Page 103 of Pictures in Blue
“Yes, we are. I recognize the bells above the door.”
But when I step inside the familiar scent of old books and coffee doesn’t hit me. Instead, it is a fresh coat of paint and a new, woodsy kind of smell. The kind of scent that greets you in a new store or a new space created in your home.
“Hudson, where are we?”
“Home,” he whispers in my ear before finally removing the blindfold.
I open my eyes, blinking against the soft light from the strand of bulbs draping across the ceiling of the once empty space. We are in the space Sky took me to the other day, except it’s far from empty this time.
A reception desk now sits to the left of the space and the curtains are gone. Near the back, there’s a small desk with a pink chair in front of it accenting the soft purple color that now covers the walls. A color I know was chosen by my best friend who at that moment walks through the back door with Sky close behind.
“Oh finally,” Charlotte says, making her way toward me. “We thought you guys were caught up in bed or something.”
My jaw drops and I ignore her comment, wrapping my arms around her, tears filling my eyes. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Well, it’s nice to see you too, babe.”
“You know what I mean,” I laugh through the tears.
“Well,” she explains. “A certain someone called me,” she glances at Hudson. “And we have a proposition for you.”
I look between the three of them and my heart starts to beat hard in my chest. The image of a cartoon character seeing the woman he loves, his heart thumping literally out of his chest comes to mind.
“Who has a proposition for me?”
“All of us,” answers Sky. “But you have to stay quiet until we explain it all. Deal?”
I nod my head because I’m not sure how to even respond to what’s happening. And I am not even sure what that is.
“First off,” starts Charlotte. “You probably know I got fired when I yelled at James as I walked out the other day.”
“If I recall, you flipped him off and said ‘Fuck you.’”
“Those were my exact words, yes. But when I went back to your place to clean out that garbage woman’s things, I had an epiphany.”
“An epiphany?”
“Yep. And when Hudson called when Sharon left his house, I had an idea.”
“An idea?” I ask.
“Stop repeating me and listen. I called Sky.”
“And she told me her idea,” Sky chimes in.
“And we agreed,” Charlotte continues.
“Agreed on what?”
“You deserve to stay here,” Sky says. “Make this your space.”
“Well,ourspace,” Charlotte corrects.
I am lost. Confused. And surprised?
“You said, you couldn’t afford this place on your own. So we are making sure you’re not on your own,” Sky explains. “You wouldn’t take my money and I know you won’t take my dear brother’s money either, but Charlotte came up with the idea of being business partners.”
“Business partners?” I know I’m still repeating them, but my brain can’t process anything else.
