Chapter Text
Rio Vidal stands on the steaming cement of the train station overlooking the smallest bit of foot traffic it has to offer. A group of teens walk by chattering about upcoming concerts, an elderly couple walks arm in arm causing the brunette to smile softly, and a young mother with a little boy that makes that smile fade just a tiny fraction. The dry breeze glides across the platform making Rio shift uncomfortably, her white blouse sticking to her lower back. She would kill for humidity.
“Miss Vidal!”
The sound of her name being called snaps her out of her trance, her eyes going to the yellow VW bug and the small woman getting out of it. Picking up her trunk and bags she gives the older woman a polite smile.
“Miss Calderu I’m guessing?”
She had to be the woman she heard of, she certainly looked whimsy as described with her scarves and jewelry.
“Please, call me Lilia. Welcome to Nevada!”
Rio nods following the older woman to the trunk of the car, lifting her single trunk and couple bags.
“I’ll call you Lilia if you call me Rio.”
“You got a deal, Rio.” The older woman smiles as they get in. “You’re traveling mighty light, dear.”
“Yes well, I couldn’t bring everything across the country.” She hums looking out the window, eyes trailing the dirt flying along side the road.
“That’s alright, Reno has plenty of shopping centers not far from the property. Ever since they put that interstate in a couple years ago we’ve gotten a lot of new businesses.”
Rio hums politely, rooting around her purse for a lighter, not paying any attention to the old Dodge zooming down the other side of the road. “Are there others staying on your property now, Lilia?”
“Almost always, honey.” She chuckles. “Right now we have Alice, she’s a musician, very good,” she adds, “my boy Billy, he’s seventeen now, and my girl Agnes, she’s a pistol.” She chuckles looking ahead. “Oh divine mother,” she sighs.
The vehicle speeds past them leaving the sound of Janis Joplin echoing in the air along with another cloud of the red dirt.
Agnes O’Connor knew it was Lila driving down the lone dirt road. She knew that old yellow bug anywhere. Barely getting a glance at her passenger, Agnes could only tell that it was another woman. For sure, she thought as she hit the gas to make a full swoop back around to pass the bug, another soon to be divorcee. With the speed she was accelerating at, she'd be back at the ranch with time to spare to welcome their new guest.
Another six weeks of having another woman muster around the ranch and wait for her actual life to begin.
Agnes would have to stand witness to that once more.
She wished at times she could shake these women long before they accepted an engagement ring and ask them if this was something they really wanted their life to become. Years of unhappiness just to actually agree to what it eventually became. Nothing more than a piece of paper to announce the mistake you made was now reversed in the eyes of the law. There were of course always other options that didn’t involve men but these women never opened their eyes to such possibilities.
No matter how many of these women Agnes tried to persuade.
She rounded the last corner to pull into the ranch. It was cabin style and sprawling; overlooking canyons and desert. A well-worn corral for the horses and a sad little patch that was set aside for a desert garden. Agnes parked her car, a beat up blue Dodge Wayfarer with the top drawn down, just outside the stairs that led up to the front doors.
With the way Lilia drove, she and their new guest would be here in record timing.
“Well that was her, my Agnes.” Lilia announces as they get closer to the ranch.
Rio had certainly seen her through the window, even the brief glance at the woman sent a pang of curiosity and astonishment through her.
“I can tell.” She lets out an amused laugh. “How old is she?”
“That girl is thirty and still the biggest trouble maker I’ve ever encountered. She’s not mine, you know. Biologically speaking anyway, I took her in when she was a child.” Lilia offers as they take the turn up the gravel path. “You two will have plenty of time to get to know each other I’m sure.”
Taking in the sight of the two story house Rio looks around noting the different paths and of course, the dirty truck that sped past them on the road now sitting right out front.
“I don’t plan on making many friends while I’m here, Lilia. No offense.”
“It takes a lot more than that to offend me, honey. Now c’mon in and I’ll have Billy bring your trunk up to your room. Lunch is in an hour.”
Following the older woman up to the house Rio takes a moment to soak it in under the warm sun; the newest chapter of her life starts here.
Agnes tries her best to keep up behind Billy as he tries to straighten up what he can inside. God forbid something was out of place for a new guest. As Lilia’s car pulls up into the gravel stretch of driveway, Agnes and Billy both rush to the front door.
The two of them had some time to talk before the new arrival; Agnes dropping the bomb that another new soul was passing through. “Did you get a good look at her?” Billy had asked as he wiped down the kitchen table. Agnes shrugged her response as she leaned against the kitchen wall and watched him, “Won’t know until she gets here and Lilia makes us do our usual introductions, I’m sure.”
