughed. “I guess that’s me.”

  Lux grinned, still gripping Elan’s hand with both of hers. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Caty glanced at him to see his reaction. He looked a bit surprised by the question, so she jumped in. “Really? That’s your first question?”

  Lux ignored her and winked at Elan. “Mind you, you’re not the only one she’s had a nap with in this lifetime, but you’re the one that stuck, I see.”

  “Really.”

  Caty shook her head. “The only one who got to meet the fabulous Lux.”

  Elan smiled. “Hey, that’s nice.”

  “Not really.” Lux shook her head, finally letting his hand go. She was tall and even taller with her seven-inch heels. “I’ve never met any of her men. She’s scared that I’m gonna snatch them away. So what does that tell me about you?”

  Elan shrugged.

  Caty put a hand on his shoulder. Habits, she thought as she patted him. “Don’t be sassy, Luxie. I like this one.”

  Lux put a hand on her hip and smirked, “So what are you fake love birds doing for tomorrow?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it? What were they going to do tomorrow and for all the hours they had left? She didn’t want to think about it, but she had been counting the hours. Subtracting them from her assumed total.

  So that’s what had happened to her—she’d become the girl who counted the hours. She bit her nail and listened to Elan talk about where they’d been all day, how he loved the food trucks, and how they scoured Brooklyn Flea for the most random things.

  She smiled while she listened, until she realized that she’d never walk around Dumbo again without thinking of Elan.

  Lux noticed the change in her expression. “You all right, darling?”

  She waved her hand. “Just a bit tired from all the walking.”

  “Let’s find a seat,” Elan suggested.

  Lux smirked, “Relax, lover boy. She sits by the bar—her butt’s basically embossed on it by now.”

  Caty laughed as they headed to the bar. She said hey to the bartenders and ordered a drink.

  “You should go to a museum tomorrow,” Lux suggested. “The tourists love that.”

  “I don’t know,” Caty shrugged. “We’re gonna see how tonight goes. I just couldn’t let him leave New York without seeing Riot!, and this might be his only night. I really don’t know.”

  He’d never told her the exact time his flight was leaving, but she couldn’t imagine having Elan for two nights. She just couldn’t wrap her head around it.

  “Well, you only need one, am I right?” Lux teased.

  Elan caught that and grinned. He knew. He knew she talked about him with Lux and that they weren’t just teasing him earlier.

  Caty shook her head, telling her to stop.

  “What?” Lux’s eyes widened. “But just so you know, Elan, you can’t just fly in and fly out of New York.”

  “I told him the exact same thing.”

  Elan laughed apologetically. “It is a shame.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” was Lux’s only reply.

  “So I had to show him the best of the best right away, right?” Caty perked up.

  “Welcome to Riot!” Lux raised her arms up, and the crowd cheered. “You might want to unbutton that shirt a bit—we don’t do stuck-up here.”

  Caty giggled and eyed Elan’s shirt. He laughed too, but he didn’t unbutton it.

  “I better jet,” Lux said, blowing air-kisses to them both this time. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

  Caty breathed deeply, taking in the energy of the room. There was cackling, sequins, and big hair. For her, being there was the closest thing to being with family.

  Caty turned to Elan, and he took a deep breath too. “I like her.”

  “Wait ’til you meet Lucian,” she smiled.

  “That’s not him?”

  Caty grinned. “It is, it is. Lux, Lucian, one and the same. Lucian wears less makeup, though.”

  Elan nodded, and she could see that he was collecting all the information. Facts. Trivia. Images of her life here in his head. It felt as if she was being stripped naked, and not in the way she preferred. But she shook the thought out of her head and reminded herself that he’d only be here for a few more hours. She would make it as pleasing as he needed it to be. Caty looked over at his beer bottle. “You good? You want anything else?”

  He cleared his throat. “Actually, I need to tell you something.”

  The lights dimmed, and Caty knew the show was starting. Her head whipped back to the stage. “Wait, it’s starting.”

  “What is?”

  A spotlight turned on the stage, revealing a lady wearing a black leather one-piece suit. She had her back turned, and the music started to play. Caty tapped his arm, eyes still fixed on the stage. “Only the most entertaining thing you’ll ever see in your life.”

  Elan had never seen anything like it before. It was loud and hilarious and peculiar. And then there was Caty. She was fixated on the stage, her eyes lighting up, laughing at every punch line. Lux was onstage too now, lip synching a mash-up of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and then Britney Spears’s “Toxic.” She was easily one of the crowd’s favorites, and she obviously loved the attention, exaggerating her moves every time they cheered.

  When the show ended, Caty ran backstage, and he was left alone at the bar, politely nodding to everyone. They knew he was a newbie because they all seemed to recognize each other here, Caty included. When she returned to him, she was bubbly and bouncy.

  “You okay?” she finally asked.

  He nodded. He was. He was just . . . worried. She was having the best time, and he was about to tell her something disappointing. He really should have told her earlier. If she knew, they probably would have done things differently. Not that he didn’t like what they had done. Walking around from place to place was fun, but he felt as if he needed to just have her in one place for a time so they could both settle.

  “All right, next stop is on you. Where do you want to go next?”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “How about we just retire to my room?”

  Caty leaned back. “Jeez, Grandpa.”

  “I have to fly out in the morning.” Not the way he should have said that, but it was close to midnight, and he only had a couple of hours left. He knew that he should have said something to her when he decided to move his flight to an earlier one, but he screwed up. He couldn’t hold off any longer, no matter how much he wanted to.

  Elan watched her mou
th open and eyes widen, giving away her shock.

  “Emergency,” he added. To explain why. To make his departure less rash. “I just found out this morning.”

  She blinked a couple of times before she shook her head. “Okay.”

  Elan winced, not sure what to do. Should he tell her more? But he couldn’t. It was just too all over the place. He had already told her about some of these things. How there was only him, his sister, and his mother. How his mother had been getting sick recently. How much that had been bothering him.

  She stumbled over the words, “I guess we should call it a night.”

  Elan thought she would say goodbye to her friends, but she started walking and went straight to the door and out to the street.

  He caught up with her, nodding at people he’d been introduced to when they said goodbye, then tugged at her hand. “Wait, that’s not what I meant when I said we should retire to my room.”

  “Say retire one more time—” Caty looked back at him, finally. She had recovered and no longer seemed surprised or disappointed. Instead, she looked annoyed. “It’s really not helping your case, Grandpa.”

  Elan decided he’d better do something. She had been pulling away since coming to Riot!, and he didn’t know why. So he held on to her arms, pulled her in, and looked her in the eye. “What’s going on?”

  “What?”

  “You’ve been avoiding me all night.”

  “Are you serious?” Her brows furrowed. “I was with you the entire time.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Riot! is great, but we can’t even have a decent conversation in there.”

  “You wanted to go to Riot! You wanted to meet Lucian.”

  “I did. But just the whole day, we’ve been running around the city like we’re in a rush—”

  “It’s New York! You wanted me to show you New York!”

  “I wanted to see you.”

  He felt Caty soften, her shoulders slumping.

  “Did you not have fun?” She stepped to his side, and he let his fingers slide away. “Didn’t you like everything?

  “I did.” Elan watched her ease herself out of his hold. “That’s not what I’m saying.”