Chapter Thirty-Eight. Solar Eclipse
Chapter Thirty-Eight
SOLAR ECLIPSE
Based on how smoothly the evening was going, Cam couldn’t believe Cory and Tabitha’s wedding was Beau’s first venture into the reception game.
Janice, the wedding planner, and Beau’s staff had done a beautiful job transforming the restaurant and bordering beach into a celebration fit for any bridal magazine spread.
The sand hosted the main reception space, filled with tables, a pop-up bar, and plenty of flower displays to continue the white and lilac color scheme.
The deck was cleared of its usual furniture, instead housing the DJ booth and the dance floor.
Inside the restaurant, guests could take a break from the heat and the music, or make a trip to the bathroom.
Cam was especially excited to see so many familiar faces working the event. Xavier, JP, and the rest of the gang looked dapper in their black-and-white uniforms, and Esme fit right in behind the bar, dressed in her usual head-to-toe black.
Pauly and Angela also hit it out of the park with the catering. Cam was convinced the prime rib was some of the best she’d ever had, and it was nice to enjoy a salad without obsessing over the many dressing options that could accompany it.
But mostly, she enjoyed sitting with her best friends as they laughed through dinner, and the speeches by Tabitha’s cousin, her maid of honor; and Cory’s brother Isaiah, his best man.
As the plates disappeared and the sun began to set, the guests hit the dance floor.
Cam relaxed in her seat, smiling as she watched the older Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun grooving on the deck.
The new Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun were still making rounds, but knowing Cory, the newlyweds would hit the dance floor within ten minutes, and he’d lose his tie before the reception was over.
Across the table, Drew shrugged out of his jacket. “Dance with me, Morgs?” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
Morgan sipped her champagne, considering the offer. “Okay. Only because you’re being such a gentleman.” She stood and finished her glass in one pull. “But be warned. If a bridesmaid interrupts, I’m not putting our friendship first.”
He threw an arm around her, laughing. “You couldn’t possibly think I wouldn’t do the same?”
She grinned. “Aw, we’re twins.”
“Twins!” he cheered, leading her up the stairs to the deck.
As her friends disappeared into the throng of dancing wedding guests, Cam set her sights on Danny. He was deep in conversation with Esme at the bar, and based on the way she nodded and wrote things down, Cam knew their conversation was business related.
Even from a distance, she admired him in his suit. Like Drew, he’d lost his jacket, and his white shirt was unbuttoned at the top and rolled up at the sleeves. With his hair billowing in the sea breeze, he looked like a movie star.
His work would be done soon. All that remained of the formal party milestones was the cake, a gorgeous tiered monstrosity decorated with delicate purple flowers over white frosting.
When Danny finished his conversation with Esme, he returned to their table. He smiled down at Cam, hands stuffed in his pockets. “Having fun?” he asked.
“Lots.”
She was having fun. Seeing Cory and Tabitha so in love was infectious. Their happiness, plus good food, time with friends, and the beach setting made the evening an all-around success.
“Good. I gotta check on the cake, but then you owe me a dance, okay?”
“I can’t wait.”
He winked and ran off, but Cam wasn’t alone for long. Xavier approached the table, and she couldn’t be certain, but she thought it was the first time she’d seen him in pants or sleeves. “Thank god dinner is over,” he said, filling his tray with plates. “This up and down the stairs is exhausting.”
Cam frowned, helping him gather the dishes. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”
“No! Don’t worry about it. Tonight has been great. We’re getting paid an insane amount, we get to take the leftovers home, and random people keep tipping me.”
“You guys are doing amazing, and you look amazing.”
“Thank you! But now that I think about it, you can help. Do you mind running inside to the till at the main bar? We found an earring earlier, and someone came up asking about it. I’d grab it, but I need to finish clearing the tables before dessert.”
“Of course. I’ll get it now.”
Once Xavier had left, Cam made her way to the dining room, passing a dancing Drew and Morgan on the deck. Inside was mostly empty, except for a few people waiting for the bathrooms and one of Cory’s great-aunts sitting at a table with her feet propped up.
Cam couldn’t blame her.
She went behind the bar and unlocked the cash register, searching until she spotted the diamond-studded hoop.
