“I’m looking for Lena Tanner. Any idea where I might find her?” Summer asked when she arrived at Lena’s open office door and noticed the woman was heavily engaged in a fight with her keyboard.

  “Hey.” Lena looked up and offered a smile. “Is it time already?” she asked and then glanced at her screen. She was wearing those glasses again. Summer smirked as she still squinted at her computer. “It is. Sorry, I lost track of time. I’ve done that twice today already.”

  “It’s okay,” Summer replied and took a few steps into Lena’s office. “Do you need a few minutes to finish up?”

  “No, I’m good. Just let me send this.” She clicked some keys. “And I’m ready.”

  “Perfect. I’m starving. I was thinking about burritos. I’ve been craving them for a few days now,” Summer said.

  “I can do burritos.” Lena smiled as she grabbed her purse and approached Summer. “Do you know a good place?”

  “No, but there’s an app for that.” Summer pulled out her phone, and they proceeded toward the elevators.

  ◆◆◆

  They decided upon a small Mexican eatery about ten blocks away. Summer had ordered a car, but she found it challenging to start up a conversation while they were driving. Lena seemed distracted. She stared out the side window at the streets as they drove along. Summer wondered if it had anything to do with their earlier conversation. When they arrived at the restaurant that had gotten great reviews specifically for their burritos, they found it nearly packed with only one tiny table available. It was clearly not a place people went to for ambiance. Summer and Lena stood side by side in the line, waiting their turn for the employee in a burrito hat to take their order. Again, Summer felt the awkwardness that hadn’t occurred in her relationship with Lena so far. Summer grabbed the plastic stand that indicated their number, and they headed to the table. She placed the number thirty-four on the end of the table and stared at Lena, who had just finished typing something into her phone.

  “I was kind of hoping we could talk about this morning,” Lena said.

  “Really? I’ve been trying to avoid bringing that up because I didn’t want to make you feel like you had to talk about it,” Summer replied.

  “Thank you, but it’s okay. I want to tell you about it. I just haven’t talked about it in a while. I don’t usually talk about it at all. I just told Charlie about what happened a couple of months ago, and she’s my best friend. No one else here knows.”

  “And you want to tell me?” Summer asked.

  “I do.” Lena gave a shy smile. “Is that okay?”

  “Of course, it’s okay,” Summer replied.

  “Leo was my twin, but personality wise, he was my polar opposite,” Lena began. “Where I was shy and a little withdrawn, he was loud and always a joiner. Where I focused on school and my future, Leo lived in the now and rarely studied. When I got into Yale, he barely made it into UConn, and that was with my parents greasing the wheels a little bit. My family is very well-off. My dad came from old money. He met my mom at a fundraising event for his older brother, my uncle, who was running for the US Senate. They fell in love.”

  “That’s nice,” Summer said when Lena took a breath.

  “It was kind of like the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, actually.” Lena laughed. “My dad is not Greek. My mom was born here, but her parents were born there. My mom has three brothers and a sister. I have a million cousins. Apparently, my grandparents did not approve of my father, but they married anyway. Leo and I came along two years later. Cale was born three years after that. He was kind of a surprise.”

  “Happy accident?” Summer laughed.

  “Yeah, my parents thought they were done having kids. My grandma said that Greek women shouldn’t stop having babies just because they had two at once.” She laughed. “She wanted my parents to have more, but my mom stopped at three. I think Leo and Cale were both big handfuls.”

  The server approached and dropped off their drinks and two giant burritos, removing the number sign as she walked off.

  “You weren’t a handful?” Summer used her plastic fork to open the burrito and check its contents.

  “I kept to myself. By the time Leo and I were old enough to cause any real trouble, he had Cale to help him out. I was usually along for the ride, but a non-participant,” Lena replied.

  “What was something they did that pissed your parents off?” Summer asked with a smile, hoping it wouldn’t bring up any bad memories for Lena.

  “Oh, God. Just one?” Lena poked at her own burrito. “Well, my favorite story involved the prank they played when Leo and I were seniors and Cale was a freshman. It was St. Patrick’s Day. They broke into school the night before. They’d bought a bunch of food coloring online and used it to die the pool green. They used sidewalk chalk and washable paint to make a giant rainbow that led to the principal’s office. They filled that with those gold coin chocolates so that when he opened the door the next day, they poured out onto the floor.”

  “Wow!” Summer laughed.

  “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you’re a teenager, and your parents just give you a credit card. I took no part in it, of course,” Lena said.

  “Of course,” Summer replied.

  “They both got suspended, and my parents had to pay for the cleanup. The pool had to be completely drained and then refilled. The boys had to remove the paint and chalk themselves. At least, everyone in the school got chocolate, though, since the principal didn’t know what to do with it. He just had students in and out of his office all day picking up piles of it to take home with them.”

  “That is funny.” Summer took the first bite of her burrito.

