Anna leaned against the windowsill, her chin on her folded arms and her knees bent on the hardwood floor. She looked out her bedroom window at the dirt road that led to their home. Friday evening. Date night. The clock on her phone read 6:38 and still no sign of Mara. Fiona and Lula leaned over Anna’s shoulders to get a look too.
“Maybe she’s just running a little late,” Lula said.
“Mara is never late. She’s never wrong. She knows exactly what she’s doing,” Anna said.
“I saw the spread your uncle is making downstairs. He sure is going all out for Mara,” Fiona said.
“Yes he is.”
“Poor guy. He has it bad, doesn’t he?” Lula said.
“Oh yes, he does,” Anna said.
“Love stinks,” Lula said absently.
From down the lane, the three friends could hear the faint whirr of a motorcycle engine followed by a rising dust cloud lit bright by the evening sun. Over the slight ridge Mara emerged on her bike, her open jacket whipping in the wind. She pulled the motorcycle up to the front fence with a slight skid on gravel and shut off the engine as the dust cloud rolled past. She paused for a moment, her hands in her lap, and Anna was afraid she was going to turn around and ride away. Then Mara removed her helmet, dismounted her bike, and started the long walk to the front door.
“She just rode through dust and wind and her hair looks perfect,” Fiona whispered.
“Annoying, right?” Anna whispered back.
Mara looked up to Anna’s bedroom window and saw that she had an audience. She gave a quick wave and took in a long, deep breath. Anna gave an overly enthusiastic smile and big thumbs-up in return.
Mara walked to the front door and paused. The air was rich with savory smells that came wafting out from inside the house. The screen door was already open. She lifted her hand, closed her eyes, and knocked on the door.