Page 37 of Meet Me on Love Street
“Where’s Sarina?” I ask, looking around. I need to get them together again and then escape without her following me so Miles and Sarina can be alone.
I see her several trees over. She’s not reallywithCara and Hannah, but she’s watching them. Weird. Cara and Hannah are standing under a tree with their arms around each other, and Hannah has an arm out to take a selfie. She kisses Cara on the mouth as she takes the picture. From my angle, I can clearly see Sarina grimace and take a step backward the moment Hannah and Cara kiss.
What is that about?I wonder if Sarina overheard Hannah say something not great to Cara earlier, so she doesn’t like Hannah for Cara.
I’m about to go ask her what’s wrong when Sarina takes another step backward and trips over a tree root. She falls quite spectacularly to the ground, knocking over two other tree photographers with her.
“Oh no!” Miles says, rushing to Sarina. I follow him, saying “excuse me” to the dozen or so people between us and Sarina.
When he gets to her, Miles kneels at Sarina’s feet and asks if she’s okay. I slow down to give them a moment alone. I love that he ran to her rescue immediately. But also, I feel a twang of jealousy of the attention Miles is giving Sarina, which is ridiculous. I brought Miles and Sarina here because I wantedhimto fall for her, and the fact that he’s currently helping her out of the dirt is a good thing. As is the fact that he’s gently picking off the cherry blossom petals stuck to her sweater.
Then Sarina says something I don’t hear that makes Miles smile. The same smile he just gave me. I step closer to them.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” Sarina says. “Just embarrassed. I’m such a klutz.” She apologizes to the people she knocked down, who’ve already gotten up from the dirt. They look annoyed—especially the girl in the cream dress that now has dusty brown splotches on it.
Cara and Hannah come to see what’s going on, along with Ajit and Julie. Sarina again assures us all that she’s fine. But when she starts to walk, it becomes clear that she’snotfine. She nearly falls again after taking only one step. Miles is still next to her and catches her.
“I just need to walk it off,” she says.
Cara looks skeptical. She’s studying physical therapy,so she knows. “Let me look at your foot,” she says.
While Sarina stands on one foot holding on to Miles for stability, Cara inspects Sarina’s ankle. Cara turns it a bit, then asks Sarina to put her weight on it, which makes Sarina cringe with pain.
“I think it’s twisted,” Cara says. “It doesn’t look like a break. But it might swell up. I’d stay off it as much as possible to let it heal.”
Sarina’s already-wide eyes go even wider. “Do you think it’s okay for me to take the subway home to Vaughan?”
Cara shakes her head. “Can you get a ride or an Uber home?”
Sarina sighs. “Yeah, I suppose.”
“We can split an Uber,” Miles says quickly. “I’m going to King City to see my mom. Vaughan’s on the way.”
Great. So now Miles and Sarina will have a long car ride alone. I exhale. This isgood. Sarina is smart and stable and is a perfect match for Miles. This could make thembothhappy. “That’s a great idea!” I say, laying on the enthusiasm. “It’ssoconvenient that you live near each other. This is why I wanted you to meet. You have so much in common!”
Miles is still holding Sarina up, but glances at me with an unreadable expression. Maybe I was laying it on too thick? I smile at Miles, but I wonder if he can see right through it.
After Sarina calls for a car, Miles and Ajit support Sarina as we walk to the main street to meet the Uber. Sarina still looks embarrassed, and the peaceful, serene look on her face seems to have left her. Probably because of the pain.
Miles barely even looks back at us after helping Sarina in. But when I call out that I’ll text him later, he gives me a nod and a small, almost knowing smile. And then the car drives away with my stepsister and Miles.
I stare at the car as it leaves.
“She’ll be fine,” Cara says, maybe noticing my expression.
“Oh, yeah, I’m sure she will be. Sarina’s always been clumsy.” I have no idea if that’s true. For some reason I want to sound like I actually know my stepsister.
We start walking back toward the trees, taking pictures as we walk, but I’m not in the mood for this anymore.
“You finally did it,” Cara says.
“Did what?” Hannah asks.
Cara looks at her girlfriend. “Sana’s been trying to set Miles up with someone all month. I think this date was the best one. That was a very Jane Austen meet-cute, wasn’t it? Unless Sarinadidbreak her ankle. That wouldn’t be good.”
I shake my head. “I mean, her getting hurt makes the date a disaster, but I guess this was still better than the others.”
“Sarina’s sweet, too,” Cara says. “I don’t get why you always complain about her like she’s an evil stepsister. She’s a bit normcore, but I like her.”
