Page 59 of Cadence
We all pat our pockets, coming up empty. Paige pulls her bag onto her knee, digging through it, grimacing as she shakes her head. I stand and head to the counter, nodding toward the tip jar full of pens.
“Mind if I borrow a few?”
The hostess shrugs. “As long as you bring ’em back.”
I root around, testing a few on the inside of my arm. Two sputter out mid-line, one doesn’t even make a mark, and I toss them back into the jar and grab another, the thick black ink gliding in one smooth, solid line.
“Thanks,” I say, returning to the table and handing Eli the pen.
Paige eyes the ink on my arm, tilting her head with a questioning look. Eli signs first, then passes the marker around. One by one, we each scrawl our names, the logo now ringed with our messy signatures. They’re crooked, not that it matters. Not when the look on Cole’s face is like watching someone light up from the inside.
“So…” Eli grins, cocking his head. “Who’s your favorite?”
Cole squints, his gaze flicking over each of us in turn before landing back on Eli. “I dunno…”
“It’s me, isn’t it?”
“Don’t lie just to feed his ego,” Beau warns, nudging the kid’s arm gently with his elbow.
Cole grins. “Okay, it’s you,” he confirms as Eli throws his hands up in the air, triumphant, silently screaming like he just won the lottery. “But also, her. She’s really cool.”
A smile brightens Paige’s face, warm and genuine, as she holds up her hand for a high-five. “Good answer.”
She smacks her palm against his softly, and unfiltered joy shines from Cole’s eyes as his smile stretches wider.
His mom pulls out her phone. “Would it be okay to get a picture?”
“Of course,” Paige says, shifting as we crowd in, all elbows and shoulders pressed together.
Eli throws up bunny ears behind Cole’s head as Beau rests a hand on his shoulder. Paige and I crouch on either side of him, her hand on the back of the booth, mine tucked in my hoodie pocket.
Cole bounces on his heels, barely keeping still, throwing up a peace sign like he’s done this a hundred times before.
“Thank you so much,” his mom says, smiling down at her phone.
“My friends are going to freak out,” he says, peering over to look at the photo
“Oh yeah? Let’s give them something else to freak out over.”
Winking, I grab Paige’s bag, tugging it out from under the table. Pulling out her sticks, well-worn and taped at the ends, I grab the Sharpie again.
“Sign them,” I say, holding the marker out.
Slowly, she scribbles her name on each stick, blowing gently on the ink to help it dry. Her eyes track me as she hands them back, and I turn, offering them to him.
His mouth drops open. “Are you serious?”
When Paige nods, he takes them, clutching them to his chest like they’re a treasure.
His mom blinks. “Wow, thank you. Really.”
I shrug like it’s no big deal. “We’ve got loads back on the bus.”
I stand, already feeling Paige’s stare, watching me like she’s trying to figure out what just happened. She’s not angry, more…surprised.
Bending slightly, her voice softens as she says, “Those ones are extra special, because they’re the ones I played with during the show you saw.”
“Best. Day. Ever,” Cole says under his breath, rolling the sticks in his hands.
