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And, to be totally transparent, I don’t like the image that just popped up in my mind of her hands all up in his hair and her breasts all up near his face while she gives him a haircut.
He smirks. “I’m allergic to scissors.”
Relief bubbles through me.
Kirsty lets out a sigh. “Fine. Suit yourself—look like a ragamuffin.”
Lily steps between them to hug her father. “Bye, Dad. Have a good weekend.”
“You got everything you need?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“You’ll call to say good night?”
“Yes, Dad.”
Misty-eyed, Kirsty holds a hand to her chest. “It is so good to see you two together.”
Alex beams. “Better late than never, right?”
My eyes tear up a little, along with Kirsty’s. Alex and Lily are getting along so much better than when Lily first moved in.
Smiling awkwardly, Lily says, “Okay, let’s go before everyone gets mushy.”
As Alex closes the front door behind them, it doesn’t go unnoticed to me that he wasn’t invited to celebrate Kirsty’s birthday. Most likely because his ex-mother-in-law will be there, and she’s still hell-bent on hating him.
“Just me and you now, kid,” he says on his way to the kitchen. My insides quiver as I follow him.
Lily’s absence has immediately changed the atmosphere of the house. A thread of new energy has already woven through the air, making me feel nervously shy.
I hadn’t even thought about it when Lily told me she’d be staying with her aunt for two days, but now it’s settling in. I’m going to be totally alone with Alex—a grown man—for the entire weekend. I’m sure my mom would have several colorful words to say about that. I don’t like keeping secrets, but it’s probably best that my mom doesn’t find out, or she might go on a tirade about inappropriateness. It’s not going to matter to her that I’m eighteen.
Alex grabs an apple from the bowl on the counter and bites into it. “Want to come look at some stuff in the studio with me?”
I try not to focus on the juice on his full lips. Try not to wonder what it would feel like if he kissed me right now. “Sure. Then I have to start this paper.”
“C’mon, Cherry, let’s go out,” he says, clicking his tongue. Cherry lifts her head from where she’s sleeping under the window. Alex helps her stand, carefully lifting her hips. She has trouble standing on her own, but once we help her up, she’s able to walk, albeit wobbly and stiff. “C’mon, baby girl, let’s get some fresh air.” Her curled tail wags.
I hold the back door open as Cherry slowly trails after us. We walk next to her, at her pace, watching her sniff at the ground and raise her nose to the breeze. She loves to be outside, even if it’s a little chilly like it is today. It always seems to perk her up. When we reach the barn, she gingerly settles into her favorite spot outside the door—her all-weather dog bed just next to Brianna’s beloved rose bushes. We both bend down to pet her before we go inside and she licks our hands—a little tradition that Alex started a long time ago. Now, we always joke that we have to pay the Cherry toll before entering and exiting.
“I have an idea for you,” I tell Alex as I follow him to his latest pile of garbage. “Hear me out before you one star it.”
He laughs. “Okay.”
“What if you started to take commissions? Not a ton of them, you’d have to be choosy. But let the customer bring you their own stuff; tell them they need at least five pieces. Maybe it’s a bunch of old things they’ve been holding on to—like an old tire from their first car or a toaster they got for their wedding years ago—stuff like that. For some, it wouldn’t always have to be an actual sculpture of something specific, but just like an abstract collage of their things all welded together with some cool embellishments. They could also ship the stuff to you if they’re not local.”
Fingering the scruff on his chin, he slowly nods. “Ya know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“I thought it might be easier than you always having to go hunting for garbage, then rattling your brain trying to make it all into something cool, then finding a buyer.”
Alex still struggles with confidence in his art and ideas, so my hope is this might ease some of the pressure off him but still keep him moving forward as an artist.
“You’re right. It would take a bit of the creative stress off me and give me income.”
“You could add the option to your website as a very limited offer, just to test the waters first.”
A slow smile fills his face. “I like it. I’ll message my PR guy tonight and have him add it to my site and social media accounts right away.” He winks at me. “Thanks, little darlin’.”
