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“Amelia was lost. Lost in a maze in a search for herself. A labyrinth she had entered full of hope and life. At the other end of the labyrinth she was promised true love. A soul shattering, all consuming love, that would change the course of her life and possibly the fates of the universe. All she had to do was find it. But while scavenging for her treasure, she stumbled and fell, and got scrapes and bruises. She was colorblind for the variety of colors those bruises gave to her life, always believing that the grass was greener on the other side of the maze.”
I keep reading while the audience listens, and they collectively seem to hold their breath. My mind wanders while my mouth takes over. The words are familiar, I’ve written and rewritten them a hundred times. It’s only then I see the colors of my own life. It isn’t greener on the other side of the maze, it’s the maze itself that’s full of life.
It isn’t the Hallmark experience I was searching for. I went home in hopes of finding absolutely nothing. To just be with myself for a while. And just like all the sappy clichés say: Once you stop looking, you’ll find it. True love just happened to come in the form of four well built demi-gods, who accepted me for who I am, flaws and all. But in the end, we all complete each other. I just had to open myself up for this unconventional but perfectly fitting form of life.
I don’t even notice when I finish the chapter. The words just stop coming out of my mouth, and the people start clapping. It still feels nuts that people are here to hear me speak, to buy my books, read the things my imagination has come up with. But I’m incredibly grateful for it.
And an exact three seconds later I get hit by extreme anxiety that they’re going to hate my book and I’m going to fail. The wonders of being an author.
I step down from the little stage and let Edith guide me to a chair behind a table where I can do my signing. It blows my mind to see how quickly a line forms for people wanting me to sign their books.
“Move it, bloated best friends coming through!” Meggy yells from somewhere down the line. She pushes Shelby forward and cuts in before everyone who’s already waiting. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that people just let her. Meggy has her ways to get exactly what Meggy wants.
“Shelby needs to get her feet up and eat… what were you craving again?” Meggy asks Shelby.
“Cocoa puffs,” Shelby answers with a dreamy look.
I laugh, flip open a book and sign it with a sweet message for her and my future nephew. “Go get those feet up. I’ll see you on Saturday?”
“It’s a date,” Shelby says as she yawns. I hope she’ll make it through her cocoa puffs before she falls asleep.
“Now do me, do me!” Meggy yelps.
“You make it sound indecent,” I say while I waggle my eyebrows. Kellan cocks his head, and I snort. “Never happening,” I tell him.
“Hey, I’m a daydreamer kind of guy. Let me have my dreams,” he says with a grin.
“Stop daydreaming about my girlfriend, creep,” Jonah yells, and both brothers give each other a shit eating kind of smile. With everything that has gone on these last couple of crazy months, the way Jonah and his brother have come together might be the most unexpected of them all.
I write a sweet and absolutely inappropriate dedication for Meggy and hand her the book. It doesn’t matter that we’ve been out of touch for almost a decade, we’re right back to where we started as friends all those years ago. She holds the book close to her chest like it’s something precious, and I realize it’s the exact way I feel about her in general.
She takes Kellan outside with her after waving goodbye, leaving me in the claws of Miss Frieda and Miss Patterson, who’ve worked their way to the front of the line. I wonder if they made it happen by flirting or poking their knitting needles in asses. Perhaps it was a combination of the two. But they made it all the way to the front.
“We’re so proud of you, Morgan,” Frieda says as she shoves a copy beneath my nose.
“Absolutely,” Miss Patterson agrees, also shoving her book forward.
“You haven’t even read it!” I argue.
“Oh, not for the book child. For being able to land yourself the four hottest single guys in Charlington, and not even having to do it behind their backs.”
I snort.
“Back in our time,” Miss Frieda takes over, “we had to do it all very hush-hush. You are the future, you know.”
“Seems like there is a story in there,” I say conspiratorially while I scribble some scandalous words down for the old bitties.
“You have no idea. Bring some booze over, and we’ll tell you all about it,” Miss Patterson winks at me. I might even hold her to that promise, curious what it is she has to tell. I give her my brightest smile and wink. They leave soon after I hand them back their books, and I give myself over to the endless line of people waiting to mingle.
Ah, the sweet price of success.
It’s taken hours, but I’ve signed endless books and taken way too many selfies. Now, we’re standing behind the cabinets where we started at earlier that day. My hand is cramped and I’m hangry. I deserve a treat after being a good girl all day. Give me a pile of food and blankets and I’ll maybe reappear after a good old hibernation. I’m all peopled-out.
“You need to go do your homework,” Gil says to O, who’s scrolling on his phone. All the boys have been bored out of their minds after the first hour of signing. Gil didn’t mind, he picked up my book and started reading. I don’t see any wrinkles in the spine yet, so it seems like he’s been handling the book like it should be handled.
After a late night conversation during one of our Game Nights, O said he wanted to go back to school to get the proper papers to become a counselor to youths. It got met with nothing but support.
The upside of having a relationship with five fully - well, at least semi - functioning adults, is that we have enough income to do what we want to do. So O has quit his job and has enrolled back in college again. Which means I’m dating a college student again, and I’m way too excited about that. Let’s just say I’ve been leaning towards some more role playing, but O hasn’t given in yet. I’ll get him there.
