Page 142 of Best Friends for Never

It’s the perfect combination of new and old, and I think the town will love it.

“I should have known.”

A loud squeal leaves me, and I do a full jump-spin to find Axel leaning against a doorframe, taking up the entire thing.

“Axel!” I glare at him, and he shrugs, unaffected by my outburst. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” He pushes off the door, grabs a much larger stack of lumber, and moves it aside for me. It’s absurd to me that even with his banged-up and bandaged hand, he can still lift far more than I can. He drops the wood down with a loud thud. “What areyoudoing here?”

“Working.”

“I can see that. But why? We called it a day hours ago.”

“Because I can,” I tell Axel, picking up another small stack of materials.

“So you’re avoiding going home and thinking about how miserable you are?”

I don’t say anything. What’s the point when we both know what the answer is?

Yes.

He sighs. “Want to grab a drink?”

I let the wood in my hands clatter to the floor, wiping my dirty palms off on my trusty overalls. “Yes, please. I could go for a whiskey sour or two right now.”

Axel laughs. “Let’s start with one.”

I grab my purse, sling it over my head, and follow Axel out of the theater.

The town is bustling, all the shop doors propped open, laughter flowing out as we walk by. Everyone’s so happy, but I don’t understand how they could be. Noel is gone. What’s there to be happy about?

We walk into Bigfoot’s Hideaway, which is just as busy as the streets, and grab our favorite stools at the bar.

“I was wondering when I’d see you two in here again,” Garth says, tossing two coasters before us. “I figured that theater has you busy, but I didn’t expect you to be out this late. Is everything all right?”

“Long day is all,” Axel tells him, covering for me.

“I hear that. It’s looking great, by the way. Can’t believe the progress you’ve made despite all the rain.”

Take that, Leonard Figgins.

Garth is right. Wehavemade a lot of progress. Well, Axel and his crew have. I’ve been ... distracted.

But still, the theater is coming along nicely, even with the rain delays. We still have months of construction, but I couldn’t be happier with how things are going.

“Thanks, Garth.”

“Thankyou. My niece squealed so loud when she heard you were doingBeauty and the Beastas your first show. She’s been nonstop singing that song Belle does as she walks through town, so rest assured you already have at least one ticket sale.” He taps the bar top. “Anyway, you want your usuals?”

Axel and I nod, and Garth runs off to grab our drinks.

“Did you hear that?” I turn to Axel. “We already have a sale!”

“I was sitting right here, so I definitely heard it.” He mightsoundlike he doesn’t care, but I can see the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He’s as thrilled as I am about this.

Thisis exactly why I wanted to resurrect the Goodman Theater: to bring the community together, to get kids interested in the arts, and to have fun.

It lifts my otherwise sullen mood just a little.

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