Of Ginger & Spice

R&N: A Tale of Two Girls

17: R&N: A Tale of Two Girls

3 pm, New York City, R2 Design Studio

Nico, Rani typed, family emergency—Great-Aunt Celeste. With that, Rani tucked her phone into her pocket, grabbed her purse, and closed up shop for the day, her thoughts racing.

3:30 pm, New York City, Brooklyn Apartment

Rani entered the front room of the brownstone she shared with her girlfriend of a couple years, Nico. Pacing around, she switched on the television, deciding to flop down on the couch and watch a movie about yellow-colored pill-shaped alien-like creatures that brought their cantankerous caretaker reluctant amounts of joy.

She heard a ping from her phone. OMG I'm so sorry, it read. I'll see what I can dig up from the DA's office. Ttyl ~N

Rani smiled, despite herself. Having a detective for a girlfriend certainly came in handy.

7 pm, New York City, Brooklyn Apartment

The keyhole rattled, and the door turned; a tall woman with shoulder-length dark hair entered. Nico. "I come bearing gifts," Nico said softly, kissing Rani, who was still situated on the couch, having continued onto the sequel of the first movie about pill-shaped alien-like creatures. Rani switched off the television and walked over to the kitchen, where Nico was readying the evening's dinner. She skimmed over the vegetables and product labels. Spaghetti pasta with puttanesca sauce, fresh basil leaves, tomatoes, and mozzarella.

"For you," Nico handed Rani a small bouquet of flowers in a Mason jar she had purchased from the afternoon Farmer's Market. Rani took the glass, examining the beautiful petals and blossoms. Cream, ecru, eggshell, and pearl, placing it in the center of the kitchen table nearby.

Nico deftly sliced the fresh buffalo mozzarella and the ripened tomato, layering each on a flat white plate, adding a stray leaf of basil here and there. She prepared a potful of water and set it on the stove for several minutes.

7:15 pm, New York City, Brooklyn Apartment

The pot began to boil as the spaghetti pasta was slowly added; Nico continued to stir, then drained the pasta through a colander in the sink as Rani watched, sitting at the table, contemplating the strange and terrible pronouncement earlier that day. "Dinner is served," Nico announced, setting the dishes and accompanying plates on the small table.

"Thanks," Rani murmured, taking Nico's hand in her own. She remembered when she had met Nico at one of her art gallery events; she had been with someone at the time that looked as if she were of magical origin. Rani had expected, as was common in her life, to be interrogated once more. Are you Asian? What brand of Asian? Is it true all Asians speak Chinese? Did you dye your hair blond? Is your hair fake?

But Nico had done none of that. She had simply gazed upon Rani across the room, then moments later, stepped forward to introduce herself. "I'm Nico, and I love your hair." Those simple words and a charming look. Nico, being a certain variety of Asian herself as it turned out, wasn't one for asking highly intrusive questions of others, choosing instead to patiently wait things out, until the other grew comfortable enough to reveal their secrets, whether it was in a pristine gallery or in a Brownstone apartment in Brooklyn at the wee hours of the morning.

Rani remembered as if it had been yesterday. Nico had returned several weeks after the last gallery showing, but without her then-partner at the time. "Where's your friend?" Rani recalled asking her.

"We separated," Nico replied.

"I'm sorry—" Rani began.

"Don't be, we just—we just grew apart," Nico answered. "Do you...d'you want to meet me for drinks after work?" Rani nodded, hardly able to believe her luck.

And so it had begun.

7:35 pm, New York City, Brooklyn Apartment

Rani ate a final morsel of spaghetti, after spreading the thin strands of pasta along the edge of her plate to soak up remnants of the puttanesca sauce. "This is delicious, Nico."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Nico replied softly.

"Is this an "I'm sorry your great-aunt got incinerated" meal?" Rani asked matter-of-factly, as they rose to place the dishes in the sink.

Nico couldn't help but laugh, despite the highly unfortunate circumstances. "It's the least I could do as your girlfriend. I mean, it's not like there's a playbook on "How to Comfort Your Same-Sex Partner When Her Family Member is Eviscerated" right?"

"Yeah, not really," responded Rani, reaching for the sponge to scrub and wash each of the dishes.

"And the flowers—I get you're not the emotional type, but whenever you have a shitty day, you love getting blossoms in several shades of eggshell, or whatever..." Nico trailed off, as she began placing each of Rani's handed-over dishes into the adjoining dish rack. "It sucks about your great-aunt, but it also doubly sucks you found out over text." Rani wordlessly nodded, as they completed their task and sat back down at the kitchen table.

7:45 pm, New York City, Brooklyn Apartment

"Are you sure you want to discuss this now, Rani?" Nico regarded Rani closely. "We can move this to tomorrow if you want—"

"No. I'd like the details now—rip off the bandage," replied Rani.

"Okay. Okay then." Nico reached into her large suitcase-style Rowan satchel purse, pulling out a single manila folder, opening up the bevy of documents to the first page. "Celeste disappeared a week and a half ago from her home in the Mykonos region of the Grecian Isles, and resurfaced briefly on the northern corridor of Seattle, according to various witnesses who had spotted an imperious woman with long, dark, distinctive robes with a hint of ocean-blue turquoise trim."

"Yup, sounds exactly like Great-Auntie Celeste," Rani murmured. "So then what?"

"Reports show that she disappeared once more, then..." Nico hesitated, briefly flipping through the subsequent pages. "Are you really sure you're ready for this, Rani?" Rani motioned for her to continue, so Nico did. "The next sighting was the morning after a dumpster fire was reported in the city's outskirts. Due to advancements in the field of forensics, scientists were able to extract a portion of her DNA and compare it to their crime records."

"Celeste had a criminal history?!" Rani seemed shocked at having heard this.

"Not exactly," Nico remarked, continuing to thumb through the second page. "The DNA swab matched her dental records from the late 1950s when she was arrested as part of a Beatnik era protest."

Beatniks—as in, sexual liberation, bohemian hedonists, and spontaneous creativity. Huh, mused Rani. There was so much she hadn't known about her strait-laced relative back in the day. It explained why Celeste willingly took her under her wing as her budding protégé, nurturing Rani's artistic skill and allowing her, several years ago, to redecorate Celeste's very own Mykonos home, transforming it from an antiquated mode to sleek, minimalist, modern elegance.

Everything would have been perfect, had Nico not catapulted herself into Rani's life. Celeste had become livid one evening some years ago as she and Rani walked the Grecian cobblestone footpath to the front porch. They sat on the two chairs overlooking the glimmering Mykonian sunset and the aged pedestrians below; Rani had begun telling Celeste that she had met someone. Instead of offering her sly comments and sarcastic-but-well meaning jabs, Celeste expressed anger that her beloved great-niece was "throwing all her talent away for a floozy." It wasn't like that, Rani thought indignantly at the time, trying to formulate appropriate language so that Celeste would see sense. But Celeste was having none of it. It's either her or me, Celeste indicated. Rani left Mykonos that same night for New York City; she hadn't spoken to Celeste since.

"Thanks for the deets," Rani looked Nico squarely in the eye. "I can take things from here."