Page 73 of Sweet T

“So, you’re saying that, other than day-to-day expenses, money is not the real drive here?”

“No.”

“And you’re not looking to be the next Chris Pratt?”

“Hardly. I just want to keep doing this, what we’re doing right now... reading, experimenting, bringing our version of this—” He held up his script, “—to life. I may need money to survive, but I need what we’re doing right now to live.”

Sebastian sighed big, smiling. “Thank you for being honest with me.”

“Of course,” Evan said, then slipping into the accent he’d been tweaking for the Fool. “You are my liege... my king.”

Sebastian mirrored Evan’s transition, falling into the cadence of Lear. “And a worthy fool you are, my friend. You’re always there, looking out for me. One day, perhaps, I’ll be your fool, looking out for you.”

Fifteen

“What’s going on with you?” Shelly asked Tucker. She was sitting at the bar, again rolling silverware.

Tucker was standing opposite her, a few feet away, with the register drawer open. He was just staring at it and doing nothing. He shook his head. “Sorry. Brain fart.”

“More like a brain freeze. You’ve been standing there for at least a minute. I was thinking maybe you were having a stroke.”

“No. Thankfully.”

“You’re thinking about Evan, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“I knew it. Cupid has landed right here in Spoon.”

“You’re not conspiring with Daddy P, are you? He said something similar when we were in Milledgeville this morning.”

“No. But considering how he knows you as well as I do, I’m not surprised. Why were you two in Milledgeville?”

Tucker stooped, punching the combination into the safe. “He’s commissioning a painting with Everett O’Connor. It’s a wedding present for Daddy. He wanted me to go with him, to help choose a photo.”

“Fancy. O’Connor ain’t cheap. That’s a great idea for a gift, though. What picture?”

“One that your mother took of us in the pool. I’m on P’s shoulders, and you’re on Daddy’s.”

“No way. I’m in it?!”

“Yeah. So?” Tucker put the cash drawer in the register and closed it.

“Seems like it should be a family thing.”

“You are family. And it’s a really cute one of all of us. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

“What about Javy?”

“What about him?”

“You don’t think he should be in there as well?”

“I mentioned it. But P wanted one from back when he and Daddy first met.”

Shelly smiled. Tucker saw the reflection of one of the bar’s neon signs in her eyes. “I see where he’s coming from. Those were good days. But enough with this subject change. Tell me what you’re thinking about, Evan. Quick, before he and Sebastian get here.”

Tucker looked at her, a small, revealing smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

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