Trust Fall
“Don’t drop it!”
“I’m not going to drop it.”
“You’re going to drop it!”
“I’m going to bite you.”
The bells above the door jangled as I walked into Legends Comics and Collectibles.
Jason and Amanda’s voices were loud enough to carry halfway across the green.
Of all the residents in Firefly, I knew them best. Born and raised, they were the epitome of lifelong friends…
even if that included biting. After last week, I needed to surround myself with people who knew me.
They carried an oversized box through an aisle filled with action figures.
It never ceased to amaze me that Firefly, a small town in the mountains of Maine, could support a comic book store.
Jason assured me the town was filled with comic-loving geeks.
He said ever since he hosted FireflyCon, it had become the go-to destination for comics.
“Mike!” Amanda dropped the box, the edge landing on Jason’s shoe. He hopped around as if she had broken every toe on his right foot. It didn’t stop her from giving me a hug. “Ignore him. He’s a drama queen.”
In the back of the comic shop, a group of five teenagers barely gave a glance. They returned to their game, dice rolling along the table. Seconds later, they cheered as if they had finally slayed a dragon.
“What brings you to my lovely shop?”
“My shop,” Jason corrected.
“Technically.”
They were no different when at Spectrum. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were siblings. Every conversation gave big brother/little sister energy.
“I’m staying with my grandparents for a few days.” I told myself it’d be a quick trip while I cleared my head. In truth, I didn’t know how long I’d be in town or how long it’d take to shake this streak of depression.
Amanda’s eyes lit up. “Did she bake you a pie?”
“Of course.”
“Blueberries.”
“Hand-picked.”
She made a sound somewhere between gurgling and salivating. Rose’s pie had that effect on people. I should know; I had already eaten a whole one, and I hadn’t been here for twenty-four hours. I’m sure there’d be another waiting for my return, and this time it’d be served on the good plates.
Jason stopped dancing about, got on his knees, and started tearing the box open.
With one flap pulled back, I spotted the rainbow.
Now that I knew about the impending Pride two weeks away, I’m sure I’d be seeing a lot more of them popping up.
His eyes went wide as he saw the poster.
The colors I recognized, but the caped crusader eluded me.
“What’s that?”
“The Centurions.” He said it as if I’d understand. “They’re releasing a limited number of Pride edition statues.”
“Action figures,” Amanda and I said in unison.
“You play with action figures.” He reached in further, pulling out pieces of Styrofoam. “You admire statues.”
I admired his passion. From the box emerged a two-foot statue of a burly bear wearing leather.
That was a character in a comic book? Okay, he had my attention.
The hero stood upon a heap of demolished building, with a pride flag in his hand as if he were about to plant it.
Jason gawked, and I couldn’t blame him. This bear would have fit in at Spectrum’s fetish night and left with more than a few numbers. Mine being one of them.
“Bernard Castle.” He said it with a sense of reverence. “Leader of the Centurions.”
“Are you understanding any of this?” I whispered to Amanda.
“I just nod until he tuckers himself out.”
Jason didn’t hide his love of heroes. He had taken his passion and turned it into a career.
Amanda had done the same. From an illustrator hiding in his loft to a consultant on a Hollywood film, they had found their paths in life.
If I had put more effort into being myself, would I be where they were and not checking flowcharts and finances for hotels?
“Yes. Firefly Pride is huge.” Amanda leaned against the counter as Jason put the statue on a shelf in the window. “But it’s not the most important event happening this summer.”
Jason’s head fell backward as he let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not going to give up, are you?”
“My bestie is getting married. You can act like I’m not planning it all you want.” She shot me a wink. “But we all know you’re going to cave. So, let’s skip to the part where you thank me and I take over.”
“Wait? What? A wedding?” This was gossip worth settling in for. “Before Amanda takes over and hires strippers, tell me about it. Who proposed to who? Ring? Who cried first?”
I leaned my elbows on the counter. Amanda did the same, and once again, I resorted to batting my eyelashes. I needed sappy love stories where one burly bear found their soulmate. I settled in, ready for a quality happy cry.
Jason’s cheeks turned red. “He asked.”
“Boy,” Amanda scolded. “If you don’t tell it right—”
“Fine!” Even as he shouted, the smile didn’t falter. Jason and Simon were an adorable pair, and they deserved nothing but a perfect ride off into the sunset.
