Calvin was rubbing his chin with his free hand. “I guess a bit like autumn,” he concluded after the thoughtful pause.
“Isn’t autumn more red and orange?”
He nodded. “Yeah. But there are a few trees in Central Park that turn maroon.” He let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders. “Maroon like Central Park in autumn.”
Sounds pretty.
Chapter Five
I OPENEDthe Emporium door and immediately checked my watch: 11:47 a.m.
“Sweetheart,” Calvin said from behind me. He was standing in the open door, brightly backlit by the midday sun.
“Come inside so you aren’t glowing.” I reached into my bag, pulled out my glasses case, and replaced the sunglasses with regular lenses.
“Do you need anything else?” Calvin asked as the door shut. “Otherwise I’m going to head home so I can catch the furniture delivery.”
“Oh, no. I’m good. Thank you again.”
“Seb!” Max called from farther in the shop.
I turned and saw him standing near the Kinetoscope with a customer. “I’m back before noon,” I answered. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Max didn’t reply but instead gestured for the man at his side to follow as he walked toward me. “This is the owner, Sebastian Snow. He knows a hell of a lot more about the Kinetoscope than I do.”
“Lee Straus,” the stranger said with a big smile, offering a hand once he’d closed the distance. He was… very strapping. I suspected he was older than he looked, but what did I know? I was thirty-three going on eighty. Lee had an expensive-looking haircut, a light-colored suit—he was probably the sort of person who paid attention to the difference between summer and winter fashion—with a nice physique underneath.
“Hi,” I said. “Uhm… the Kinetoscope. It’s not for sale—”
Lee glanced over my shoulder and let out a surprised sound. “I’ll be goddamned. Calvin Winter, is that you?”
Say what now?
I turned away from Hottie Straus and looked at Calvin. He seemed just as surprised as I felt, so at least we were on the same playing field. “You know Calvin?” I asked, with all the grace of a drunk bull in a china shop.
“You can say that,” Lee replied, still looking at Calvin.
“Ididsay that,” I muttered.
Calvin took a few steps forward and stopped beside me. “Lee…,” he said, like he wasn’t sure what else to include in that statement.
Lee grinned and reached out to shake Calvin’s hand. “Been a few years, hasn’t it?”
“About eight,” Calvin remarked.
“You look just the same as I remember. Hair’s a bit longer, though,” Lee continued, reaching out to touch Calvin’s thick, fiery locks.
I opened my mouth to kindly let Lee know that this was a no-touching zone, thank you, but luckily Calvin moved away with a jerk of his head.
Lee recovered pretty quickly. “Sorry. So… you came back to New York after all. What have you been doing all this time?”
“I’m a detective with the NYPD,” Calvin answered.
Eight years ago would have put Calvin where? Military, right? Or just leaving, actually. So these two probably served overseas together.
“What about you?” Calvin asked politely.
“Teaching. Adjunct professor. It’s shit pay.” Lee finally looked at me again. “I walk by this place and the Oddities shop all the time on my break and never actually stop inside. Last week I peeked into that place, and today I thought I’d check this one out. What incredible timing, huh?”