  “It was,” Lena said. Her smile disappeared. Summer sensed the change in mood. “When Leo was at UConn, he thrived. He started caring about school enough to get decent grades. He joined a fraternity and had a long-term girlfriend. He even ran for student office and won his sophomore year,” she paused. “We were home for spring break. Our grandmother wasn’t doing well at the time, so my mom asked us to stick around in case she took a turn. Leo gave up his trip to Florida to do as she asked. I wasn’t going anywhere anyway. Damon and I had been together for a while by then. He was local and wasn’t a party kind of guy anyway, so he wasn’t interested in spring break festivities. Leo took Cale to the grocery store to pick up stuff for my mom, who wanted to make a traditional Greek meal for us. On their way home, they got side-swiped by someone who ran a red light.” She dropped the fork on her plate. She’d yet to take a bite of her burrito. “It was on the driver’s side. Leo was killed instantly. Cale ended up with two broken legs, a broken collarbone, and a broken arm. He had a concussion too. They had to do a surgery to repair some of the major damage. He had to go to physical therapy for a while, but he made a full recovery.”

  “Lena, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say but that.”

  “There’s nothing anyone can say. Damon had taken me out that afternoon. My parents have a pretty nice estate there. There was this gazebo, and he’d already asked my dad’s permission. He proposed. I was completely caught off guard. I thought that if we took that step, it would be after we graduated, but I said yes because I didn’t know what else to say. I loved him. I’d thought about us getting married before that, but as he knelt down in that gazebo and held out a ring, I knew in that moment that it would be a mistake. I said yes anyway.”

  “Why?” Summer asked.

  “I couldn’t explain it back then. I had this gut feeling that I should say no, but he was on one knee. When I turned my head, I could see my parents in the kitchen window, watching the whole thing with smiles on their faces, and my mom had glassy eyes. I knew she was crying happy tears. It seemed like the right thing to do. Say yes to Damon and worry about the rest later.” Lena needed a drink and took a sip of water. “About that time was when the accident happened. After we got the call, we all rushed to the hospital to check on Cale. They’d told us about Leo when we got there. I remember watching my parents take a few minutes to grieve their lost son before they turned their attention to the one that was still hanging on.” She paused again. “I had to do the same thing. We didn’t have any other choice. Cale needed us then, but once he was out of the woods, it all sunk in; Leo was gone.” Lena’s eyes turned glassy. “I can’t explain it to people who aren’t twins. It’s too hard for them to grasp, I think. It feels like you’ve literally lost your other half, and I mean literally. It set in for the first time when we brought Cale home and got him set up in his room. I walked past Leo’s old room and realized he’d never set foot in it again. His dirty laundry was on the floor because he was a slob.” She laughed a little laugh at the memory. “His school books were on his bed because he’d actually brought them home to do work while we were on break.” She paused and inhaled. “I cried for days after that, and Damon was there for me. It felt like I’d already lost my brother; I didn’t think I could lose Damon too. I’d already said yes. I just waited for a few months until things got at least somewhat back to normal and started planning a wedding. We waited until Cale was healed and then we just did it. We did the perfect Connecticut blue blood wedding thing, and I spent years pretending it was okay. It’s interesting sometimes how one moment can change or alter your entire life path. Damon and I were good at that moment, but I’d already been thinking about other things. I thought, at most, I was probably bi, for thinking about women too, but it was enough to give me pause on my relationship with Damon. Then, Leo died. My parents were devastated about him and about Cale’s injuries. The one good thing they had in their lives was my upcoming wedding. I couldn’t break their hearts, and I didn’t want to break Damon’s, but sometimes I wonder what would have happened. If the accident never happened, I still would have said yes to Damon, but I don’t know if I would have gone through with it. I’d still have Leo in my life, and he was always so supportive of me. I know I would have come out to him first, and he would have been more than okay with it. He probably would have wanted to help me find girls.” She laughed. “I think things in my life would have turned out to be very different.”

  “I understand,” Summer said after a moment.

  She wished that Lena could have her brother back, but the thought that Lena’s life would have turned out differently and that with that turn she may never have met her, stung Summer in a way she hadn’t expected. Lena’s eyes were still a little glassy, but not as much as before. Summer admired them as Lena glanced out the window, and the sun hit them, making them even brighter.

  “I’m sorry. You wanted to have lunch, and I’m ruining the whole thing.”

  “You’re not ruining it. I’m glad you told me.” Summer watched as Lena’s eyes returned to her and she seemed to be smiling a little at least. “So, tomorrow you and I are hitting the spa.”

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Could anyone else make it?” Lena asked.

  Summer’s eyes got big, and she quickly looked down at her burrito.

  “I kind of forgot to text everyone,” she admitted.

  “I guess it’s just us then, unless you want to see if they can still go,” Lena replied.

  “I’m okay with it just being us,” Summer said and wondered if Lena knew what she meant. “I can text Charlie and Hailey about it if you want though.”

  “No, just us is good.” Lena finally took a bite of her food.

  “And tonight, there’s grilled cheese in store for you,” Summer reminded.

  Lena nearly choked on her food with laughter and said, “I forgot about that.”

  “How could you? I’m hitting the store on the way home and picking up five different kinds of cheese.”

  “Oh, God!”

  “I know. Just you wait, Lena Tanner.” Summer squinted her eyes in playful mocking.

