sigh, she wrapped her hand around my forearm. "You. I get you."
"Charming," I said with a bitter laugh. "Pick that skill up at the voodoo shop, did you?"
After another indulgent sigh, Zelda said, "It would be so cool if you could tell me what's really bothering you. I could guess but we're already behind schedule because you needed an entire hen-house-worth of eggs and I don't think your sister is loving the delay." She tipped her head down the street, where my mother and Magnolia were watching us. "While it's not your norm, you could take this moment to be real with me about your feelings."
"I know I'm not paying you to watch me try on suits," I snapped. "I don't rely on feelings to make decisions, Miss Besh."
"Wow," she breathed, rocking back on her heels. "Wow. Whatever is happening in there"—she glanced to my forehead—"it's big stuff. It's real heavy if we're all the way back at Miss Besh."
"Ash!" Magnolia shouted, furiously gesturing to her wrist. "Let's go, dude."
Zelda set off toward my mother and sister, leaving me gazing after her.
"Come on," she called, not looking back in my direction. "We'll unpack this later."
I shuffled after her, not caring whether I was being petulant. "Nothing to unpack," I muttered.
She waited for me at the door to the tailor's shop, her hand covering the handle and her gaze clear, all the heat and joy and amusement I'd come to expect from her absent. "Let's straighten a few things out before we go in there," she said, jerking her chin toward the shop. "Most importantly, you need to fight fair. I'll fight with you all day long but only when you do it fair. Don't throw my so-called voodoo shop experience back at me because I recognize you and your eccentricities and all the little mood hurricanes swirling around inside your head. Don't do that shit."
I nodded. "Fine but I'd like you to stop unpacking me. I don't like it."
"Okay," she said. "I'll mention that I'm only telling you what I see but hey, it's cool. You don't want to be seen. You want to distract everyone by being above reproach. No problem."
"You're doing it right now," I said. "This. What you're doing. I don't like it. I never asked you to know me and my eccentricities. Okay? That's not part of the gig. I need someone who can handle my schedule and clean up spreadsheets, not a fucking life coach."
Zelda paused for a second, studying the passing cars and people before saying, "Your mother thinks we're going to get married and give her a fleet of grandbabies. As there is nothing further from the truth and she's your mother, you need to fix that."
"All right. I will," I replied. "What else do we need to discuss?"
"Nothing." Still focused on the street, she said, "You go inside. I'm going to stay here and make some calls."
Because I was a goddamn fool who felt entitled to everything about this woman and didn't want her out of my sight for a minute, I asked, "What calls do you need to make on a Saturday morning?"
"I need to find a place to stay tonight," she replied. "And…the rest of the week."
I stared at her for a moment, searching her face as she eyed the swarm of Lyfts and Ubers. "If you hadn't—um—if last night hadn't been what it was, where would you have stayed?"
Her shoulders lifted, fell. "Not sure. I was going to figure that out when the flight landed. See if any friends had a free couch." Another shrug. "That's the beauty of having friends from college and grad school. Everyone knows someone and someone always has a free couch." She shot me a quick, hollow grin before turning a gorgeous, glowing smile on a couple walking a pair of chocolate Labs. After they passed, she said, "I'll figure it out. It's what I do best."
I was a goddamn fool and I was entitled, and I didn't fight fair and I was an eccentric, moody hurricane. And I didn't understand the first thing about my reactions to Zelda. I didn't know why my stomach dropped to my toes at the thought of her not knowing where she'd spend the night. I couldn't explain why my skin prickled cold when she insisted she always figured it out.
And there was no justifying my decision to announce, "I have an extra room. You'll stay with me."