Chapter 7
JULIET
Maggie’s the crafty one in our family, so it’s no surprise I turned to her for help before entering the hellscape that is papier-maché.
She’s cheerful and focused, whistling as she dunks paper strips into glue.
I, on the other hand, want to set everything on fire.
My fingertips feel weird and prickly, and I was bored with this an hour ago.
“Remind me why I’m doing this,” I grumble.
“To make a surprise display for the bookstore. For Spenser. Because you lurve him,” Maggie replies.
“Not this again.” I sigh. “I do not lurve him. I just want to spruce up the front display. But there has to be an easier way to do it.” To welcome spring, we’re making a bunch of flowers and butterflies.
As well as a few moths as a nod to the store’s owner.
I intend to hang them in the front window and fill it with books on gardening and other springtime subjects.
I go to dip another strip, only to find my glue bowl empty. I pick up my bottle to refill it, but everything is sticking to itself. How do people do this?
“Okay, fine. You’re doing something nice, which is really sweet. But if you can’t admit it to yourself, at least admit it to me: you have a thing for Spenser. A crush, an attraction, an infatuation, a passing fancy…something.”
I throw down my bottle of glue in disgust and glare at it.
“All right! You win. Yes, I have feelings for him. He’s really interesting and attractive.
He glows in the dark. He loves books. And have you seen his biceps?
Who wouldn’t get a tiny little crush? But that’s all it is.
It’s not like I’m going to date my boss. ”
Maggie sets aside her supplies and finally gets serious.
“That’s totally fair. If it’s really bothering you, I’ll stop teasing.
But just so you know, if you did want to date him, you’d have my full support.
Actually, you’d probably have the whole town’s support.
Spenser is well liked and people would be happy to see him happy. ”
I shake my head. “I can’t. It would be too awkward. But…what do you know about his dating history?”
Maggie grins slyly, but doesn’t tease me further. “Nothing, because there’s nothing to know. As far as I’m aware, he hasn’t been on a date since I moved to Harmony Glen. And I’ve never heard anyone mention a past ex or anything.”
I frown. “Well, he has to have dated at some point, right?”
“I don’t know,” she says, picking up her glue again. “I would think so? But I suppose it’s possible he’s never dated or that he’s like, aromantic or something.”
My frown deepens. I do not get the vibe that Spenser is aromantic.
There’s no way our chemistry is one sided, and I’m positive we’ve had…
moments. He’s solitary, sure, but I can’t believe that he’s never dated anyone.
I need to investigate this. I should add it to my list of things I want to learn about Spenser.
“Huh, well, it’s weird that he doesn’t date. But maybe that simplifies my whole situation,” I tell her. Not that I mean it. I very much would like to go on a date with him, even though it’s a bad idea because of the employment thing.
Maggie dunks more paper, getting along with her glue just fine. “What’s the latest on your parents?” she asks.
“Nothing new with Mom, fortunately. As far as I know, she’s not eating laundry pods in lieu of getting vaccinated or anything.
I got a postcard from Dad last week that came from Estonia, but he mentioned something about Myanmar in it, so I have no idea where he is at the moment.
You’d think he could text, or at the very least, email me, but you know how he is. ”
“Sure. Uncle Clive believes in the power of pen and paper, the importance of travel, the necessity of knowledge, and the joys of good coffee.”
I smile. “That’s Dad to a T. Your parents doing okay?”
“Oh, sure. They love living in the city.”
“You know, I think I get that,” I say. “Because I think I love living here. I doubted that small-town life would be for me, but I’m reconsidering that.”
“Oh, I totally understand,” Maggie says.
“I knew I wanted to live in Harmony Glen, but I think when I moved back, I didn’t realize the difference between living somewhere and making a life somewhere.
There’s a very important distinction, you know?
Buying a house, being with Gabe, establishing a group of friends… this is where I’m meant to be.”
Emotion wells up in me, though I can’t explain why. “Yeah. It is. And maybe me too.” I give a watery chuckle. “Assuming I ever finish these damn decorations.”
She dunks another strip of paper in glue and places it on the mold. “Nah, we got this.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I think we do. This display is going to kick ass.”
JULIET
I arrive early for my shift so that I can surprise Spenser with the display. I don’t tell anyone what I’m doing; I just let Jin know that I have a project and I’ll clock in soon.
I grab a cart and clear a bunch of local history books out of the window, then carefully hang my flowers and insects. I take my time, getting the placement right for each one. Maggie and I were up late into the night, carefully painting each one until they looked realistic rather than cartoonish.
Once I get everything placed, I can go grab some gardening books, but I’m not even going to think about that until I have this perfect. I want Spenser to be impressed by my initiative, and maybe a little touched that I included moths, even though they don’t exactly fit with the sunny spring theme.
The more I learn about moths, the more they fascinate me.
There are 160,000 species worldwide, outnumbering butterflies 10 to 1.
They’re nocturnal moon lovers with impressive navigation and disguise skills.
Butterflies are pretty in a kind of obvious way; moths are mysterious and beautiful in ways that have to be carefully uncovered.
I wipe away a bead of sweat along my hairline. Spring has arrived in Harmony Glen, and it’s hot in this window with the sun pouring in on me. I make a few final adjustments and then back off of the window’s display ledge, brushing dust motes from my clothes as I go.
I’m inspecting the overall look when I hear a noise behind me.