  ◆◆◆

  Lena wrapped up her workday, and just as she was about to head to the train, she got a text from Summer saying the car would meet her outside. She rolled her eyes and smiled at the gesture. She had another problem with her feelings for Summer. She could really get used to having a town car drive her everywhere. She didn’t want to take advantage of their friendship, but Summer seemed to want to offer, so she’d at least take advantage of it at the end of a long workday. She arrived home and walked in to the sounds of that soft jazz she liked running throughout the whole house. The lights were dim, and when she glanced in the living room, she could see the fireplace roaring.

  “Um… Summer?” she yelled out into the foyer after dropping her bag by the door.

  “Oh, hey!” Summer emerged from the kitchen. “Just in time for the first batch.” She disappeared again and then reappeared one moment later. “And go change first,” she ordered. “You should be comfortable,” she added as she waved a spatula at Lena.

  Lena laughed but did as she was told. She went up to her room. She changed into her jeans and a t-shirt, and decided to take an old UConn sweatshirt out of her drawer for the first time in a long time and put that on too. She completed her look with fluffy socks and met Summer in the kitchen.

  “So, you said the first batch before,” Lena said as she entered the room.

  She smiled at Summer standing at her stove wearing an apron she hadn’t seen before. It was black and white and checkered. She had on a t-shirt and shorts that had become her standard comfy look to Lena.

  “I did.” Summer turned around, still holding onto the spatula. “I’ve made the first ones with regular old cheddar. I’m currently making some with pepper jack, and then I have three more cheeses to include. I also made tomato soup, and by ‘made’ I mean that I bought it and I’m heating it up.”

  “You are taking this grilled cheese thing really seriously.” Lena laughed and joined her at the stove, where she watched Summer drop butter into a pan.

  “You said you loved grilled cheese.” She shrugged. “I thought it would be fun.” She turned to take Lena in. “You look comfortable. Well done.”

  “I follow orders well.” Lena turned to see the already finished sandwiches on the island. “What should I do now, CEO?” she asked of Summer.

  “Drinks,” Summer said. “I opened the wine a while ago. It just needs to be poured. We’re on bottle number three. So far, for me, two was better than one, but we’ll see what number three tastes like. Then, we have three more after that before making a determination.”

  Lena couldn’t help but smile. The implication of them trying all six of their recently purchased bottles of wine was that Summer would be around for a while. Lena liked the sound of that.

  “I will pour the wine.”

  “And I was thinking we could eat in here and then hang out in the living room. Maybe a movie tonight. I started a fire. I hope that was okay.” She turned as Lena began pouring the wine into glasses. “I’m just kind of making myself at home here. Is that okay?”

  “Of course, it is. I told you, I like having you here.” Lena finished pouring the second glass. “Now what should I do?”

  “Just sit there and tell me about your day. I know we saw each other at lunch, but we didn’t really talk about that.”

  “Let me help, Summer,” Lena said.

  “Hey, I’m on vacation here. You’re the one that had to work today. Just relax, Lena.”

  Lena rolled her eyes and observed Summer flip sandwiches in the pan before sliding them onto a plate next to the others. Summer smiled and winked before going back to the pan for another round. Lena didn’t say anything for the next several minutes. She just watched as Summer finished another round and then turned to go back to work again.

  “Okay, the rest of these are getting cold. We should start eating. We can try the other cheese varieties you bought later.” Lena pulled out the chair next to her. “Sit,” she ordered, and Summer squinted playfully before pouring out two bowls of tomato soup and setting them in front of both chairs.

  “So, how was work?” Summer asked after she sat down.

  Lena talked about her morning emergency and how she was now behind on a project, but there was nothing she could do but press on with it anyway. She went on about one of her fellow VPs, who continued to try to get her way, and told Summer about how one of the directors was definitely out for her job. He’d been upset that she’d gotten it over him when he’d been with the company longer and had a master’s degree.

  They’d finished their grilled cheese sandwiches with Lena telling Summer that the pepper jack was her favorite and that she still preferred wine number two over wine number three, but that three was better than one. They took their glasses into the living room. Lena watched Summer handle the fireplace as if she’d been living in this house for years and knew just what to do. After she’d added two more logs and made sure they took flame, she sat on the floor in front of it. Lena hadn’t yet sat down, so she joined Summer instead of taking the sofa.

  “What movie do you want to watch?” Lena asked.

  “Whatever is fine.”

  “The Goonies?” Lena sipped her wine. “Or did you finish that one the other night?”

  Summer stared at Lena while sliding her legs underneath her body and sitting on her calves.

  “It’s just Goonies.” She smiled. “I did not finish it the other night, but we don’t have to watch that.”

  “I thought it was one of your favorites.”

  “Because it’s awesome. You don’t like it?”

  “I’ve never watched it all the way through,” Lena said.

  “What?”

  “I’ve seen bits and pieces when I’ve changed channels, but I’ve never seen the whole thing.”

  “Oh my God! We are totally watching it then.” Summer’s excitement grew, but then Lena noticed it fade as Summer glanced at the UConn lettering on her sweater. “Was that Leo’s?”

  “I haven’t worn it in a long time. He gave it to me our freshman year. I gave him a Yale one, and he gave me this one.”