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“You’re taking the Paul’s Boutique one, right, Onyx?” Brooke asked.
“You have to.” Alys sounded emphatic.
Maddox nodded. “There is no place better in the world for a sign like that.”
Except maybe a place called Paul’s Boutique, but I couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, I’ll take it. There’s a perfect spot for it in the new…” store. I didn’t know why the word wouldn’t come out.
The way Maddox’s smile vanished and Alys’s faded made me hate that I’d even brought it up.
“Adam and Deacon are around, right?” Maddox asked. “To help us hang those long enough for photos?”
“Yeah. Let me go grab them.” Brooke walked away.
The mood was more somber after that, but still miles better than yesterday, and the joking resumed as time went on.
It took more time to stage the shots than to snap the actual photos, and we thanked everyone profusely when we were done. Maddox headed to the pharmacy to get the rest of the color film developed, and Alys and I went back to my record store.
Maddox joined us a short while later. He and Alys worked on touching up the images, and finalizing each album cover. We had one more to shoot, and it was the one that required the most people. We’d do Exit Stage Left tomorrow at Evie’s, when everyone had the day off.
But Maddox was determined to finish the rest today, despite the fact that we had another week ahead of us. We’re not going to miss the deadline, and who knows who might vanish from our lives next?
The shop was busy, even for a Saturday. I spent the next several hours working out front while they did contest things in the back. Word had gotten out that I was leaving, and several long-time customers stopped by to wish me well and take one last look through my albums, to make sure they hadn’t missed anything.
Halfway through the afternoon, there was a long enough break in business for me to join Alys and Maddox. I walked into the back room to find them with their heads bowed together. Alys was giggling at something, and Maddox looked brighter than he had in a couple of days.
He kissed the tip of her nose, and muttered something I couldn’t hear. They had no idea I was here.
Jealousy spiked inside. Not that I had a right to feel that way. But I wasn’t jealous that they were with each other—they’d been close for so long it wasn’t a surprise. I was envious that I wasn’t part of what was happening; they were so good together, but I was just as good with them.
Why did I think—how had I convinced myself for so many months—that moving to another state was the best way to deal with missing my friends?
The people I loved.
Fuck. I did love them both. Watching them now, I’d never felt more sure of anything. I was leaving, though, and it wasn’t like I could yank them from their lives and ask them to go with me. I also couldn’t back out of the deal in Arizona. Money had changed hands, and the plan had been set in motion. I couldn’t recover financially from a decision like that, and I didn’t want to abandon the new store regardless.
Alys looked up and her smile grew when she saw me. “Hey. Come check it out. Maddox did some amazing things to blend the images for Follow the Leader.”
Of course he did. I never doubted for a moment that he could pull this off.
For Alys and Maddox, I’d walk away from the last year’s worth of plans, if I could afford to. The thought hit me hard, and refused to let go. At this point though, did it matter?
We gathered at Evie’s store late Sunday morning. She and Gage hung the curtains before the rest of us arrived, and her back room had been transformed into the back of a stage.
Maddox set up a video camera to capture all of our work. He and Adam agreed this was premium content.
I wasn’t sure why; watching all of us fumble around through stage directions, to get that one perfect shot, sounded like a snooze-fest. Maddox was certain it would be entertaining, though.
“I grabbed this from an estate sale last week.” Deacon held up a stuffed owl mounted to a stand. He didn’t normally deal in taxidermy. “I was thinking if we needed it for this, it’s the right color, and they threw it in with everything else I bought.”
Aubrey studied it with a furrowed brow. “It’s not flying. The one in the image is flying.”
“I can throw it,” Deacon said. “Do you want to release a live owl in here, and see what happens?”
“No. But…” Aubrey trailed off with a scowl.
Maddox took the bird from Deacon. “It’s perfect. It’ll add to the weird charm, and there’s no question what it is.” Maddox handed it to Gage, who exchanged ideas with Evie on the best way to display it.
A moment later, Gage climbed a ladder, tossed a rope over the top of the bar hanging the curtain in place, and Evie secured the other end of the rope. Gage secured the owl so it hung from the rafters.