Billy basically bounds down the front steps out towards the cars; out towards the bundle of bags to carry back inside the ranch. He stops just in front of Lilia and the new face; giving Lilia a quick hug and a friendly wave to the woman. Agnes however, decides to linger back on the porch.
She moves slowly, deliberately, until she’s resting her forearms on the porch railing to look out at the small group. Billy is smiling and making small talk while Lilia is keeping a watchful eye on their new guest.
Agnes burns her gaze into the side of the woman’s face as if she’ll be able to tell just who she is from doing so. She’s studying her, watching her. Her clothes and the way she moves, hell, even the type of luggage she has. Well-off and maybe even rich. Definitely not from around here. Just what could have happened that made this woman want to divorce? Was she cruel? Boring? Was she far too smart for the man she devoted her life to? Was she, even possibly…
“Agnes! Come on down here and say hello, girl!”
Lilia’s voice cuts through Agnes’ imaginings; stirs her back to reality. She grips the railing a little harder than necessary as she braces herself to meet another new face and try to be interested in why someone else is here to stay as they deal with the consequences of actions they most definitely agreed to.
She lets go of the rail; pushes herself away from it and tries to throw on a pleased expression and hopes it covers that twinge of curiosity she so desperately tries to hide.
Of course, Agnes is curious now and she hates just how quick she comes to feel that same emotion every time a new woman shows up here. Because, what if this time, she’s different?
Rio stands chatting with the boy, nodding and smiling, even finding him somewhat endearing during the conversation. He and Lilia seemed pleasant enough, but the figure lingering on the porch had a different energy about her. Before Rio sees her out of the corner of her eye, she feels her. The strangers gaze stronger than the Nevada sun rays. When Lilia speaks again, Rio finally meets the woman’s gaze.
She’s confident in her steps down the stairs; her boots finally crunching the gravel below her. She hooks her thumbs through her belt loops as she cuts across and passes by Billy. Their elbows touch in a friendly way; comfortable with one another. Billy gives a playful nudge as he looks down at Agnes and waits for her to introduce herself.
“How long are you here for?” is what she leads with even though she knows the answer by heart. She wants the woman to confirm what she already knows and set down some sort of stability. No second guessing and no tricks. Sure and accurate is what Agnes needs from this woman right off the bat.
Quirking a brow Rio notices how relaxed the woman is in her posture and demeanor and more importantly just how blue her eyes are. She squares her shoulders snapping out of her curious state.
“6 weeks at the most. It’s kinda up in the air right now.”
Agnes nods her head at the number she’s come to know all too well. 6 weeks. It’ll fly by and this woman will be gone just like all the others. She shifts her weight onto her left side as she points her foot outwards to shift her stance. She finally dares to look up right at the stranger’s face.
Agnes falters for just a second as she takes in every feature, every characteristic. Those warm brown eyes pulling her in like a magnet.
“Usually is…people that come through here. Up in the air…” she clears her throat before standing up straight this time. She feels the need now to stand her ground as she throws out a lazy hand towards the brown-eyed woman, “Agnes…nice to meet you…”
Rio snaps back into her polite Ivy League role, extending her hand offering a firm handshake to the woman, her palm softer than she would have thought.
“Rio Vidal. Your mother pointed you out when you went past us like a bat out of hell.”
“Miss Vidal is from New York, Agnes.” Lilia adds as she heads off with Billy into the house.
Agnes bites her lip as she nods her head and takes in the revealed location. There’s a pang of instant jealousy there. Someplace far away from Reno where supposedly one can just be who they are without pressure. Surrounded by a city that doesn’t really care if you’re in it. Not like Reno; anything like Reno.
“Guess we better get you inside…lunch and your bags. We wouldn’t want all those nice clothes in your luggage to get covered in all this desert dust, huh?” She tosses Rio a look that’s only half joking. The rest of her words and the way she shoves off past the woman is nothing more than a stab.
“I suppose that’s what the actual luggage is for, to protect it from the elements.” Rio shoots right back with a shrug, happy to go up the steps and into the house, bypassing Agnes.
Agnes can only stop dead in her tracks to watch Rio pass her and head up the stairs. She doesn’t want to admit that something has already shifted between them; some game that she’s never played before with any of the other guests that have come and gone. They’ve all been very practical in what they came here to do and Agnes was already seeing a sliver of doubt that came with the territory that was Rio.
Into the house Rio can’t help the smile that pulls at the corners of her lips. The space is certainly cozy; mix matched decor, shag carpet, hanging beads in the doorway, and a framed sparkly scarf above the fireplace she’ll certainly have to ask about. Why a house in Nevada needed a fireplace, she didn’t know.
“Rio, I have you upstairs, second door on the right. Agnes, can you show her to the bathroom and laundry room?”
