Chapter Two

Cherry raised a spoon of gumbo to her lips, delight written across her face. "Oh my god. I can't believe I'm eating Madame Nouvelle Lune's gumbo. She made it with her own hands? You're sure?"

Gray had spent almost two hours at Dori's farmhouse, far longer than she'd expected, and her head was still spinning with sun signs and moon signs and zodiac wheels. "Well, I chopped the okra," she said over her shoulder as she scrubbed her boots with an old toothbrush over the kitchen trash can.

Cherry snorted. "More cooking than you did all of last year." She took another bite of the gumbo, closing her eyes to savor the spicy stew. "You know, I probably could've sold this gumbo on eBay. Madame Nouvelle Lune has fans all over the country. The world, really."

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't get the magical experience of eating it yourself."

"Do you think the Tupperware is worth anything?" Cherry asked, examining the red plastic lid.

"No. Plus I promised Dori I would return it if I went back to see her again."

Cherry sighed. "I can't believe you're on a first-name basis with Madame Nouvelle Lune. I've been wanting to meet her for years."

"Then why don't you?" Gray asked, looking up briefly from her boots. "If she was willing to meet with me, an astrology skeptic who barely knew who she was, surely you'd be welcome."

"It doesn't work like that," Cherry said, her voice low in reverence for the astrologer. "She only takes one-on-one meetings at her house for people at a crucial point in their lives based on the planetary positions and the stars and…I don't know, however else she divines the universe. It's not just whoever's been a fan the longest. That's part of why I'm obsessed with her."

Gray hadn't fully realized what a rare opportunity her meeting had been. She supposed it made sense, considering how all of Dori's observations were so eerily on point. Or maybe Cherry, a longtime subscriber to Madame Nouvelle Lune's horoscope newsletter, podcast listener, and member of the paid Celestial Circle club, had more sway than she thought.

"Give your boots a rest and come tell me everything," Cherry demanded.

She dropped her shoes on the doormat and joined Cherry on a barstool at the marble kitchen island. Gray trusted no one more with the intimate knowledge of her birth chart than her oldest and closest friend. Although she wasn't entirely sure how much she bought into astrology, Gray did believe her friendship with Cherry was written in the stars. They'd known each other since the womb, when their mothers had attended the same Sunday school group for expecting mothers at a Tulsa megachurch, and remained friends throughout Cherry's and Gray's childhoods. Born only a couple of months apart, they'd taken just about every life step together, including their literal first steps, as documented on a dusty old VHS tape.

At first, their mothers were thrilled by watching them learn new words and try new foods together as curious toddlers. But by the time they hit their rebellious teen years, their parents realized the monsters they'd created, despite the strict conservative upbringings they'd tried to enforce. At thirteen, the two friends were grounded after their mothers found fiery diatribes against them on the girls' MySpace pages. They were banned from sleepovers for the summer of their fifteenth year for sneaking out past curfew to a Paramore concert. After years of begging to transfer to public school instead of their uptight Christian private school, the girls took any chance to get away from campus once they had their driver's licenses, eventually getting suspended for skipping too many classes. Gray disastrously came out to her parents at age seventeen, and she was especially grateful for Cherry, who took some of the heat off Gray by immediately getting her tongue pierced and threatening to attend an art school for college.

But none of their previous punishments could prepare them for the consequences of getting caught in their greatest scheme of all. After Gray came out, her parents had forced her to attend anti-gay "reparative therapy" at a church in Oklahoma City. Without a car of her own, that meant one of her parents had to spend three hours twice a week driving her to and from sessions. Weeks of scheduling conflicts and annoying traffic finally helped Gray convince them to let Cherry drive her to Oklahoma City after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But when they found out Gray was only entering the church long enough to mark her name on an attendance list and then sneaking out to gallivant around the city with Cherry, the two best friends were banned from seeing each other outside of school until they turned eighteen.

But their parents' efforts to break up their friendship had the reverse effect. It brought Cherry and Gray closer together and permanently damaged their relationships with their families. Upon turning eighteen, Gray and Cherry officially changed their birth names—Grace and Charity—to their preferred monikers. Cherry dyed her naturally strawberry blonde hair her now-signature fire-truck-red and stopped seeing her parents outside of major holidays. Gray cut ties with her parents entirely, developed a fondness for trendy gay haircuts and faux leather jackets, and found a new family with her girlfriend, McKenzie, and Tulsa's tight-knit queer community.

