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“Hey, my friend finder says you’re nearby, let’s meet up.”
“I know its far for you, but any time you’re in the neighborhood you’re welcome to stop by. Here’s a selfie.”
It catches up to Sofia slowly that she is reshaping her life around Esther and Ricky. She’s still defending women from their lowlife boyfriends and lurking at the edges of roofs, but instead of traveling all across New York searching for trouble she keeps finding herself back in Chantry Hill. And, so what about that? There’s nothing strange about sticking to one place for a while. She’s certainly stuck with Staten Island through heartbreak and betrayal. Maybe Chantry Hill just has the best skyscrapers, with the best handholds and views. There must be a reason Ricky likes it there, after all. And maybe Chantry Hill just has unusually high rates of domestic squabbling. Not Esther and Ricky, of course. Ricky would never, and Esther’s so strong and confident and smart and pretty, with her hair, which is very stylish and Sofia would know, and her very trendy clothes, and that big smile that Esther lets herself share now. It’s a normal situation, for a bereaved woman of a certain age, to.. to start making new friends, and if some of those friends are a couple, that’s even more friends to have. And if Sofia sometimes feels like a third wheel on their dinners out and their dinners in, she can always excuse herself to start the long, crowded journey home.
“I’ve got some research on deep dreaming we could go over together. Coffee at our place?”
“Safety is important, so if you ever need a spotter I’m here for you. Also, Ox is here for you. And Esther always wants to see you. You know that, right? Awesome.”
So, they’ve got some shared research goals, Sofia and Esther, and its good for the city to collaborate, for the Order of the Concrete Fist to share their resources. She even convinces Esther to visit Staten Island once. Only once, but she stayed for a full day, looking at manuscripts and getting sandwiches at Spaghetti’s and even meeting Sofia’s mom, and boy wasn’t that a trial, jeez, you know somebody loves you when they won’t stop embarrassing you in front of your platonic research friend.
Ricky keeps trying to take care of her, and when did his safety lectures go from annoying to endearing? At his request she’s been teaching Ricky hand to hand combat, since he gave up the questing blade to D-.. to.. to Dale, god rest his stupid handsome kissable staying-in-heaven-for-your-own-good soul. Ricky has abilities she lacks, especially when it comes to deescalating conflicts. Sofia only knows how to push. She always goes too fast, comes on too strong, puts herself up in the front of a fight well beyond where her friends can help. It’s nice to spar with Ricky, though. Sometimes she lingers, long after a lesson, dangling her feet over the edge of a building and watching the snarl of traffic and people below, until Ricky smiles at her and says its time for him to go home to Esther. He always invites Sofia along, but she doesn’t let herself say yes.
They made her a calendar as a gift, completely unusable because ever month is March. Except for one page of November right near the end which Esther posed for, wearing an enormous sweater and a sheepish grin and very little else. Sofia almost died of shock the first time she saw it, flipping through pages during some, ah, “personal relaxation time.” She felt incredibly guilty afterwards, but surely they wouldn’t have given her a calendar like that and not expected her to look?
“You don’t have to drive all the way home tonight—stay with us.”
The first time Esther kisses her Sofia pulls away, but before she can apologize—for pushing, for misreading, for making everything about herself—Esther is already giving the same apology, and in her mouth Sofia’s words and worries about being too much become ridiculous. Of course Esther and Ricky deserve the best. No, they weren’t being obvious. No, its not greedy to want more of a good thing. Sophia catches Ricky’s eye as he gives her a grin and a thumbs up, looks down at Esther’s hands clasped between her own, and realizes she’s convinced herself. Esther gently cups the back of her head and leans in for a second try, and something inside Sofia sits up and purrs.
Her psychic was very specific, three men, and one tower, but maybe the tower was a cozy clocktower apartment, and the fall was falling in love. And the three men are three people, Ricky and Esther and herself, together in a way she had never imagined was possible. She still thinks about drinking all the time, but its been easier, lately. A lot of things are easier when you have people you can rely on, who you can protect, who will always catch you no matter how far up you are when you fall.