Page 11 of Weekends with You

“Oh, Lucy,” Jan said as the elevator groaned to the ground floor.

“What?” I said, trying to pretend I didn’t know exactly what he was implying. And trying harder to pretend I wasn’t hoping it was true.

“You’re just shaking things up in here, that’s all. First withthe weird shower playlist, now Henry’s volunteering to be the Runner. What have you done to us?”

“My shower playlist is not weird,” I said, trying to avoid the second half of his comment. I was still mostly convinced my chemistry with Henry was a figment of my imagination.

“I like your shower playlist,” Finn said, coming to my rescue.

“Thank you, Finn. Someone here has taste,” I said.

“Terrible taste, maybe,” Margot said, but I detected a smile on her lips.

“A bold comment from someone with a septum piercing,” Finn said. Margot threw a rogue empty can in his direction, and he let out a shriek like a small child.

“Crazy. All of ya,” Henry said, returning to the living room.

“Says the person who volunteered to do the rubbish,” Raja said.

“Some of us like to do something nice around here once in a while,” he said, shooting a smile in my direction. “I know you’re all strangers to the concept.”

“Don’t you have a flight to catch or something?” Jan said, waving him off, because no one was immune to the incessant ribbing around here.

“Ah, shit,” Henry laughed, looking at his watch. “For the first time ever, you’re right, Jan. It’s late, and I’ve gotta be up before the sun, so I should head in.”

Just like that? He’s here for a movie and then we don’t see him again for a month?I wanted to blame the knot in the back of my throat on the curry, but even I knew that would be a lie. And disappointment didn’t suit me, so I found myself suddenly looking for my own excuse to go to bed early.

“Ugh, Hen,” Raja groaned. “Already?”

It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one frustrated by his departure.

“You know how it goes, Raj. Gotta stay on schedule if I want to make this work. When I convinced the agency to let me do this, that was part of the contract.”

“Do you think Reykjavík will be the place you find yourself?” Liv asked from the couch, and Henry laughed.

“I don’t think it’s that easy, but it’s worth a try. I’ll get incredible photos, if nothing else, which you all seem to forget is what I do while I’m away.”

“Not as interesting as the soul-searching.” Liv yawned.

What was “soul-searching,” anyway? We all claimed to do it, but did any of us have a clue what we were actually doing? I made a mental note to ask Henry what it meant to him, if I had the chance someday.

“October will be here before you know it,” he said. “And itismy month, in case you’ve all forgotten.”

“Oh please, not another museum,” Liv groaned. “We love you, but the National Gallery is bloody dry.”

“Okay, first of all, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that, because the National Gallery is one of England’s proudest achievements and no one in this house knows how to appreciate a good old painting. Second, it’s not another museum. I have something good planned, don’t you worry.”

“Good by whose standards?” Margot narrowed her eyes.

“Margot, honestly, stop pretending to hate us,” Jan said. “We know you’re obsessed. Get over yourself.” Margot opened and closed her mouth, but said nothing, and the rest of us laughed, despite her expression.

“Trust me,” Henry said.

“Well, we’ll be counting the minutes, then.” Liv smiled, and the rest of us added our agreement. If only she knew how true that statement was for me.

October

October as a florist meant two things: finally saying goodbye to summer colors, and stocking up for the holiday season. We did most of our buying around this time in preparation for the holidays, which meant we spent many early mornings scouring local shows and wholesalers for the best deals.

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