Agnes falls beside Rio and reaches down to take her luggage from her hand. Their fingers barely graze over one another’s as the transfer happens and the weight of the luggage changes over. She throws Rio a quick glance, sizing her up once more until she speaks to her again in a softer voice, “Follow me.”
Meeting those eyes again Rio follows right behind her, noting the layout.
The small winding staircase that matches the rest of the wood in the house leads to the second floor. It’s a small landing that opens up past the first door. The room Rio is staying in has the door already wide open and ready to welcome her inside. Agnes stops just outside the door and off to the side to allow Rio in first, wanting her to be the first to step foot into the room she’ll be living out of for the six weeks she’ll be here.
“Everything you should need is in there and if it isn’t, just let one of us know and we can take you out to pick up whatever you’re missing…”
Setting her purse on the end of the bed Rio sets a few items out; her cigarettes being the most important for the nerves she still felt.
“I should be fine. Thank you, Agnes.”
She’s already too curious for her own good as she takes a step and then another into the bedroom. She’s trying not to pry as she stares at the small objects that Rio has set out already. But, as Agnes knows herself far too well, she’s already too interested for her own good. Something about Rio already sets Agnes off in a direction she’s not sure about yet.
“Lunch should be ready soon. Do you want me to come back and get you? I…don’t mind…”
Watching Agnes out of the corner of her eye she keeps her hands busy to hide the nerves, opening her trunk and pulling a few items out, making a point to toss a plain t-shirt out in Agnes’ view. Looking up briefly, Rio shakes her head.
“That won't be necessary. I think I can manage to find the dining room when I’m done putting all my clothes away, thank you.”
Agnes takes a mental snapshot of all Rio’s things she has taken out and placed into the room so far. Without a second thought, Rio has started to make this room her own and Agnes tries her hardest to stop herself from thinking if Rio and her belongings could ever be a permanent fixture.
She sighs loudly before she’s able to catch herself.
Stepping out from Rio’s room, Agnes makes her way back down the stairs and towards the kitchen where Lilia and Billy have started gathering what they need to make lunch. Agnes doesn’t offer to help or step in to take over some role in the process. Her mind is already adrift over the woman upstairs who’s first and foremost important thing to dig out from her purse was her cigarettes. It wasn’t something she had expected this woman to do.
Expected.
Who could expect anything from someone you had just met?
As footsteps drift down the hallway then the steps, Rio lets her shoulders relax as she blows out a breath. Air. She needed more air. Crossing the room she pushes the curtains apart further and pushes the window up. Standing still she overlooks the land, nothing but open space and sand as far as the eye could see. It was something that sounded intriguing from her New York City apartment, but now in person she’s not sure what to make of the silence.
Breaking away from the window she finds the bathroom, quickly washing her face to calm herself before she changes into her Jean shorts and t-shirt. Nice clothes be damned. She would fit in here as best she could.
Taking the stairs she gives Lilia a polite smile as she comes to the dining room table.
Agnes had already taken her seat in her spot at the table; feet up to rest on the chair beside her own. She’s comfortable and relaxed in this home, in a place she’s been all her life. The only change is the energy that follows when Rio walks into the room and for a brief moment, Agnes feels suddenly out of place.
She pulls her feet away from the chair and falls into a proper sitting position. Suddenly, she’s painfully aware of herself and how she looks when she can feel Rio’s gaze drift to her.
Rio watches Agnes shift as she takes a seat in the empty chair next to Billy, her eyes overlooking the table.
“Thank you for the wonderful room, Lilia. It’s comfortable.” She offers with a smile, still sitting as straight as can be just as she was used to. “Thank you for the help with my trunk, Agnes.” She nods to the woman.
Agnes has her elbows up on the table as she holds her chin in her hands. At Rio’s thanks, she pulls her left hand away to swat it near her face as a silent method of acknowledgement to Rio. She still however feels like she needs to give the woman more than just that.
“Don’t mention it. Just let me know if you need help with anything.”
She knows she didn’t mean to put emphasis on the last word that dropped from her mouth. Agnes quickly kicks herself the second she sees from the corner of her eye the way Lilia looks back over her shoulder at her. They had talked about this before; many times before. Sometimes Agnes knew she really couldn’t help herself. She never really intended to add innuendos to the things she said. She did, however, find it harder and harder each time.
“Thanks.” Rio nods politely, unaware of the silent conversation happening between the others.
Billy smirks into his soda can knowing what that look for their adoptive mother means. “So Rio, how long were you married?” Has asked as casually as can be.
“Uh, sixteen years. Or, a long time.” She jokes with an uncomfortable laugh.
“Billy, that’s none of your business.” Lilia warns.
