Page 74 of Dahlias, Sapphires, and Cool Autumn Dusk
“Don’t thank me,” I said, but my voice wavered.
“Well, this is a lot of emotion for people who pretend we feel nothing but disdain.” Jeremy squeezed Phoenix’s arm. “You don’t know they would send you away, but we can’t guarantee they wouldn’t. None of us will ever really know what they would or wouldn’t do. Let’s get out of here.”
His abrupt shift must have hit all of us strangely, because the room fell silent. Finally, Barrett laughed. “Where do you propose we go?”
Jeremy shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Dinner in Riverdale. In honor of Granny. Makes sense to me.”
Actually, I loved the idea. “Should we invite her?”
“She’s away,” Barrett answered. It didn’t surprise me in the least that he would know. “She is in Westport with friends.”
“Then in her honor without her.” Phoenix grinned. He must have liked the idea. “But why are we going to the Bronx for Dina?”
Barrett laughed and patted him on the back. “Still a little bit out of it?”
“Yeah, but not in a dark way. Kind of what I was hoping for in general.” He shrugged. “So, why the Bronx?”
“She used to live there, back when she first got married.”
He nodded. “Okay, sounds good. Let’s move. You learn about it from the journal?”
“I did.”
Julian sighed. “He gave you dark weed, let’s call it that. Darkweed, like it’s one word.”
“Look at the writer, coming up with creative names.” He pounded on Julian’s shoulder, and he outright laughed.
The darkness vanished, banished from the apartment by their laughter. I glanced at Jeremy, realizing he liked to take care of everyone else. He fixed, so I hugged him. He startled, then squeezed me against his body. Once I spun out of his arms, I hugged Julian for his eloquent ability to address the elephant in the room. He wasn’t wrong; the adults had fucked up the situation, and we were left with the fallout.
He kissed my forehead. “Love you, Baby.”
Finally, I hugged Barrett, breathing his steady scent deep into my lungs. “I wasn’t there, but I know for a fact it wasn’t your fault. Also, can I just point out how gross it is if they were matchmaking you at twelve?”
He shook his head. “Right? It’s probably always going to feel like it was my fault, but thank you, Sweetheart. I love you. I love having you here.”
Finally, I hugged Phoenix again, sighing my way back into his arms. “You scared me. I’m so glad you were trying for a change you hoped would help. I mean it. If they sent you away, it would leave a gaping hole in our lives. There’s no moving on without you, so don’t ever worry about that.”
He kissed the end of my nose. “Okay, I believe you. Thank you. I love you.”
I sighed, relaxing into his touch. They felt like home, and if I was honest, I felt safe. As if for once the world might not rip me away from where I wanted to be…
He blinked. “How was the Met with Murial?
I laughed. “Soweird. I mean so, so weird.” I stepped away, grinning up at him. “I don’t think I can express how weird.”
Jeremy patted Phoenix on the back. “Davis is in love with her.”
Phoenix growled. “I hate that fucker.”
I grinned.Okay. Phoenix is back.
They pickedan Irish Pub for dinner, but none of them bothered to pull out fake IDs. They ordered sodas and water, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the scary bartender or for my sake.
Dina lived there with her husbands once, and she painted her downstairs red.Mostly because she was bored. I tried to imagine Dina bored, and couldn’t imagine her sitting still long enough to get bored. She always seemed to be in motion, going somewhere or doing something, thinking about things, and helping in some way. I tried to imagine leaving her home to tend the house, and I giggled.
“You’re thinking about something?” Julian asked and tapped my foot.
Barrett grinned. “I noticed, too, but I’m less rude.”
