Wonder watched one Guardian after another come out of the pavilion. Some stopped for a bite to eat, and some just waved hello and continued home. She listened to their boisterous voices as they recounted anecdotes from the raid, but she wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying.

With a lump of anxiety stuck in her throat, she was waiting for Anandur to emerge from the pavilion.

Would he stop by the café, smile at her, and ask her to take a walk with him later on?

Or would he circle around it to avoid her and continue home?

She should have never pestered him for that stupid kiss. Why did she have to want more than he was willing to offer?

Had she lost not only the opportunity to explore her romantic feelings for him but also his friendship?

Soon it would be closing time, and she would have no excuse to hang around and wait for him to show up. Could it be that he wasn’t coming out because he was waiting for her to go home?

Except, Anandur wasn’t a coward. If he didn’t want to see her anymore, he would tell her that to her face instead of playing evasive games.

She wished he would just come out and tell her already what was on his mind. The anxiety of not knowing was the worst.

Carol nudged her. “Call him or text him. I can’t stand seeing you like this.”

“What do you mean? Like what?”

“Like you’re on the verge of crying.”

Shit on a stick. Wonder thought that she had been doing a better job of hiding the emotional storm raging inside her. “I can’t. What if he’s in a meeting?”

“That’s what texting is for. If he’s busy, he won’t answer, and if he isn’t, he will.”

Pulling the phone out from her pocket, she stared at it for a moment and then tucked it back in. “I’ll wait for him to come out.”

Carol shook her head. “As you wish.”

If she called or texted, Anandur would feel obliged to respond, but Wonder wanted him to make the first move this time. She was done with pressuring him.

Besides, what could she say to him?

Ask him if he was still willing to be with her despite what had happened? Follow Amanda’s advice and try to convince him that it had been nothing worth getting upset about?

When closing time came and went, and Anandur was still a no-show, Wonder hung around for a little longer, wiping the tables until they shone and sweeping the floor once again.

Eventually, though, there was nothing more to do, and she had no choice but to go home.

Struggling to keep her head up and not shuffle her feet like an overtired human, Wonder felt like the walk to her house was much longer than the ten minutes it usually took.

Unlike the anonymity a city like San Francisco provided, there was practically no privacy in a tightly knit community like the village. If she allowed herself to look distressed, someone was bound to stop her and ask what was wrong.

She didn’t want to talk to anyone. Especially since immortals wouldn't buy an excuse about a headache or an upset stomach.

As Wonder’s phone buzzed in her back pocket, it startled her so that her shoe caught on an uneven paving stone and she stumbled. Somehow managing to regain her balance, she pulled the phone out.

It was a message from Anandur, but the sense of relief that swept over her made her dizzy, blurring the words on the screen.

Feeling faint, Wonder barely made it to the nearest bench. It took a moment for the blur to coalesce into legible words.

The message said, We are invited to Brundar and Callie’s for dinner at eight. I’ll pick you up ten minutes earlier.

The breath she took was the first to fully fill her lungs since she’d woken up that morning.

Okay. Typing with numb fingers, it was the best she could do.

Anandur couldn’t be too mad if he was taking her to Callie and Brundar’s for dinner, right?

It was going to be okay. He still wanted to see her. After the day she had, Wonder was willing to settle on having Anandur only as a friend. The idea of losing him altogether had felt like a death sentence.

It seemed she’d been pardoned and given a second chance, and this time Wonder wasn’t going to blow it over stupid kisses. Having Anandur in her life was more important than her girly desires.

Several calming breaths later, she pushed to her feet and marched home to get ready.

“You look happy,” Gertrude said as Wonder got in.

“I’m invited together with Anandur to his brother’s for dinner.”

“I’m glad. Did you guys have a talk and straighten things out?”

Wonder shook her head. “No, I just got this one text from him inviting me to dinner.”

“Well, good luck. You still have to have the talk. This is not something you can sweep under the rug.”

“Yeah, I know.” Even someone like her, who had no relationship experience, was instinctively aware that if ignored, a thing like that would grow and grow until it blew up in both of their faces. But it didn’t have to happen right away. She would take her cues from Anandur and proceed from there.

Caution was the name of the game, and Wonder knew how to play it well. She should’ve never thrown it to the wind in the first place.

Gertrude smiled. “When is dinner, do you have time for me to do your hair?”

“I’ll make time. Thank you.”

“No problem. I’m happy to help any way I can.”

Her hair had been strangled in a tight braid all day, which meant that it wouldn’t look good loose unless she washed it and styled it. But since Wonder didn’t know how to go about it and she didn’t want to bother Carol, Trudy’s offer was much appreciated.

Rushing, she dropped her work clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower. The cleanup part went fast; the choosing of an outfit part, not so much.

Maybe she should wear a dress?

Amanda had given her several, but they were too elegant for Wonder’s simple tastes. Besides, as someone who’d never worn a dress or a skirt before, she would feel weird in one.

Wonder remembered longing for a reason to wear a nice dress, but now that she had it, as well as several nice dresses hanging in her closet, she felt awkward about putting one on.

This dinner was too important for experimental dress-up. She needed to wear something that would make her feel comfortable and confident.

After ten minutes of frantic dressing and undressing, Wonder went back to the first outfit she’d chosen: a pair of stretchy pull-on black pants paired with a long button-down grey silk blouse. It came with a matching camisole that she was going to wear in lieu of a bra. Regrettably, the sports bras she’d bought were too bulky to wear under the blouse’s delicate fabric.

She really needed to go shopping, and not on the internet.

After applying a thin line of the black eyeliner Amanda had left for her, she was ready for Gertrude’s hairdryer and curling brush.

Perhaps she could ask Trudy for some perfume? That was another item on her growing shopping list.

Apparently, being a woman required a lot of grooming and pampering that Wonder had been aware of but thought she could do without. Like having nice bras and panties, a cosmetics bag that included more than one black eyeliner, and several perfumes because according to Amanda different occasions called for different scents.

She should've taken notes because most of what Amanda had filled her head with had already been forgotten.

“Very nice.” Gertrude approved of Wonder’s outfit. “Now let’s style that gorgeous hair of yours.”