“No. I can share if you’re okay with it.” Once seated, Abby sniffed the air. “I can’t believe I missed the smell. It’s one of my favorite scents.”
“Mine too. That and coffee.” Ricki grinned. “But I thought coffee would defeat the purpose.”
Abby took a swig of her beer and tilted her head. “Beer instead of tea?”
“It goes better with popcorn.”
“Good reasoning.” Abby laughed. “I guess.”
“Hey, I forgot to thank you for the ticket tonight.” Ricki sat and grabbed a handful of popcorn.
“Did you enjoy the show?”
“I did. I’m not sure why farces crack me up. But they always have.”
“Me too. I think it’s the absurdity. How over the top it is.”
“Do you think we’re getting immune to traditional farces?”
Abby cocked her head. “Meaning?”
“The world is a farce. Everything on social media is so over the top, what’s left to push the boundaries of the absurd?”
“Hmm.” Abby rubbed her chin. “I’d never thought of that. But you have a point. Hollywood isn’t releasing many farces anymore.”
“Because life is stranger than fiction. The antics of some creators push the boundaries further than any farce.”
“You get deep at one a.m.,” Abby said and took another drink of her beer.
“Sorry.” Ricki looked at her bottle as she swirled the liquid around inside.
“It wasn’t an insult.” Abby patted Ricki’s hand. “I’m just having trouble understanding the world of content creation. Can I ask you a question?”
Ricki met her gaze. “Sure.” Ricki’s voice held a tentative edge.
“God, that’s one of the most anxiety-producing questions ever, isn’t it?”
Ricki laughed. “It’s a step above ‘we need to talk.’”
Abby grinned. “Just take my beer away from me and order me back to bed.”
“Nah, now you have me curious. Ask away.”
Abby screwed up her face, thinking about how to ask her question. Nothing she could come up with sounded quite right, so she blurted out, “Do you understand the appeal of content creation?”
Ricki pursed her lips and shook her head. She gazed upward, toward the right, as if deep in thought. It was one thing Abby appreciated about Ricki. She paused, considering her response instead of blurting an impulsive answer.
“Obviously, I don’t since I refuse to be on screen. I’d think you’d be able to answer the question better than me since you do it.”
“It was an accident,” Abby admitted. “I was just screwing around at the library one day, wanting to share my favorite books with other book lovers.”
“The Harveston library patrons weren’t a large enough audience for you?”
“Astute.” Abby took a sip of beer. “I love the library, but yeah, the day I shot the first one was after my best friend Madeline and I were talking. She’s more adventurous, and I guess I was feeling small. Ineffective. I wanted to show her I could be unpredictable.”
“Now how do you feel about it?”
Abby shrugged. “It brought me here, didn’t it?”
