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My heart felt like a brick, but there was no use lying to myself.
An indefinite suspension.
“Sloane?”
Kade touched my cheek, wiping away an errant tear. I guess I wasn’t done crying after all.
“Listen, it’s okay,” he tried telling me. “The timing’s good. A week from now it’ll be the New Year, and this will seem like ancient history. Your bosses will soften. They’ll take you back.”
I was sitting on my bed, exactly where they’d found me. They were off today. Two of them, anyway.
After all, it was Christmas Eve.
“It’s notjustthat,” I sighed. “I broke the mold for one of my best pieces. I lost the bronze too. All that money… I could barely salvage anything.”
“Don’t you have another mold?” Valerio asked.
“No,” I shook my head. “I mean, yes, I could make one. I still have the master, sculpted from clay. But I’d have to make a positive cast in wax, then clean it all up. Sand it down. Prep it for investment casting…”
“So?”
I was on a roll and didn’t want to be stopped. “I’d need to sprue out a new flask,” I went on. “Put it through the vacuum chamber…”
“Maybe we could help you,” offered Kade. “If you taught us—”
“Trim it up. Throw it in the kiln. Do another burn-out…”
I curled into a ball, sinking my head into my knees. It was just so much work.
“And of course I’d need all new material. I wouldn’t have enough aluminum bronze to do a solid sculpture. Or the money necessary to buy more.”
The guys were silent now, looking at each other. It was a tough situation for them. They didn’t know what to do. What to say.
“Look, I’m sorry,” I said, doing my best to snap out of it. “It’s finally Christmas, and this is ruining everything for everyone.”
“No it’s not,” said Valerio. He kissed my cheek tenderly. “Your problems are our problems.”
“He’s right,” Kade nodded. “But hey, chin up. Together we’re gonna think of something. Okay?”
I nodded, forcing a smile. They wiped my tears again, one from each side, and no more tears came afterward. It was amazing how much of a team they were, even within the scope of such a simple act.
“Where’s Brock?” I asked.
“Work stuff. He’ll be by later though.” Kade paused awkwardly. “So will I.”
“Why?” I asked. “It’s Christmas Eve. Where in the world are you going?”
He and Valerio exchanged glances. Eventually he shrugged.
“I wanted to see my brother. Maybe cheer him up a little, let him know the new year is coming. And along with it, new beginn—”
“Let’s all go then,” I suggested. “The three of us.”
Valerio’s face brightened. Kade still looked unsure though.
“I dunno,” he said. “It’s kinda bleak over there in his apartment. With his girlfriend moved out, the place is sparse. It’s not very… Christmassy.”
I spent the next few seconds examining his reaction. Eventually I relented.
