Page 53 of Dahlias, Sapphires, and Cool Autumn Dusk
It mirrored Phoenix in their generation, not that I would be the one to point it out. He wasn’t quiet, but the rest of it fit well enough.
“He makes a great hamburger but a terrible spaghetti sauce. Remember when Chef took a one-week vacation last summer? They took turns trying to cook.” Phoenix twirled his spoon on his fingers like a baton, and the waiter brought the check, shooting him a side eye as Julian paid for it with his credit card.
I swallowed, curious if they would give me more. “And Kit?”
“He pushes and battles everyone. He does manage to get us what we need or want, but he worries. He is the face of our lives, and it never seemed to bother him we’re not genetically his.” Jeremy took my hand. “But sometimes he’s mean. Judgy. Overly cautious. Unimpressed.”
I wanted to ask them about Rosalind, but Barrett caught my hand, tugging me to my feet. He prepared a surprise, but we needed to move—fast. Minutes later, after jumping on a subway, we arrived at Lincoln Center. He spun by the fountain, tossing me a grin. “Wait here one second.”
What are we doing?“I’ve never been here before.”
“Wait one second.” A door opened and two people came outside, and although I didn’t know her escort, I immediately recognized Celeste Demille.
“Oh my god.” I said aloud before I realized I spoke aloud.
Barrett held out his hand. “Come with me for a second, Sweetheart. You guys mind giving us a minute?”
Jules shook his head. “You are incredible. Go ahead, this is really perfect.”
I followed him, my fingers trembling as we approached her in real life. She smiled at us as we approached, and my heart flipped in my chest.
“Celeste, this is Barrett. I mentioned him to you because he helped save the club. When he was justsixteen,if you will believethat part. And this is his…” His voice trailed off as he waited for Barrett to handle the introduction.
Barrett grinned. “My girlfriend, Alatheia. Pleasure to meet you. We saw you sing last night. You were incredible and I thought I would surprise her by making introductions. As you can see, it worked. She’s shocked.”
Celeste shook his hand warmly then managed to shake mine, despite my fangirl wide eyed silence. She and Barrett made small talk for a second, while I couldn’t do more than stare at her.
She faced me, saying, “You’re very pretty, but I see circles under your eyes. You’re puffy, like you’ve been crying, too. Did this boy make you cry?”
The crispness of her consonants when she spoke coupled with her southern accent was very effective in getting my attention. “No, ma’am. I mean, I was crying but not because of him.”
She jerked her chin toward the other guys. “Them?”
“No, other people entirely.” I couldn’t believe she even cared.
Celeste nodded and put her hands on her hips. “Well, otherwise I would’ve had words with them, because you look fragile as a bird today. I saw you last night. You were lit up in there, and I loved how you seemed to sail away on the music. Whatever happened?” She leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “Fuck them. And you,” she pointed at Barrett. “I’m glad it wasn’t you.”
“I hope I go my whole life without making her cry.”
Celeste laughed, the sound as musical as her singing. She touched his arm gently, smiling when she said, “That’s unlikely. You’ll make her cry. She’ll make you angry. That’s the good stuff, but not like this. Whatever made her sad…it makes me feel like it deserves a jazz song.”
I thought about my complicated life and almost laughed. I probably could write a song about it.
I missed Dina,so we stopped to see her, but we caught her on her way out. She always seemed busy, her fingers dipped into more things than most ever guessed.
“How are my journals?” she asked me as she fastened a pin on her blouse.
Julian shook his head. “Your what?”
“You still haven’t told them? You really are good at secrets.” She laughed, telling him, “I have her typing up the journals I kept for years. Don’t worry, I’ll be gifting them to all of you on my birthday.” She spun, asking me. “How’s this?”
In that second, I could see her as she must have looked on her wedding day. Joyful and dressed up, so young and fresh and full of hope. “Perfect. You’re perfect.”
“Doubtful but thank you.” She grabbed her purse. “Don’t tell them what they say. See? We’re still keeping secrets. Are you all staying or leaving?”
Phoenix laughed. “We’re leaving, same as you. Who are you off to save today?”
“Mermaids,” she said then swatted him with her purse. “Don’t sass me. I invented it. Goodnight, children. I love you.” Instead of leaving, though, she tapped her purse on her hand. “No, wait. Idolove you. In fact, I love you all so much, I’ll skip the charity event in the East River tonight.” She threw down her bag. “Do you remember when you were children, and you came over for your spoil-a-thons? We all would sit here and play board games and eat spaghetti until we thought we might pop?”
