Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Spencer
The lobby of The Palace is packed full of people of all ages. I lost sight of Vivien an hour ago, and I haven’t been able to find her since in the middle of all the chaos.
“Did you find the picture?” Benji zooms past me, clutching a printed page in his hand.
“I am not telling you where it is.” Chloe runs after him. “That would ruin the whole point of the scavenger hunt.”
It’s the grand reopening event at The Palace Theater. Vivien decided on a spring theme, since it’s May and the weather has decided to cooperate.
They are showing Brigadoon tonight, The Sound of Music tomorrow night, and then The Secret Garden on Sunday for the matinee.
But a triple-feature weekend wasn’t enough for her, not after spending the last three months or so updating everything inside the theater. The carpet is new, the paint is fresh, and the concessions are gleaming.
I bet it looked just like this when it first opened.
Although I’m not sure if they ever hosted an event quite like this.
It’s only eleven in the morning, and the show tonight isn’t until seven. Vivien managed to get local businesses involved in a series of daytime events.
Outside in the spring sunshine, tables are set up under the marquee and down the sidewalk with artisans selling handmade soaps, garden décor, and bird houses. There’s a table with a build-your-own-flower-bouquet bar, and mini herb potting where people can plant basil or mint to take home.
And of course, Noah is selling his squash.
Audrey is working the concession stand, which features lemonade tasting flights, fruit and veggie skewers, and cotton candy. In the corner photobooth, a line of people wait to take a picture in front of the bright green garden backdrop.
Beverly’s presence is all around, in the laughter of the kids on the scavenger hunt, in the flash of the Polaroid camera, in the sunshine streaming in through the windows and bathing everyone in light.
The past few months have been the busiest and best of my life. Vivien and I haven’t spent more than a night or two apart. We also haven’t heard much from her mom, but that doesn’t mean we won’t. Still, we’re enjoying the reprieve while we can.
Vivien is coping pretty well, but it has been a little harder on Audrey. She’s still trying to find her place. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, but she’s young. She’s got time.
Familiar laughter catches my attention.
There she is.
Vivien is on the other side of the lobby, talking to Jerry.
She’s wearing a yellow summer dress with flimsy straps and a hem that falls to just above her knees.
Her hair is pulled back in two long braids.
The coils were perfect this morning when I kissed her goodbye when she was on her way out the door, but now strands have come loose, tumbling round her face.
She laughs at something Jerry says, putting a hand on his arm. Her face is bright. Her whole being is bright.
Something in my chest clenches, stretches, and releases.
I love her so damn much.
I haven’t told her yet, but I’m going to. I’m sure she knows.
Jerry grins down at her, his white moustache twitching.
Such a stark contrast to when I first saw her. She was with Jerry then too, but she was in handcuffs, cold and tired.
Now she’s warm and dazzling.
I make my way toward her, sucked in by the force of her presence.
“Spencer.” George stops me halfway across the lobby with a hand on my arm. He’s holding a box full of plants. “Just the man I was looking for. I got some of these basil plants here, and I wanted to get them in the ground this weekend. Can you drop by?”
Drop by means plant them, and then probably do another twenty random chores he needs help with around his house.
“I have plans this weekend. You should go ask Noah.” I point out the front door. “He has the squash out there, and he’s an expert gardener.”
“Oh. Thanks.” He pats my arm and brushes by me for the exit.
It’s amazing how easy it is to say no when I have a beautiful woman vying for my time and attention.
I look up and catch her watching me, a smile playing around her mouth.
We walk toward each other.
“Hey.” I stop a couple feet away.
“Hey.” She stops too.
We’re both grinning like lunatics, ignoring the people and children swirling around us.
“Would you two get a room already?” Daphne mutters, walking by with a box of props for the photobooth.
I tilt my head. “She has a point.”
Giggling, she grabs my hand, and we race to the reel room, dodging questions and people attempting to thwart us on our path.
Once we’re locked in the dim room alone, I lean down to kiss her.
She stops me with a hand on my chest. “I’m really upset about something.”
I lean back. “Are you okay?”
Her lips press into a thin line. “It’s spring now and getting warmer.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“It means no more sweater vests.” She pokes at my polo shirt.
I laugh. “Oh, I have plans for sweater vests this summer.”
Her brows lift. “You do?”
I run a finger under the strap of her dress. “It involves me, you, a sweater vest, and nothing else.”
Her eyes widen with interest. “Intriguing.”
Then her mouth meets mine, and I forget about the sweater vests, the theater full of people behind us, and possibly my own name.
Until there are a series of knocks against my back.
I groan, releasing her.
“Who is it?” Vivien calls.
“It’s Audrey! I know you guys are, uh, busy, but we’re running out of ice, one of the Polaroid cameras broke, and there’s a toilet backed up in the men’s room.”
“We’ll be right out,” I say loudly.
Vivien groans, her forehead dropping to my chest. “I don’t want to go out there.”
I rub her arms. “It’s okay. I’ll help you.”
She lifts her face to look up at me. “You will?”
“Of course.”
Her eyes search mine. “You’ll help me with a clogged toilet?”
I chuckle. “I mean, I could deal with the ice, but yes, I will handle the toilet issue. I would do anything for you, even if it involves poop.”
“You’re my favorite person.”
I kiss her smiling mouth one last time, and then we leave the reel room together, splitting off in the hall.
She heads out to the lobby and I go in search of a plunger.
Sometimes life is beautiful, and sometimes it’s a little messy.
What else is there to do with your one big, beautiful life?