The front door opened and George’s voice chimed. “Something smells delicious!”
Wes gulped and quickly said, “I promise, but can you grab the guitar and hide it while I take care of the first aid kit. I don’t want her to worry.”
“I won’t say anything.” If Dad was taking care of George. I could handle taking care of Wes, this odd boy who’d forced his way into my life.
I put the guitar in its case, realizing I hadn’t given a thought for the instrument until then. My anxiety and fear were entirely for Wes.
George picked up a strand of my freshly-dyed crimson hair and smiled. Red streaks stained my forehead, so much you would have thought my skull had split open.
“It’ll fade.” Her reflection in the mirror nodded, then the corners of her lips dipped with doubt. “Or I think it will.”
“If it doesn’t, I’ll just borrow one of your new hats,” I told her.
“I guess that’s one solution.”
George was wearing a teal tie-dyed scarf as a head wrap. When she’d shaved her head two weeks prior, I’d offered to do the same, but instead she made me promise we’d do something she always wanted to try on my hair.
“How are my girls?” Wes asked as he leaned against the door frame, sounding far older than his thirteen-year-old self. He was dressed in a crisp button up and his hair was slicked back, though a few strands were fighting the gel and sticking out at odd angles. The ridiculous image caused me to giggle.
“Ready to dance the night away,” George said with a shimmy of her shoulders.
We went to the local dive to see a cover band that night. I cringed when I heard their attempt to belt out The Smith’s greatest hits.
The four of us sat in the cracked leather booth closest to the stage, Wes and I sipping on syrupy Shirley Temples and trading glances with each song we recognized. George stared at the dance floor with a wistful expression but stayed seated with us.
My dad had none of it. He never buried his feelings, but if he could fix melancholy, he would. I hadn’t thought of him as strong before, but as I watched him carry George in his arms,that changed. She threw back her head and laughed as he danced, dipping her before spinning around.
“She’s smiling,” Wes said, hardly blinking as he watched them,
I clinked my sweating glass with his. “You are too.”
He blushed, averting his gaze and twirling the straw. “Do you like the band?”
I gave him ayou can’t be seriouslook and took a long sip. The lead singer’s vocals were so garbled I could barely make out the lyrics, and the guitarist’s fingers weren’t applying the right amount of pressure on the fret, muting the chords.
“It’s not like we’re any better.”
“We could be,” I countered. I’m not sure if I believed it. I just didn’t like being told what I could or couldn’t do. “If we keep this up, by the time we’re their age, we’ll be way better.”
Dad swept back to the table with George, both of them flushed with glee. He set her in the booth next to Wes before sliding into the spot beside me and squeezing me in a side hug. “Hey, kid.”
“What did we interrupt?” George asked, trading a look with my dad.
“We’re going to perform one day, and we’re going to be really good,” Wes told them, though he was looking at me. He spoke without a hint of doubt—a prophecy. A foreign emotion ballooned in my chest. He believed in me, in us, and I wanted to keep being an us. To make something great with him.
“We’re going to be the best,” I agreed, and for the first time I started to picture a future with someone in my life other than my dad. I wanted to stay in Caper and make music with this boy, to dream, and make sure those dreams came true.
6
Avery
September 2024
I’m distracted all through the premiere, rubbing my finger over the soft edge of the Uno card. Saying no to Wesley’s idea means I have to find another way to convince him to sign the papers that doesn’t involve being stuck with him for months on end.
He captures my attention so completely that I don’t notice when the movie ends and everyone around me rises to their feet and applauds, prompting me to do the same. I remain a phantom of myself, quickly changing for the after party, and getting in the limo with Jamie and Harper.
“Really, was it good? I feel like everyone is lying and secretly hates it,” Jamie asks, fidgeting with his bow tie before giving up. “Fuck, and I’m going to walk into this after party with this all messed up.”
