Chapter 28
October 21, 2023
The Strand Bookstore Employment quiz
Draw a line to match the book to the author:
Hi Strand team,
I know I’ve applied before, and my knowledge of classics is bad, but I know lots of contemporary books and comics. Also, in my defence, I’m Australian. (Please don’t laugh at me!)
Brynn Wallace
‘Wake up! It’s parade day!’ Corey screeches, her footsteps beating a drum on the floorboards as she thunders into my room, flinging the door wide. I’ve barely opened my eyes when she lands on my bed, sending it sailing across the room.
‘It’s safe to say I’m awake,’ I groan as the bed hits the wall and starts rolling backwards.
‘You need to get that fixed,’ she says.
‘I’ll get onto it.’
‘Not now, though. Come on,’ she says, ‘we’ve got to get downtown and help.’
It’s another grey, drizzly day, and I slip into jeans, a volunteer shirt with a long sleeve top underneath for warmth. I’m sitting on Jenny, putting on my new boots while Corey packs us snacks in the kitchen. She catches sight of the boots and I see the look on her face.
‘Don’t say anything,’ I warn. When I came home last week and told her the story, she howled with laughter as I recalled Angelo kissing me. I sent him a brief text once I was home explaining that I wasn’t looking to hook up with people I worked with. And also thanking him for his help with the boots.
‘How did you not realise it was a date, that’s my question,’ Corey teases from the kitchen.
‘Corey, he took me to Hoboken to buy boots and then to McDonald’s. When—outside of being twelve years old—has McDonald’s been a date spot?’
‘Fair enough,’ she says. ‘But I’ve learned that you’re super bad at knowing when people are into you.’
‘Touché.’
At the parade, Corey heads off to find Jake and talk with important people from the city. I’m allocated to a marshalling post and spend the morning wrangling owners and dogs in costumes, and giving out wristbands so they can participate in the best-dressed competition. There’s a girl who’s come as Barbie, with her dog as Weird Barbie complete with coloured fur scribbles; dogs in cars, on floats, in baskets and bags. I see Perdita and her mum, who’s in her signature Cruella de Vil costume, and they stop to talk to me for a while.
Thousands of people line the streets and, despite the constant drizzle of rain, everyone is smiling and happy.
‘Brynn!’ I look up from putting a wristband on a human dressed as Captain America, whose dog is Iron Man, to see Sienna coming over to me. She’s dressed in jeans, an oversized hoodie and a baseball cap. She looks effortlessly cool as she pulls her headphones off her ears and leaves them looped around her neck.
‘You’re here!’ I say, and happiness bubbles up inside me at the sight of her. She comes over and envelops me in a huge hug and then kisses me on the cheek. My skin heats where her lips touched. ‘I thought Corey said you couldn’t come?’
She grins. ‘Wouldn’t have missed it. I pulled an all-nighter to get my paper written and here I am.’
I take in her appearance: she’s not wearing any makeup and her pale cheeks are flushed with a warm glow, her blue eyes are bright and sparkly and there’s no hint of the hollowed-out look that I used to get pulling all-nighters at school. ‘Well, you look like you got a full eight hours and were dressed by singing birds this morning.’
She shakes her head and her curls bounce. Seriously, how is she that beautiful?
‘If you wait a second, I’ve almost given out all my wristbands and then my job is done for the day, I’ll come watch the judging with you?’
‘Sounds good,’ she says. ‘I’ll go get us a spot near the stage.’
I watch her practically skip away and feel a sort of tightness in my chest as she goes.
Later, I find her, Corey and Jake, and the four of us whoop and cheer as the forty best-in-show costumes parade across the stage for the right to win the contest. Jake keeps pulling Corey in for a hug or kissing her on the cheek and Sienna and I share a look at how cute they are. My whole body feels as though it’s glowing with happiness.
‘You guys want to go get a drink?’ Sienna asks once the competition is won by a Pomeranian dressed as Winnie the Pooh, sitting in a honey pot and flanked by his mum and dad who are dressed as Piglet and Tigger respectively.
‘We’ve got to help with the bump-out,’ Jake says. ‘But you guys go ahead. Thanks so much for your help, Brynn.’
Corey gives me a quick squeeze and a look that I can’t interpret sparkles in her eyes as she says goodbye. Sienna and I shuffle through the crowds of people together and my happiness steps up a notch.
‘I don’t know this part of town well,’ I tell Sienna.
‘Want to come to mine? It’s a couple blocks that way,’ she says, pointing. ‘I’ve got gin and one of those soda makers so we can have a nice drink without paying.’
‘Sounds like a plan.’
I collect my backpack from the marshalling station and then we make our way slowly through the crowds.
‘Oh look,’ she says, just as we make it to the park gate. ‘Doug is here.’