I turn to see Flicker appear, and once again, she has something in her mouth.
This time I can tell, from the size, shape, and dangling ribbon, that it’s a bookmark.
As before, she drops it in front of me, then uses a paw to push it even closer.
The only way her message could be clearer would be if she opened her mouth and actually said, “Here, this is for you.”
I pick up the bookmark. It’s deep blue with planets and stars on it, and the silvery text says: Books transport you to new worlds.
The ribbon dangling from it is made from a mix of turquoise and silver embroidery floss.
Overall, it’s pretty fancy, especially considering the fact that I have a tendency to use torn bits of receipts to mark my spots in books.
“Thanks, Flick.”
She trills and leans close, apparently asking me to pet her.
I do, rubbing the top of her head and scritching under her chin.
She purrs, content to sit with me and have attention lavished upon her.
I’m happy to oblige; Flicker doesn’t really hang out with anyone besides Spenser, so being chosen by her feels like an honor.
It’s no surprise that Spenser shows up a moment later; they always come downstairs together.
“Hey!” I greet. “Flicker brought me another present.”
He instantly notices the window décor, staring at it intently. “Did she?” He sounds distant and distracted.
“Yeah,” I say, tamping down my nerves. “A bookmark.” I hold it up, dangling it from the string, to see if he recognizes it.
“What’s this?” He points to the window.
“A surprise.” I grin. “I’m setting up a spring display. I think gardening books are the way to go with it, along with a few of those garden-themed mysteries, to promote the book club.”
He frowns. “Gardening books I understand. But what’s all this other…stuff?”
My stomach sinks. This is not the enthusiastic response I’d hoped for. “Um, decorations? Maggie and I handmade all of them.”
“I see.” He finally makes eye contact with me, his expression blank. “I need you to take them down.”
“What? I just finished putting them up.”
“Juliet, please take down these decorations. And then you can put the gardening books in the window and reshelve those history titles.” His voice is firm.
“I…okay, but I don’t understand. Is there a problem with them?”
“Yeah. I don’t want them in my window. Take them home and use them for spring décor at your apartment or something. I have work in my office.” He turns and walks away, Flicker trailing behind him and still purring.
I stand there, confused and hurt. What the hell just happened?
SPENSER
Frustrated, I turn around and push through the door that leads to both my office and the stairs, aiming straight for my apartment.
I already feel guilty; I handled that whole thing wrong, and seeing the confusion on Juliet’s face punched me in the gut.
Obviously, she was trying to do something nice.
But I was just so startled and offended by the display that I reacted without thinking. I know I hurt her feelings.
Fuck.
I look at my cat. “Flick, I fucked up.”
She sits primly on the coffee table, tail wrapped around her body, and stares at me, all but confirming my statement.
Great. My matchmaking cat is bringing Juliet gifts, and I’m crushing her spirits. What a great combo.
There’s a knock on the door and I open it to find Juliet standing there, eyes shining. She seems shorter somehow, slumped within herself.
“Can I come in?” she asks in a small voice.
I step aside. “Of course.”
“I need to know what happened downstairs. I feel like I made you mad, but I don’t know how or why. I was trying to do something cool for you and the store, but I obviously screwed up.”
I heave a huge sigh and flop into my old green chair, the corduroy starting to look worn. I might need to consider new furnishings. “Sit,” I say.
She walks to the couch under the big window and perches on the edge.
“We both screwed up. The difference is that I know what I did wrong. You have no idea, and I should have explained better.”
“Yeah, that would have been good.” She looks so diminished, leaving me hollow inside. Sad Juliet is breaking my heart.
I’m such an asshole.
“It’s just…I know you worked really hard, and I should have been nicer about it, but those fake moths were distressing. Offensive.”
Her eyes widen. “They were? How?”
I sigh again. “It’s kind of hard to explain. I guess it’s a cultural thing. Imagine decorating a window with human skeletons.”
She leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees. “Okay?”
“That wouldn’t upset you?”
“No. Humans do that all the time. It’s a classic on Halloween.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Okay, that’s a bad example. Imagine decorating with actual human corpses, then. Walking into a store that had decaying bodies in the window. Wouldn’t you find that off-putting?”
She wrinkles her nose. “Yes, of course. But there’s a huge difference between a dead body and a little bit of papercraft.”
I nod. “For humans, yes, there is. But not for my species. Decorating with fake moths was like using corpses.”
She looks puzzled, and I know her curious mind has a thousand questions, but all she says is, “I understand. Well, that’s not true. I don’t, not really, but I respect your beliefs and your opinion. I’m sorry I upset you.”
“I know you are. And I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to. You just surprised me.”
“Yeah, it was supposed to be a surprise. But a good one.” She stands up, and I do the same.
“You still have a few minutes before your shift actually starts. Do you want a cup of tea or something?” I have to find a way to make amends.
“No, that’s okay.” She still looks sad and diminished. Like I dimmed her light. “I think I’ll go ahead and finish putting up the gardening books.” Without another word, she places an item on my coffee table and leaves.
I glance at the solar-themed bookmark that Flicker gave her. I don’t think she realizes what the cat is up to, but I do.
“Flicker, stop giving her presents. We’re just co-workers.”
Flick stares at me a moment and then deliberately knocks the bookmark on the floor. Great, now she’s pissed too.
I only have two women in my life, and I’ve ended up upsetting both.
I’m just going to have to find a way to make it up to them.