“What?”Marin asked.“Is everything okay?”
“It…” Celeste frowned, lowering the phone.Blake couldn’t completely discern their expression because of their sunglasses, but they looked upset.“It’s not sounding good.”
“…what happened?”Blake asked, already knowing the answer.Dread crept up his spine, cold and wriggling like a centipede.
“He hasn’t really been specific.”Celeste shook their head.“He says… ‘it’ll be easier to show’ us—whatever the hell that means.”
“Well that’s not ominous or anything,” Noel said, returning Bonbon to the floor.
“Is he nearby?”Marin asked.
“He’s about an hour up highway fifty,” Celeste replied, turning their screen towards Blake to show him a screenshot of Google Maps.“He says he’s free this afternoon, if we wanted to meet up with him.”
“No kidding?”Marin frowned.“I… I wouldn’t be opposed to that, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Are you sure?”Blake asked Marin.“Not that I’m trying to exclude you, but… I’m not sure what we’re going to see there.”
“No, no—you’re fine,” Marin reassured him, shaking his head as he approached Blake.Marin laid a hand over Blake’s, rubbing his wrist with his thumb.“I want to be as involved in this as possible.It’s not something that bothers me.I want to be there.”
Blake placed his free hand over Marin’s, squeezing it with an encouraging smile.He then glanced around at those assembled, clocking Noel’s expression curdled with worry.“You all right, Noe?”
“I… I also want to go to be there to support you guys, but…” he hesitated, rubbing his thumbs and forefingers together.“But… I’m really socialized-out from last night and need at least a few hours by myself to recover before doing anything else.Also… I have medicine I need to take daily to manage my anxiety, and I didn’t take any with me because I didn’t know I’d be crashing here.That’s something Ireallyneed to take to make sure I don’t have a panic attack when I go somewhere new, especially if I’m going to be meeting a stranger for the first time.”
“I get that,” Blake reassured him.“If I forget my Zoloft for too many days, I start getting brain zaps and it’s the absolute worst.”
Marin piped up, expression encouraging: “I’m really glad that you were able to make it out last night, Noel.I had a lot of fun.I understand that it was difficult for you and I’m proud you challenged yourself.”
Noel straightened his sagged spine, eyes shining in joy.“Thank you, guys, that… that means the world for me to hear.”
“Of course.But if you feel the need to head home and rest, then you should go ahead,” Marin continued.“You can be there with us in spirit.”
Celeste made a noise that sounded somewhere halfway between a groan and a wretch as they pushed themself up from the counter with a great amount of effort.“Y’all are disgusting.I’m gonna go try to throw myself together.Drive home safe, okay Noel?It was great to see you.”
They departed from the kitchen, leaving Blake and Marin to see Noel off.
22
Celeste texted Blake an hour later, instructing him to pull the Camry out onto the driveway.It took another fifteen minutes before they materialized, dressed in a bright yellow tartan suit.In one hand they held a shimmery pride flag fan and in the other was a thermos, which Blake was immediately suspicious of.
“How are you feeling?”Marin asked the second that they yanked open the back door.
From what Blake could tell, they looked like there was a bit more color in their face than earlier, but they still slumped over in their seat the second they climbed into the car, sunglasses going askew over their eyes.
“Like shit,” Celeste told him, uncapping their thermos and taking a violent chug.A strong scent permeated the air.
“Are you day drinking?!”Blake scowled as Celeste slammed the door behind them.They scoffed and Blake could sense them glaring at him through the black shades of their glasses.
“No dumbass, this is tea.”Celeste took another aggressive swig.“Peppermint, fennel, and licorice.”
“Classic hangover recipe,” Marin filled Blake in.
“See, he knows what’s up,” Celeste said, saluting Marin with the thermos.“My Mémé swears by it.She used to stay up all night drinking in Paris after her performances, then she would chug this all day so she would be good to perform that night.”
“Perform?”Blake asked as he pulled out of the driveway.
“Yeah,” Celeste nodded, setting the thermos aside and flicking open their ostentatious fan.As they fanned themself, they puffed up with pride.“She was a performer in the Paris Opera in the 70’s and 80’s.She and my mom are actually seeing a performance at the Opéra de Paris tonight.”
“That’s incredible!”Marin marveled as Blake released a low whistle.
