Page 56 of It Started With a Scarf

She smiled. "I am a big deal, so you probably want to call me, not to brag."

"No, no…" I smiled at her. "I don't live here yet," I said. "I'll be moving soon, so I'll probably touch base after that."

"Okay, well, check out my channel and let me know if it's something you want to do. I like your style and think I'm going to like this scarf story."

"I will, thanks."

She walked away, and Dominic looked at me. I began to meander slowly toward the checkout, and he came along. I took the long path to get there, walking around the back of the store since I wanted to be able to talk to him.

"Are you going to go on that show?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. My first instinct is no. That's why I told her I don't live here yet."

"Why not?"

"Because podcasts are long. It's not like it's a two-minute conversation."

"So? You'd be good at it, and it would be fun." He grinned at me, challenging me. My heart felt so full looking at his dad gone handsome face. I just loved him.

"Yeah, but you're the most interesting part of that story."

"Why's that bad?" he said, his expression curious.

"I mean, the most amazing part of the story is you… it's when you came in with the rescue at the bus stop and everything."

He stared at me with a look that told me he was confused. "So, why's that a problem?" I shrugged a little, running my hand absentmindedly along a rack of clothes.

"Because, Dom. You're famous. You don't need me spilling the story all over the internet. I don't want people to judge you for me. They might think I want my fifteen minutes." I shrugged. "She was nice, though."

"Hey, Marley."

"What?"

"Guess what."

"What?" I said.

"I don't care what people think. I want people to know you're mine. I don't really care if it's the whole internet."

"Do you want me to go on that podcast?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Not necessarily. Not if you don't want to. I'm just saying, don't make it about me. I don't care who knows about the scarf. Or about us. I'm sorry about Britt earlier. I just don't talk about my personal stuff with her, but I don't care who knows that we love each other. I want people to know."

Chapter 20

Four months later

It was late June when the podcast came out. Naomi had done her research, and she put out an engaging, well-rounded show. The podcast even featured a brief interview with Mariam Waterson. My grandma called in, too, and at one point, I shed a few tears. It was edited beautifully, and I thought it accurately represented our story and all parties involved. I had taken it easy on my mother in the story since hearing the truth would have hurt her. To this day I remembered the words exchanged during the fight she had with my grandmother on my tenth birthday, and I didn't share any of that.

The show was an hour long, and it had aired three days ago. Everyone was happy with it, even my mother. I thought she was grateful about the way I represented her because she had called saying how much she had enjoyed the show and how proud she was of me. Dominic was portrayed as a wonderful, handsome hero because that's what he was, and that was what I saw him as.

Naomi had already learned who Dominic was before I got there for the interview and she was funny, retelling the story about the thrift shop and saying that she would have been so much more impressed with him that day if she had known who he was. Naomi was thankful for the story, and so far, she had gotten a great response from her listeners.

The response was more than we expected. During the last two days, several people at the gym had asked me about it. One of the ladies had even asked to see the scarf, and I was happy to let her. She had tried it on and taken a photo with it like it was famous in its own right, and I thought that was the coolest thing.

Our patrons were amazing. The Milwaukee gym was amazing. I absolutely loved my job. These people weren't just customers to me. I got to know them on a different level than the people I had been working with in retail. I was utterly professional from the start. I never mentioned the fact that I was with Dominic. Word had spread since the interview had released, however, and by now almost everyone at the gym knew we were together.

"Hey Marley!" It was a woman's voice and I turned to see Dom's assistant, Blake, jogging to catch up to me. She smiled and wiggled around a little before slumping like she was exhausted. "Your walkie's dead again, and you must not have your phone."

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