Agnes bites her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing as she looks up at Billy. She makes a face at him, one he’s seen a thousand times. The ‘don’t push Lilia too hard or we’ll never hear the end of it’ look.
“Sixteen years isn’t that long…” Agnes mumbles as her hand drops away from her chin so that everyone can hear her. “You were literally sixteen just last year, mister,” she points her finger at Billy and watches as he rolls his eyes at her.
“And you? Rio? How old are you?”
Rio freezes for a moment as she reaches for one of the sandwiches on the table. Looking up she lets out an airy chuckle. “A polite question to ask. I turned forty in April.”
Agnes leans back into her chair and puffs her cheeks out at Rio’s answer as she calculates the numbers in her head. She’s met both older and younger women who came through here on their journey to marital freedom. Age, as Agnes understood it, rarely made a difference when it came to how unhappy someone was in their life. She then let the air in her cheeks silently blow out and was left wondering why she had even bothered asking that question in the first place.
But she knew exactly why she asked it and Agnes couldn't help but to look Rio over once more. Just one last time before it became too obvious that she wasn’t only staring but seeming somewhat interested. Even if she couldn’t admit it to herself so early on.
There was something unmistakable about Rio that Agnes couldn’t put her finger on just yet. She knew it was there and she knew, without a doubt, she’d have to do her best not to be so open about it for the next six weeks. The ten year age gap between them sat in Agnes’ mind like a small stone.
“I think that’s enough you two. Let Rio settle in properly before you give her the third degree.” Lilia looks at the pair, eyes locking in specifically on Agnes.
“I don’t mind, Lilia.” Rio assures her. “My lawyer has been asking me far more personal questions.”
As she tries to eat a full meal Rio glances at Agnes carefully, calculated, to not be caught. Such curiosity from someone significantly younger than her was intriguing. However, she wasn’t staying with Lilia to make friends. She meant to blend in, keep her head down, and get her divorce so she could go back home.
“I think I might actually go back to my room to relax for a bit.” She hums standing up, “but thank you for lunch.”
Lilia nods in understanding as Rio leaves, shooting her kids daggers.
Billy shakes his head as he gets up from his seat to collect the plates left behind on the table. Agnes stays in her spot and doesn’t move. Her gaze drifts to the now empty spot where Rio had just been sitting. She fills in the emptiness with her imagination; dropping in Rio’s image to where she had just been seconds ago. Already, Agnes had memorized every single feature of their new guest. Right down to the way she held her sandwich up to her lips.
“I uh…need to start getting ready for work.”
And with that, Agnes is up and out of her seat and turning away from Billy and Lilia, from the kitchen and the dining room table. She lets her footsteps become heavy as she trudges out of the room and up the stairs and does her absolute best not to linger outside of Rio’s closed bedroom door.
Of course their rooms would happen to be side by side despite there being another empty room on the opposite side.
Of course the single wall of separation between them was already eating away at Agnes as she entered her own room, closed the door behind her and stared at the only physical thing dividing them.
Rio hears the footsteps through the door as she sits on the edge of the single bed. Holding her breath she hopes it’s not Lilia; certainly hopes it’s not Agnes. She felt so silly already. A couple hours into her stay in Nevada and she’s already feeling…. something she’s never felt before. She’d thought it was hostility towards Lilia’s daughter, but after feeling Agnes’ eyes bore into her soul she’s not quite sure what it is.
When the footsteps continue the brunette finally breathes again, fishing out her well loved copy of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Rio sits with the book against her propped up knees, hoping that by the evening she would feel more calm about her new living situation.
Agnes knows if she stares any longer at the wall she’ll make herself both cross-eyed and late for work. Laughing to herself under her breath, she shakes off the feeling that’s overcome her she doesn’t dare put a name to. She can’t. Not now. Not yet. She barely knows the woman on the opposite side of that wall. Six weeks, she has to remind herself, and someone new will have already come and replaced Rio Vidal.
She moves within her room as she undresses and redresses into her work uniform. A simple pair of jeans and a clean white shirt that has her name tag still clipped onto it from the previous night. She dresses herself in silence and once again realizes how her work always seems to interfere with their guests. Coming and going; passing one another at odd times. It should make her feel better that she won’t really be seeing Rio as often as she would like. As Agnes stands in the middle of her room however, she wishes that wasn’t the case.
She wishes she could wake up and go to sleep at the same time as the woman opposite to her, in her made-up room with her personal things all the way from New York City.
The weight of her room becomes unbearable and Agnes can do the only thing she knows how to do. Moving with a force to be reckoned with, she basically throws her bedroom door open to exit. Suffocating and small, she feels the walls of this house closing in around her.
Agnes needs the endlessness of the desert just beyond the front door.