Page 40 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“Hey!” Everyone shouted in unison when they saw us come back.
“Come sing with us!” Tobias yelled in our direction while Joel offered aquavit shots to everyone. That meant I had to drink a snaps. I’d never done a shot of anything before in my entire life. They explained how I needed to sing along, even if I didn’t know the words. I had to mumble whatever I could make of it, then down the shot on their cue.
We gathered around in a circle. William was laughing with Eric. I was still feeling embarrassed about my reaction when he offered to get the camera with me. But he seemed like he didn’t care anymore, so I shook the thought away and accepted one of the shots that Joel was passing around instead.
We sang a song called Helan Går, well I mumbled it, of course, and then we all downed the small shot. Thankfully, people sat down to eat after that. I needed food if I was to survive these small but surely sneaky shots.
I tried every dish on the table. They were all so tasty.
“We’re lucky to have Billy as our personal chef. He cooks for us every year,” Tobias said, pointing at William with his fork.
Oh.
William’s food wasdelicious, and somehow, I couldn’t imagine him in the kitchen. It must’ve taken him hours to prepare everything.
William turned our way when he heard his name being mentioned. I praised him for the meal and told him the potatoes were my favorite dish. I was trying to make up for the awkward exchange we had before. He lazily met my gaze and curtsied with a nod. “Glad you liked it.”
If he was going through a rough patch, as Lily said, I was sure he appreciated a few kind words for his effort. I knew what hiding pain looked like, and it was not pleasant.
We kept eating, talking, and laughing for a while. The party continued, and I took pictures of everyone, mostly candidly, hoping the camera settings were correct. I feared I would develop a film made of white-out or blotchy prints.
Lily asked me to take one of her and Joel against the rooftop railing with the New York City skyline behind them. I shot a couple of pictures of them and walked back toward Lily.
“Camera,” William said behind me. I turned around, and he was extending his hand out to me. You could tell he wasveryrelaxed. I removed the camera strap around my neck and gave it to him. He quickly hung the camera around his neck—at least he was reasonable. I didn’t want my new camera to slip off his fingers and shatter against the floor.
“Lily.” He directed with a limp hand, suggesting we stand for a photograph. He stared at the camera, trying to figure out how to work around it. I told him to click on the silver button and explained that everything had been set up.
He snapped two pictures and walked back in our direction. “You weren’t in any of the photographs.” He placed the camera strap around my neck and said, “But you are now.”
William looked up at the sky and smiled. “Look at that. Waning crescent. You know, my grandmother used to tell me stories about the moon during the Midsummer nights we spent in Sweden when we were younger.” William rested his forearms on the railing, and I stood beside him. “‘Out with the old, in with the new,’she always told me. ‘Let fate run its course.’ I don’t actually believe in all that crap, but the crescent moon’s my favorite moon.”
I smiled back—it was a cute story.
“I’m in the mood for something new,” he whispered. “Aren’t you?” His face drew dangerously near mine. I took a step back, and the rooftop access door suddenly shut with a thump.
“Well, there you are!” A gorgeous brunette with perfect shoulder-length hair snickered in our direction. William winced at the sound of her voice, and we both turned around to see her.
All you could hear was the music playing in the background.
No one dared to utter a single word.
THE ONLY ONES LEFTat the party were the four brothers, Lily and me. The rest of the adults had left by then. William marched in the brunette’s direction and dropped his beer on the table as he walked by past it.
“What the hell are you doing here, Erin?” William asked through his teeth.
“You haven’t been returning my calls. What was I to do?” she replied cynically, and loud enough for everyone to hear.
William walked off the rooftop, and the brunette followed close behind. I kept quiet while everyone stared at each other.
“Awkward,” Eric said, breaking the silence.
“I think I should leave.” It was getting late, and I was tired. I’d been there since noon, and the aquavit snaps were swimming through my bloodstream and making me sleepy. I drank a few, but they were small. You needed to drink several to make up a regular-sized shot. Still, I maintained myself collected as usual.
“You can’t leave yet,” Eric told me as he reached for my arm. “Pick seven flowers from anywhere you want as long as they’re different.” I turned to Lily, asking with my eyes if I should do it.
“Sure, it’stradition.” She laughed. “I’ll be picking mine, too.” She stuck her tongue out to Joel, who pinched her waist in return.
“Put them under your pillow tonight while you sleep,” Eric instructed. “It’s—for good luck.” He was dead serious about it, and I hesitated for a second but walked around and gathered the seven flowers anyway. I mean, they were just flowers.