Through college stress, romantic drama, first jobs, and life milestones, their friendship proved it could weather any storm. Robbie, Cherry's husband, had caused a bit of a tiff when he entered the scene. Gray worried at first that he wasn't good enough for her best friend, and Cherry grew frustrated with Gray for being too tough on him. But Gray eventually learned that Robbie, a lanky, nerdy IT support specialist, had a heart of gold, and he treated Cherry like a respected equal. Plus his gift for troubleshooting spotty wifi networks made even Gray want to ask Robbie out to dinner when her devices got buggy.

By the time Cherry and Robbie got married, Gray was fully on board and gave a legendary toast at their wedding. When Robbie got a job in New Orleans, the best friends promised through teary goodbyes that it wouldn't change a thing. And when Gray was hit by Saturn return or a quarter-life crisis or whatever it is that causes a relationship to fail, they were proved right. Gray packed her things and moved from the two-bedroom midcentury home she shared with McKenzie in Oklahoma to the studio apartment above Cherry's garage in Louisiana, knowing the only thing that could cure what ailed her was being around her chosen sister.

After describing Dori's farmhouse and various animal companions, Gray turned to the astrological advice she'd received, or at least what she could remember of it. At Cherry's insistence, she unrolled the birth chart across the table, pointing out Dori's notes and commentary on her sun, moon, and rising signs. Cherry made the perfect audience, laughing and gasping in all the right places, occasionally nodding sagely and saying things like "Of course, classic fire sign." When Gray shared Dori's explanation of Saturn return, Cherry grabbed her hands and promised they would figure out their Saturn-inspired journeys together.

Robbie lumbered into the kitchen just as Gray pointed out her Mars in Pisces. "River is bathed and down for the night," he said, opening the refrigerator. "I'm starving. Hey, what's that?"

He arrived at the island with one long-legged step, sniffing the Tupperware in Cherry's hands. Cherry offered him her spoon. "Gumbo from, get this, the Madame Nouvelle Lune."

"Get out!" Robbie took a bite and nodded. "Tastes like it was made by someone with the wisdom of the universe."

"Didn't realize you were a fan of Madame, Robbie," Gray said, shifting her birth chart away from the dripping spoon.

"Cherry got me into her horoscopes. But of course, as a self-centered Leo, I only care about my own sign. Not as well read on the others as Cherry. Can I have some more of this?"

Cherry pushed the plastic container toward him. "Go for it."

"Cool. I'm gonna play Tears of the Kingdom. If River wakes up, it's your turn." Robbie planted a kiss on Cherry's cheek and plopped a baby monitor on the kitchen island.

"Still trying to beat the Wind Temple?" Gray asked.

Robbie nodded grimly. "I don't know why I'm so stuck. Any tips?"

"The Ultrahand ability and perseverance, my dude," Gray said sagely. "And bring lots of Ice Fruit."

Robbie thanked Gray and exited to the living room.

Cherry twirled a strand of bright-red hair around her fingers. "All right, back to the good stuff. What did she say about dating? Did she tell you what sign you should look for?"

Gray leaned heavily onto the island. "If only it were that easy. Apparently I'm an inexperienced baby when it comes to dating."

"Obviously. You've only ever seriously dated one person."

"Right, but do you know the whole life-cycle-of-the-karmic-wheel thing? Where the signs are different parts of the life cycle or whatever?"

"Oh, yeah!" Cherry said. "I think she had a blog post on it a few years back. As a Gemini, I'm in my terrible twos or something."

"Right! And I'm an Aries newborn. So apparently the best way to understand life and the signs and the universe is to spend time with someone from every sign."

"Like, romantically? Did she say to date each sign?" Cherry said, leaning onto the marble island with both elbows.

"I don't know. Maybe? She said a lot. But she definitely thought Saturn return was the time to explore my compatibility with the different signs, if I'm looking for love."

"Then you have to do it!" Cherry jumped up and started pacing the kitchen, her hands flying around her as she thought out loud. "Really, if you think about it, it's perfect. I mean, of course it is. Madame Nouvelle Lune would never lead you astray. If Saturn is telling you the path is to get married and start a family, you've got to get a move on. So you date someone from every sign in order, bingo—you've unlocked the secret of the karmic wheel. You'll know what sign is right for you and your field of potential wives is considerably smaller."

