Emily jumps to her feet and Matt turns to run away. She leaps onto his back and he walks around with her clinging to him like a Velcro monkey. “Has anyone seen Emily?” he asks. “She was here just a second ago.” He spins and her feet fly out behind her. She swats his shoulder. “I think a fly just landed on me.”
Finally, he looks over his shoulder and says, “Oh, there you are. I almost didn’t know you were there.” She hugs him tightly and then drops to the floor.
“And you used to be my favorite,” she mutters.
He bends and kisses her cheek, leaving a smear of chocolate behind. She wipes it with the back of her hand. “Eww!”
Sam goes to the back of the room and comes back carrying a fresh cupcake. He has a whole box of them under his arm. “Want one, Wren?” he asks, as he opens the top. The Reed men all jump on the box like they haven’t eaten in days. Matt takes two, removes the wrapper from one of them, and leans like he’s going to hand one to Emily. At the last minute, though, he turns his head and shoves it into his mouth.
She pouts. “You suck so bad.”
He removes the wrapper from the remaining cupcake and holds it out to her. “Here,” he mutters around a mouthful of chocolate. “For you.”
She smiles and takes the cupcake, and goes back to Logan’s lap so she can share it with him.
“What can we do for you, Wren?” Paul asks.
“Friday called me. Is she here?”
He nods toward the office.
“Thanks.” On my way back, I look around for Ryan. Suddenly he pops his head out from behind a curtain. “What are you doing here?” he asks in sign language.
Well, hello to you too. “I just came to see Friday.”
He ducks back behind his curtain, pulling it tight at the corner, without saying another word. I guess I can assume what he thinks of me.
At that moment, Friday comes strutting around the corner. This time, she’s all glammed up. She’s wearing a short skirt and fishnet stockings, and she looks like a retro pinup model, with sass. Her hair is up in tight curls, and her lashes are long and dark. The heels she wears are sky high. Just seeing her makes me smile. “I’m glad you’re here,” she says.
“Can we talk for a second?” I ask quietly. I glance toward the front of the store where the Reeds are sitting. They’re not paying me any attention.
“Of course.” She motions for me to follow her to the back. Her high heels click across the floor with bursts of sound. “What’s up?” she asks when we’re alone.
“I can’t get a tattoo right now,” I blurt out.
“Oh…” Her head cocks to the side and her brow furrows. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I just…” I look up at the ceiling. “I just need to wait a few weeks. Or nine months. Or something.”
“Oh!” Friday cries. The Reed men look back toward us and Friday spins us away. “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” she whispers.
“A good thing, I think.”
She smiles. ?
?Well, good. I’m glad. However it works out, I’m glad.”
“Can you hold on to it for me? For a couple of weeks, or until I know what’s happening?”
“Of course. Do you want to see it, anyway? You might not like it. You might want to change it. It’ll give me time to work on revisions.”
“I’d love to see it.”
Friday holds up one finger. “Just a moment.” She goes to Ryan’s curtain and shakes it, and then steps behind it. She comes back carrying a piece of paper. She lays it flat on the table in front of us. And my breath leaves my throat.
It’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect. It’s everything I could have wanted.
“How did you know about the song?” I’m pretty sure I never told her about it. She never saw the wall in the nursery, either.