But as she closed the till, a small red journal in the cavity beside it caught her attention.
Forever nosy, she pulled it out and flicked through it.
A quick glance supplied her with … equations?
Notes that repeated the same kind of formulas she’d cried over in college, forced to memorize in semesters of economics and finance classes.
But as she flipped through the pages, she felt a folded sheet of paper tucked into the back cover.
When she unfurled it, she noticed the letterhead from Inked and Axed.
Beneath the logo and address were matching sketches, four identical T-shirt shapes organized in twos, meant to represent the front and back of a garment.
One pair was outlined in a soft orange, the color of the sunrise.
The other was outlined in midnight blue, the color of the evening sky.
Both front sketches featured a celestial shape peeking over the left-chest pocket: a rising sun on the orange shirt and a crescent moon on the blue shirt.
She recognized the sun and the moon as the same basic but beautiful ink decorating Danny’s wrist. The parallel made her smile, distracting her enough that she almost missed another familiar illustration.
One that jump-started her heart.
On each pocket was a blackbird, perched upon the swoopy BEAU’S.
It was her tattoo. Every line, every shade, every detail.
The blackbird made an appearance on the sketches of the backside, too. Both versions featured a jaw-dropping illustration of the beachfront restaurant. A colorful surfboard sat in the sand and a little blackbird sat atop it, ready to hit the waves.
Another sketch joined the T-shirt shapes. A circle enclosed a weathered BEAU’S and blocked letters reading ELSWICK, RHODE ISLAND. A spattering of tiny numbers sat below the location—coordinates, Cam assumed.
And once again, the blackbird was there, flying beside the restaurant’s name.
Her tattoo was everywhere. On the T-shirts that would be sold to help fund employee benefits, on the new Beau’s logo …
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she put the journal back. Unsteady feet brought her to Xavier, and after handing off the earring, she noticed Danny approaching. He nodded up towards the dance floor as if it was where they belonged.
She took his hand and followed him up the wooden staircase. As a slow song played, they joined a crowd of other couples. Drew was finally dancing with a bridesmaid, and Morgan was dancing with Cory’s grandfather, laughing as he spun her.
In Danny’s hold, Cam was captivated by his gentle smile, his firm grip, his glittering eyes.
Thinking back to the journal inside, she lifted his hand.
At the sight of the small black sun and moon, she let out a quiet “Oh.” Their wrists touched, and she looked between her blackbird and his celestial pairing.
When she dropped his hand like it burned her, he frowned. “Something wrong?”
“No. Can I ask you something?”
“Always.”
“Do you know why I got a blackbird tattoo?”
His gaze dropped to her wrist. “The same reason it was the first song I learned to play on the guitar.”
“You remember?”
“Of course I do. I remember freshman year when you got mad Morgan couldn’t name all four Beatles.
I remember senior year, when I found you on the quad, listening after a shit job rejection.
I remember your dad always texting you lyrics when you were sad, and I remember the instrumental version on that very intense playlist you always studied to.
The song, the animal … always reminds me of you. ”
“Danny…” She was crying now, overwhelmed by his words, his memories. “I saw Axel’s sketches.”
“Do you like them?”
“Yes. I love them. But … my tattoo. It’s everywhere.”
“I know.”
“But … Beau’s is yours. It’s your home.”
He pulled her closer, his lips grazing the top of her head.
“You asked about my tattoo. What it meant. It means a thousand things, but … I’ve always been attached to the sun and the moon because they’re linked.
Their connection has no start, no finish.
The sun sets, the moon rises. The moon sets, the sun rises.
Their relationship is a promise that the hardest days will fade into darkness, and the most difficult nights will see the light again. ”
He twirled her and said, “I like to think our connection is just as strong. Just as endless. And as much as Beau’s is a part of me, you are a part of me.”
She clutched his shirt, shaking as they swayed. “Danny … that’s beautiful,” she whispered. You’re beautiful, she thought. “Esme insisted your tattoo had to do with my last name.”
Danny chuckled. “A thousand meanings, Milly.” He kissed her temple, and she melted into his hold. “I hope you love it.”
She did.
But not as much as she loved him.