Page 3 of Little Wing
The thoughts lingered at the forefront of my consciousness every time I pictured what Little Wing could be—no, what it would be. We had so much of the necessary paperwork completed. Our loan was almost a sure thing, too. All that we needed was a space to let our vision blossom.
“Hey, you’re doing that thinking face again,” Mateo chuckled, leaning over the back of the couch where I was, in fact, staring at the blank television screen while I mindlessly scrolled through essays submitted for the vampire history course I taught at Fairhaven College.
“I guess I was. How are we looking? Will Benji be ready for us this evening to go over spaces?”
“Yes,” Mateo quickly responded, pulling out his phone to confirm. “He said he’ll have an update for us once we get to his office. Shit, Silas, what if this is it? What if this is the space we’ll finally be able to work in?”
I watched my brother grin as he leaned back to give me a playful shove. Despite this being the twelfth offer we had put in on a space for Little Wing, he certainly hid his anxiety well. Eleven rejections in the span of a few weeks would bruise anyone’s ego. But we had a greatrealtor who wouldn’t bullshit us on our chances. He was working nights for us just to make sure we could secure the perfect space for our cause.
Here was to hoping that Mateo's positivity wouldn’t go to waste in the next few hours.
As the last of the afternoon sun’s rays retreated along with the troubling thoughts of Luca, The Black Cat Scribes bookstore finally came into view. It was a beautiful building that I never grew tired of seeing. Stunning Old English red bricks made it look older and refined, and a wall of vines spread across one side of the building like a dark leafy shield against the elements. Just the sight of it settled any nerves I had.
It felt like home.
When I stepped inside the delightfully cluttered bookstore, I was greeted with the immediate aroma of anxiety, adrenaline, and… iced peppermint mocha latte? Reina, my coworker and one of my closest friends, was most definitely hard at work.
“Reina?” I called, loud enough to be heard, but hopefully not loud enough to startle.
Before I saw Reina, I first noticed the tower of books maneuvering around the store as if possessed, likely concealing the five-foot nothing woman.
“Hey,” I said as I watched her set the stack of books down on the empty table. “I thought I’d stop in a little earlier to see if I could help out?”
“Oh!” Reina suddenly yelped and plucked out a pair of ear buds from her ear. She brushed a lavender curl that clung to her chestnut-colored skin and giggled so hard that she nearly snorted. “Lo, you scared the shit out of me!”
“Well, I did try to announce myself.” I admitted.
I watched as the curvy woman walked from around the counter and stretched her arms above her head. She was wearing a mid-length floral dress, cinched by a corset belt that sculpted her waist into an hourglass figure, and black platform boots that gave her the benefit of three extra inches.
“Right, well—” Reina paused and gave me a quick up-down as she did most days when I arrived. Our styles certainly differed with her being more eccentric and fun while I remained on the plainer side. I certainly enjoyed her creativity. “I like that dress, Lo. Shows you actually have a body under all those layers.”
If I could blush, I certainly would.
“You’re telling me you’re not coming in early to get out in time for a hot date? Did you finally check out that app I told you about?”
A laugh escaped me. “Date? No, I just wanted to enjoy a longer walk to work. Plus, you know I don’t really date. Especially not off an app. I’m not as adventurous as you think I am.”
Reina shrugged and walked to the counter where her half-drunk peppermint mocha latte awaited her. She picked up the cup and quickly wiped off the condensation against the bottom of her skirt before bringing it back to her mouth. After a sip from her straw, she smirked. “Who said anything about dating, Lo? I like to think there’s still some mystery to you. Who knows, you may be a freak behind closed doors, and frankly—I’m here for it!”
Before I had a chance to react, she set her drink down and rushed to grip my hands in hers. “By the way—the event istotally booked!”
I watched her swing my arms from side to side. “What event?”
Reina stepped back and cocked her brow. “The midnight release? Don’t tell me you already forgot. I only sent you like fifty texts about it!”
Of course—the release of Sylvie Reverie’s book. How could I forget?
I quickly pulled out my phone to find that all of Reina’s texts were indeed delivered successfully. I had every intention to respond to her, but as the notifications began to build up, the more suffocated I felt. The pressure to feel excited about the event forced me to go mute. The potential for more attention not only on the bookstore, but those of us working the event, worried me. All I could do was to try and deflect with humor. It often helped me get out of uncomfortable situations, at least with Reina.
“Maybe that’s why,” I offered her a tight-lipped smile. “My phone has a low tolerance for repetitive messages. Immediately deletes them.”
Reina rolled her eyes and nudged me playfully. “Ha… good one. But seriously, that Facebook event I made actually blew up. I don’t know how or why, but hundreds of people RSVP’d yes! I guess people really are huge fans of Sylvie Reverie!” She grinned wildly and spun around to motion to the table with the pile of books. “I thought with her upcoming release we could host an event here with trivia and costumes—you know, a real midnight release book party! Plus, maybe this will entice more vampires to come check out our store.” She paused and nodded towards me. “Well, other than you.”
“Right.”
I approached the table and gently ran my hand over the spine of the Sylvie Reverie book at the top of the pile. Sylvie Reverie, a vampire, whose popularity in fantasy romance soared after being featured on a major news network that highlighted her as a breakthrough author inthe last century. Little did people know, Sylvie published over a hundred novels under different pseudonyms before the treaties were in place. Plenty of us have “lived” through many lifetimes just to remain undetected. Whether it was by changing our name or appearance, we always found a way to thrive, even from the safety of the shadows.
Reina went on to go over the details of the event and how she envisioned it. By the sound of it, we would need to bring in the part-time employees who only came by to work for a few hours a week in between their college classes.