“He found the ultra-rare silver foil cover of Centurions number one.” Even their engagement had a flair of geekery. “He cooked meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It was like any other dinner in front of the TV. Then he went to the living room for dessert.”
Amanda barely suppressed a squeal.
“He said a package had arrived with my name on it.” I watched as his thumb dragged over the ring on his finger.
“I recognized the packaging from the shop. When I opened it, I nearly knocked over the TV tray.” Jason’s chuckle turned into a laugh.
“He said, ‘Why don’t you open it.’ Like I’d ever open a collector’s edition. That’s just crazy talk.”
“Simon’s still a geek in training,” Amanda whispered.
“He got fidgety. I knew something was wrong.” Jason closed his eyes, and the smile grew bigger.
“He blurted out ‘turn it over’ like an oversized kid.” Jason put his hand on the table, showing off the silver band with the same logo I had seen on Bernard Castle’s costume. “He had taped the ring to the back.”
“The knee!” Amanda shouted.
Jason snorted. “He got to one knee and then he knocked over the TV tray. But it didn’t matter. He said he couldn’t live without his favorite sous chef.”
“The best part is coming,” she said.
“Lucas was on the stairs listening. Apparently, I didn’t answer fast enough. He jumped in, asking if I’d be his spare dad.”
“Spare dad,” Amanda mumbled. “I love that kid.”
Jason let out a long sigh. “Me too.”
My eyes blurred with tears. “That man is a keeper. How excited are you?”
“He’s over the moon,” Amanda answered for him. “If I catch him staring at that ring one more time—”
“Very,” he admitted.
Amanda’s hands slapped against the counter hard enough that Jason and I jumped. She almost squealed with whatever idea had come to mind. Taking me by the hand, she tried to get me to bounce with her. Once upon a time, I thought she reserved her energy for the club. Nope, she had it in abundance.
“Your wedding planner just had an amazing idea.”
“Good grief,” he said.
“No! It’s magical.” Her bouncing stopped. As she stared me in the eye, I could see her excitement becoming my tragedy. “What if Mabel officiates?”
What? No. I assumed everybody understood when I said retirement, it wasn’t from Spectrum. In all the conversations that night, I never mentioned permanently hanging up her sequins and burying her abundance of makeup in the back of the closet. I hadn’t expected others to want her to resurface.
“I—” I forced myself not to wince. “Uhm—”
She squeezed my hands, her excitement almost infectious. Amanda had a feisty personality, but there wasn’t a malicious bone in her body. Somehow, that made the ache in my chest hurt more.
While I clocked the exits, Jason’s expression softened. He might not register the hairs standing on the back of my neck, but he saw the discomfort.
“We’ll talk about it.” He deflected on my behalf.
“Fine,” she said. “But it’s a fantastic idea. Chef’s kiss.” Her eyes lit up again, growing even wider. “What if instead of tuxes you wore chef jackets?”
Standing here, wearing my favorite denim jacket, a five o’clock shadow darkening my cheeks, they still saw the fabulousness. I might have locked her away, but that didn’t mean her presence had vanished.
“What if—”
“Don’t make me get the spray bottle,” Jason threatened.
“Why do you hate fun?”
They’d go back and forth while I stood there, wrestling my proverbial glitter covered demons. The air in the comic shop grew heavy, and my palms turned sweaty. I checked my watch as if I had an appointment.
“I need to head out.” It sounded better than I needed to run from her.
I gave Amanda a kiss on the cheek and did the same for Jason across the counter. As I made it to the door, the bells jingled.
“Get ordained just in case,” Amanda yelled.
Even without the makeup, she remained.
Flowers.
The sweet smell drifted through the air, pulling me from my downward spiral.
At the center of Firefly sat the heart of their community.
The green served as a communal space where the town put aside its differences and enjoyed nature and one another.
Two sides were flanked by small stores, while the mill ran the length, the first floor steadily being transformed into more shops.
If I stood on my toes, I could almost see over the trees to the river at the end.
I inhaled, trying to pick out individual smells. There were expertly pruned rose bushes and a small community garden, but it always came back to the lilacs. Two large bushes framed the walkway entrance. I stopped, snapping off a twig covered in purple flowers.
Another deep inhale. “Nature therapy,” I mumbled.
If it were winter, I might take a page out of Patrick’s playbook and hike up a mountain, hoping to find a handsome, burly man to save me from the cold. For now, a stroll in the park to clear my head would have to do.