Page 89 of Ladybirds

Sara sifts through the bag, finding the razor at the bottom, and hands it to him. “Do you remember how to use it?”

“Your faith in me is nothing short of astounding.”

Sara does her best to hide her smile. She’s not nearly as successful when, half an hour later, he emerges from the bathroom with pieces of tissue paper decorating his jaw.

Before she can comment, he shoots her a warning glare. “Say nothing.”

He’s been fidgeting with his shirt the entire drive over—the cuffs, the buttons. Sara finds his petulant frown hilarious, but she does feel a little bad about the hint of unease she sees straining his eyes. She wonders if first impressions are more or less stressful when you know the person, but they know nothing about you.

“Will you stop messing with it?” she says, giving him a gentle nudge with her shoulder as they wait on the front step. In the grocery bag looped over his wrist is the cake she promised him. The frosting is a little melted—she should have let it cool longer—but she hopes he’ll be pleasantly surprised by the taste. “It looks fine.”

“That’s impossible,” he grumbles, but his fingers stop plucking at his cuff. “But with your skewed sense of fashion, I have no doubt you believe it.”

Sara lets the snarky comment slide, linking her arm through his and giving a gentle squeeze. The effect is immediate. The tension slides off his body like oil on water, the harsh line of his scowl softening into a subtle smile that hints at gratitude. “It’s going to be fine,” she tells him.

“Your optimism is adorable.”

The door opens before she can answer, Jen’s tiny frame filling the doorway. “Hi! Oh my gosh, I’m so happy to meet you! I’m Jen, Sara’s best friend since forever.” She’s so excited, she’s practically vibrating.

Sara knows it’s coming, but the smaller girl’s arms wrap around Seth in a friendly (and awkward with the cake between them) hug before she can put a word in to stop it.

Seth grunts, flinching.

Jen pulls back, horrified. “Oh! Oh god, I’m so sorry! I totally forgot—are you ok?”

“Quite,” Seth wheezes, smile strained. The hand holding the cake sports white knuckles. “Lovely to meet you. Officially.”

Jen’s nose wrinkles. “Officially?”

A dagger would be duller than the glare Sara sends her best friend’s husband. “You didn’t tell her?!”

Miles holds up his hands. “If you thought, for one minute, I was going to even try to explain that level of crazy, you’re tripping.”

Jen looks between them, smile faltering. “What—“

“Let’s continue this conversation inside,” Seth says, cutting her off before she can finish asking. “Shall we?”

Nodding hesitantly, Jen gives Miles a questioning look as she steps aside for them to come in.

Miles meets her stare. “Don’t look at me like that. Baby, trust me. You’re gonna need to hear this shit straight from the source.”

Sara swats him on the arm as she hobbles past.

Jen frowns, her food barely touched and her fork balancing idly between her fingers. Sara’s not sure if it’s made it to her lips even once. “So you were dead.”

Seth doesn’t seem to be having the same problem (he’s already helped himself to three more pieces of garlic bread). He twirls the spaghetti around his fork, frowning when the pasta doesn’t cooperate. He sighs. “No, no. I was cursed. Quite different.”

Jen still seems to be struggling to process everything, but she’s handling it better than her husband had. “But you were invisible.”

“To anyone outside of Sara, yes.”

“But then she broke the curse.”

“She did.”

“How?”

Seth grins. “I’m afraid that’s classified.”

---