Page 20 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

One of Emily’s favorite poets, Rupi Kaur, would be leading this session, and Emily felt like she’d died and gone to heaven just by being in the same room as this poetry legend.

She found a seat at one of the circular tables as close to the front as she could get, considering how packed the room already was. She set her conference tote and laptop bag beside her, then adjusted her conference bracelet, making sure it was tight enough that it wouldn’t accidentally slip off. She’d be devastated if she missed conference events out of her own negligence.

Emily organized the conference information packet, placed it in the front of one of her notebooks, flipped her notebook to a clean page, and grabbed a pen to take notes. She tilted to the side to see around some of the other attendees and get a glimpse of Rupi at the front of the room.

Rupi made a striking image, her Indian heritage displayed in the rich tone of her brown skin, and her long thick black hair styled in a thick braid hanging loosely over one shoulder. She was wearing a stunning green dress with a matching long-sleeved, wide-shouldered jacket, black heels, and large golden hoops. Her lips were painted a bright shade of fuchsia.

Behind Rupi was a projector, the current image on the screen one of her poems with the simple line drawing associated with the poem. Emily smiled when she realized this was one she’d annotated in her own worn copy in her bag. She brushed her fingers along her bag, feeling the leather against her skin.

Emily was filled with anticipation and jumped as the doors of the conference room closed. This was the first poetry event of the conference, though not the last she was planning to attend, and excited to make the most of this all-inclusive trip.

“Welcome all, I’m so glad to see so many poetry fans with me today.” Emily turned her attention toward Rupi standing with a microphone in hand and a welcoming grin on her face.

“I have a loose agenda for our time together. I know the title of this session is Poetry in the Modern World, but it would be more apt to name it Rupi’s vision of poetry in the modern world, because everyone has a different idea of what that would entail. I’ll go over my specific process, working through writer’s block and several other components. This will be a casual session where you can stop me and ask questions at any time. I hope we have time to brainstorm and work together at the end, because I’d love to help some aspiring poetry writers with their craft.”

Emily stared forward, entranced as the session progressed. Her pen flew across the page, taking down every ounce of information she could from this session. She was too shy to ask questions, but she was so grateful for others who had no qualms. She was excited to get back to the room and get some writing done tonight. She was already inspired and having thoughts that maybe, just maybe, someday she could be called a published author.

Chapter 13

All inclusive really meant all inclusive.

Emily stared at the salon in front of her and couldn’t help but feel giddy excitement at what she was about to do. She’d never been to a fancy spa before, but each of the services offered here were included with her package, so she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. It was high time she had a bit of pampering and a makeover.

The main entrance of the spa was fancier than anything Emily had seen before. It was crisp, clean, and honestly felt way out of her league. Emily pushed that thought to the side. She wasn’t paying for it. She was going to take advantage of her winnings. It didn’t matter if it was out of her league, she’d enjoy every second of this once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“Hello ma’am, are you a walk-in or do you have an appointment?”

“Walk-in,” Emily responded. “Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all. I just need to know for scheduling services. We’ve scheduled walk-ins around our appointments,” she explained. “What service, or multiple services are you looking to get today?”

“A little bit of everything,” Emily admitted with an embarrassed grin. “If that’s okay.”

“Oh wow,” she said, her eyes widening.

“I won an all-inclusive package,” Emily explained. “It comes with a haircut and styling, a facial, and nails, so I was hoping I could get the works today if there’s time.”

“Oh honey, of course we have time for you,” she said. “Let’s get you settled with some tea and we’ll take care of everything you need. You’ll feel like a whole new person when you leave here this afternoon.”

Emily felt like a princess as she settled into the plush massage chair. The woman hadn’t lied when she said Emily would feel like a whole new person. When she left that space with sparkling white almond nails, freshly cut and styled hair, and a face that had been massaged and pampered, she felt like she could take on the world, or at least part of the scavenger hunt that was next on the schedule. She’d stay there forever if she could. She’d have to call her uncles again and thank them. She’d be thanking them forever after this experience.

Chapter 14

Miles followed Ben into the workspace they’d booked for some collaborative opportunities over the weekend. The space was small, with one six-person table and several wide windows with mountainside views, but it was perfect for their purpose. The table was large enough to spread out some work, even with a whiteboard and pens for brainstorming sessions.

Miles sat in one of the large chairs and leaned back as Ben did the same across from him.

“Miles, you were amazing up there handling the press at your interview. I don’t know what changed, but that was an absolutely perfect response to the Inkwell Insights Daily reporter. That has to be the best publicity you’ve brought yourself in years.”

“My response? Which response?”

Ben rolled his eyes and said, “Your response to the question about romance writers and readers.”

“Oh that,” Miles said. He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just how I was feeling at the moment. I didn’t mean to cause anything by it.”

“Well if you keep that up, we might have some luck when we meet up with Larissa. I could schedule a couple of more interviews to go more in depth on that topic.”

“Not a chance,” Miles argued. “If Larissa wants my work based on me and my skills, great, but I’m not jumping through some silly hoops to make that happen.”

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