Page 50 of With a Little Luck

Quint clears his throat, and we both turn to see him and Ari staring at us. “Are you done picking apart Jude’s love life?” asks Quint. “Because I think we’re ready.”

“Right, sorry,” says Pru. “What should I do?”

“Nothing. We’re good. We just need some quiet.” Quint presses record on his phone and nods at Ari. “When you’re ready.”

Ari’s gaze lingers on me a long second before she tears her attention away. To Quint. To the phone. She fidgets, sitting taller and adjusting her position on the stool. She exhales sharply and draws the guitar closer to her body. I look from her to the phone screen, where the limited view shows her lit up in an almost shimmering light. The mural of stars behind her gives a cool, slightly mystical vibe. Professional, but not pretentious.

She looks pretty, too. I don’t think about it much, because I’m used to seeing Ari in the vintage dresses she loves, all beautiful and self-assured on that stage, ensorcelling crowds with her music. But she’s extra pretty today, with gloss on her lips and her hair done into a braid around the crown of her head. She’s wearing a yellow dress dotted with white roses, and in the light from the lamp, she’s ethereal. Almost … elven.

Araceli the Magnificent.

The thought makes me grin, and that’s the stupid look I have on my face when Ari glances up again and our eyes meet. For a second, she goes still, and I shrink back, wishing I could explain to her that I wasn’t laughing at her or anything, that I was just …

I was just …

Thinking that she is absolutely lovely.

Ari licks her lips. I can tell she’s nervous, but her voice doesn’t waver as she looks into the camera. “Hi! I’m Araceli Escalante, and this is a song I wrote called ‘Downpour.’”

Then she starts to play. Her fingers strum a few chords, then pick out a slow melody, before she starts to sing.126

Never could say when it started

Crept up like a storm in the night

Not sure when I got so brokenhearted

This love, a crash of thunder

This love, a flash of light

Yeah, my love, it isn’t a sunrise

Was never the day shining through

Here comes the rain, and I’m crying again

Caught up in the downpour of me loving you

We used to be sunshine and ice cream,

Kicking sand at the sun going down

Oh, you and me, how easy it seemed

But now I can’t be wanting

’Cause this wanting is dragging me down

Ari opens her eyes, growing more comfortable as she loses herself in the music. She’s singing to the listeners, to the world, to her future fans, because she’s incredible, and the world needs to hear her songs. It’s so clear to me in that moment, more clear than it’s ever been, that she is special. She’s going to create things that move people. She’s going to write songs that inspire people all over the world, that make us feel more connected, that help us put our own feelings into words in a way we couldn’t do on our own.

Yeah, this love, it isn’t a sunrise

Was never the day shining through

Here comes the rain, and I’m crying again

Caught up in the downpour of me loving you

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