Gray scratched the side of her head, thinking as her fingertips met her buzzed scalp. "I'm not sure, Cherry. I have about zero dating experience and I'm still kind of…you know, off-kilter. Can I really just jump into the dating pool like that?"

"Sure you can! You're a total catch. Plus you've got Saturn on your side!" Cherry stopped pacing and flung an arm over Gray's dejected shoulders. "It's going to be tough, especially at first. But if you really want to start a family soon, we don't have a lot of time for you to drag your feet. You've got to put yourself out there! Start meeting people, figure out what it is you want in a partner who isn't McKenzie. Think of these twelve dates as a kind of test for yourself, to see if you're really ready. And as a test for the zodiac, to figure out what sign you should settle down with. It's a challenge. You love those. You're an Aries!"

Gray couldn't help but feel buoyed by Cherry's enthusiasm. "I do love a challenge."

"And if Madame Nouvelle Lune gave you the idea, it has to be part of the universe's plan."

Gray frowned. "I kind of think it was your idea more than Madame Nou—"

Cherry strode away, ignoring Gray's correction, and pulled the freezer open. "Hey, would you eat some pizza bagels if I heated them up?"

"Yes!" echoed from the island and the living room as Gray and Robbie replied in unison.

Cherry bustled about the kitchen as she listed the signs she dated before meeting Robbie. She paused in her criticism of a Capricorn suitor, her eyebrows rising close to the strawberry blonde roots peeking out under the red dye at her hairline. "Wait, are you going to sleep with every sign? Did Madame Nouvelle Lune say anything about sex?"

"Definitely not!" Gray blurted. She lowered her voice, looking toward Robbie in the living room before continuing. Robbie likely knew that Gray wasn't as romantically experienced as her edgy, alluring lesbian style suggested, but it was still a bit of a sore subject for Gray. "You know I've only ever slept with McKenzie. I can't just start having sex with everyone I meet. It's like moving to Paris after taking one high school French class."

"Not a fair metaphor," Cherry said as she slid a tray of pizza bagels into the oven. "It's more like going from high school French to an intense, immersive French course to prepare you to move to Paris. Oui?"

"So Paris is what, my future spouse?" With a heavy sigh, Gray dropped her head into her hands. "I'm overwhelmed at the idea of sleeping with one new person, I can't even think about twelve."

"Well, obviously you should only have sex with someone if you really want to and feel comfortable with it in the moment," Cherry said, backing off after seeing Gray's reaction. "I just think you should be open to the idea of sleeping with someone during this experiment, since the whole point is trying new things and figuring out what you like. Don't put any pressure on yourself, but if it feels right, maybe it's worth exploring."

Gray stared intensely at the counter for a moment before she looked back up at Cherry. "I guess I can stay open to it."

"That's my girl!" Cherry said. "An adventurer at heart."

Gray fidgeted with the small silver ring piercing her nostril. "Can I really do this? I don't even know how to ask a stranger on a date, much less have sex with them."

"Oh, you'll be fine. You don't know how dating apps work. Everyone's pretty up-front about what they're looking for. It speeds things up." Cherry spun around, a devilish grin on her face. "Oh my god, wait, this means I get to set up a dating profile for you."

"Hold it right there. You will not be setting up a dating profile for me. Maybe I'll consider your advice. But it's a maybe."

"Chill. It's not like I'll put anything on it you hate." Cherry plopped down onto the barstool next to Gray. "But I'm the expert here and you're the novice. Remember when Robbie and I started getting serious, you had to teach me how to be in a long-term relationship? How to settle arguments without blowing up? How to live together without getting on each other's nerves? That's how you excel in relationships. But me? I excel at flirting through dating apps."

"Come on, Cherry. Don't you think it's different being queer? Your dating app experience is in the world of dick pics and chauvinism. Mine will be, I don't know, dates at hardware stores and trading Mary Oliver poems."

Undeterred, Cherry dove into a lecture on dating app culture and profile picture best practices. When the oven timer interrupted her stream of thought, Gray was relieved. Her head was swimming with planets and elements and acceptably interesting hobbies. And after promising Cherry that she would take a stab at creating a dating profile that evening, Gray was thrilled to shift the conversation from her Saturn-inspired dating spree to Robbie's adventures in Hyrule. But throughout the evening, the idea of her zodiac dating challenge took shape in the back of her mind.

Only twelve dates until Saturn makes everything clear,she hoped.