Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

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"Wait 'til it cools off, Filly. You want some lemonade?" Rhoda asked.

I thunked my take out dish on the picnic table next to a drink as Rhoda tore a cheesy pupusa into bite-sized pieces for her three-year-old son and handed him a cup.

He had the simple cheese pupusa fit for a child, but the two of us had the flatbreads topped with slaw and sauce, and I couldn't wait to dive in. The smells of onions and peppers had driven me mad as we'd bustled down the street for the food truck, and my persistence was rewarded when I took the first bite of chewy bread with the perfect griddle-fried exterior.

"Ummmmm. Fabulous!" I moaned.

"How's the cheese? Too hot?" Rhoda asked.

I shook my head, "It's just right. You can scarf it, no problem!"

Filly munched on little bites of cheesy pupusa, and Rhoda and I downed our meal in near silence.

"Tell me about your Nanna, Sam. She watches kids?"

I nodded. "She's the best, and she already knows about you, so I can introduce you whenever you'd like."

"It's such a relief. I cannot tell you. I already trust you, Sam, so I know your grandma must be wonderful. She really likes babysitting?"

"Yep! She's a retired kindergarten teacher, and she practically raised me. I, uh, well, you remember when the Resistor starliner crashed? You might've been too little—"

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"Oh, I remember, I was in school, but no one could ever forget that!"

"Well, my parents were on it."

"Oh Sam," Rhoda said, hand covering her heart. "You were what, nine?"

"Ten, yeah. It was like my whole world ended. I was already at Nanna's house since my parents were just supposed to be going on a work trip to Black Moon Lilith, so I wound up staying with my grandma forever. You can trust her, Rhoda. She's really the best kind of person."

"Forget that, Sam. I'm still reeling over you losing your parents." She was watching Filly and trying to hold her face together. "I just— I can't imagine him growing up without me."

"Stop! Sympathetic crier here, and I don't wanna blubber all over my pupusas!"

That got a laugh out of her. "Fine. Okay, we'll move on, but I'm just so, so sorry that happened to you so young." She looked at me intently, piercingly. I suddenly felt like I was in one of those naked dreams where everyone's watching, and you have no idea where you left your clothes. Avoiding those piercing eyes, I picked up my lemonade for a drink.

In a soft voice Rhoda continued, "You had to grow up so fast, didn't you, Sam? Your childhood got wiped away, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if that's why you're so— well, what's the word for it? Deep? Profound? Full of mystery?"

I laughed, "Yeah, nothing like endless rivers of grief and loss to turn you into a poet."

She smiled, "Well, I don't like what happened to you, but I love who you've become, and now the very same Nanna might be willing to watch my son? Heck yeah, sign me up!"

My pad was sitting face up on the table, and at that moment it Pinged! A Discord DM preview popped up from smack_pans.

"Oh! Is it the pianist? What was her name?" Rhoda asked eagerly.

I snickered and shook my head, "No, it's not Coraline, but this guy writes lyrics too. Maybe he's got a new song." I tapped the preview, but when it opened Discord, there was nothing there. No messages in my DMs.

My face screwed up. "Something's wonky with that app. I keep getting random notifications, but there's nothing there."

"Annoying. Okay, so what should I do about your Nanna?"

I nodded, "She had some things to do today, but here, let's record a quick video for her of the three of us, and I'll send her your ID so she can follow up, okay?"

"You're the best, Sam!"

We did exactly that, and then we said goodbye, and I headed home having no idea just how important that lunch encounter would turn out to be.