I haven’t seen Doug at work since the day of the floods. He’s standing near the marshalling area talking animatedly to someone from Get Joy, the company who saved the parade. He looks up just as I turn and I think we make eye contact, but I’m far enough away that I can’t really tell if he’s registered it’s me.
‘Looks like he’s chatting up the Get Joy rep,’ I say.
‘Could be good for you guys,’ she replies. ‘But hey, doesn’t your internship open for applications this week?’
‘You remembered?’ I gape at her.
Sienna laughs and touches me lightly on the shoulder. ‘Brynn, I do listen when you speak.’
‘But you remember the actual week they open?’
‘Like I said, I listen.’
‘Yes, but so does Corey and she still asked me yesterday how long it was until applications open.’
She shrugs and the grin she gives me is sweet. ‘I guess I’ve just got a good memory.’
Sienna lives in a tiny, neat studio apartment in a sixth-floor walk-up a few blocks from the park. She’s made good use of the space and it’s light and airy, and super tidy.
‘This is so cute,’ I say, taking in her study desk that’s covered in vet textbooks, the pale pink bed that’s set up to double as a couch, and the green velvet two-seater sofa.
‘It does the job,’ she says, leading me to the open kitchen and taking a nice bottle of gin from the cupboard. ‘Until I finish school, at least.’
‘What’s the plan then?’
‘Depends,’ she says. ‘I graduate in the summer and I’d like to travel. I’ve been doing some research and I’m pretty sure I could work as a vet tech in the UK.’
‘What about Australia?’ I ask.
Her eyes meet mine as she pours the gin into two glasses. ‘What’s the point?’ she counters. ‘My only Australian friend lives in New York right now.’
Butterflies come alive in my stomach at her words. ‘But if all goes according to my plan, I’ll be leaving here in August next year—wouldn’t that be when you’re graduating? Maybe you could come and see my lovely country?’
She almost says something, but then shrugs and turns her back to me, pulls a bottle out of the fridge and sticks it in the soda machine. The apartment is filled with the sound of her pumping the gas into the bottle to fizz the water.
‘Gin and tonic’s your drink, right?’ she asks, chucking a look over her shoulder.
‘Yeah, but soda’s fine,’ I say.
‘It’s okay, I got some tonic syrup.’
She makes the G so I forgave him. Over and over again.’
Sienna’s kind face is stern when I finish talking. There’s genuine anger in her eyes and it makes me speechless for a second. ‘He sounds like a jerk,’ she says, low and steady. ‘You shouldn’t let men like him spoil romance for you.’
I shuffle closer and swivel so I’m facing her. ‘I just don’t know how to trust that the romance is because they like me, not because they want to, like, own me or something. Not that Lucas wanted to own me.’
‘But do you think he wanted something from you?’
‘Maybe,’ I sigh. ‘Girls must be so much easier to date.’ That look comes over her face again.
Sienna clears her throat. ‘It’s different,’ she says. ‘The worst part about dating women for me is trying to work out if they’re interested or not.’
I meet her eyes and warmth spreads inside of me. I think for a moment it’s the gin heating my belly, but the feeling spreads out lower and I realise that look in her eyes, the shadow that keeps passing over her face, is interest .
Sienna is interested in me.
I bite my lip, not looking away from her as she moves slowly, almost imperceptibly, towards me. I feel her warm, sweet breath against my face. I can smell her perfume: peaches and vanilla just like on that night at Hilde and Mason’s. I can see the soft skin of her collarbones and wonder how it’d feel under my fingertips.
‘So,’ she says. ‘I guess my question is, are you interested, Brynn?’
I hold my breath and something in my chest comes undone. I close the gap between us and then we are kissing.
It’s tender at first. Her mouth tastes like gin and strawberry lip gloss and her skin is so, so soft against mine. But then my breath hitches in my throat and I let out a quiet moan and something clicks in both of us. Her hands are tangled in my hair, pulling me close and I think it’s the best kiss I’ve ever had and oh my god I’m kissing Sienna ...
I break away, panting, burning for more of her. But some part of my brain short-circuits. I was just kissing Sienna!
My flight instinct is suddenly screaming in my head to get out. ‘Sorry,’ I squeak. ‘I have to go.’ I need to get home, where I know my reality. Where I am sure of things.
‘Brynn, it’s okay,’ Sienna blurts out. She stands when I do but she pauses at the couch as I back away to her front door. ‘I shouldn’t have—I just thought ...’
‘No, it’s me,’ I tell her. I can’t bear the idea of Sienna blaming herself for my reaction. ‘I’m sorry ...’ I grab my bag and race out of her apartment, down the stairs and onto the subway. My heart doesn’t stop hammering for the whole ride home.