Weird neighbor. Ha.
“Don’t let the haters hold you back. There are people out there who might try to tell you that sunrise is not a color, or that you can’t walk in the light and partake in the abundance that Mother Nature has to offer.” She paused for dramatic effect. “But let me tell you something. Sunrise is myfavoritecolor: pinky gold, orange, yellow, blue, all mixed together, and it’s beautiful.”
She definitely hadn’t accepted the vampire thing yet.
“I’ve charged my pyrite with sunlight,” she said, “and today, I’m gonna harness this golden light, flip it, and reverse it.”
I was about to text Heaven to not under any circumstances attempt to flip it and reverse it, whatever that meant, when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
Stephanie smiled brightly. “What are you listening to?”
“My Favorite Murder,” I said. Technically, it was.
“I love that podcast!” she said. “My husband thinks I’m a creep, but whatever.”
“I’m sure he’s the creep,” I said.
“I’m totally telling him you said that.” She laughed and directed my attention to the runway. “Would you help out with the runway?” she asked.
“Is there a fashion show?”
Jessica laughed. “Sort of. It’s for the SugarBoo bachelor auction. Don’t you remember?”
“Silly me—of course I do.” A bachelor auction. Now that was something I could get behind. “Is Tyrone going to be in the auction?”
“Of course. Everyone is, but definitely Tyrone. He always helps out. The proceeds go to the Valentine Christmas Miracle Fund.”
Stephanie called out from behind her tree. “I told you he was a saint!”
New plan. I would decorate this room to the best of my ability and buy Tyrone for myself. I wasn’t above aggressively manifesting my future.
“How much do the bachelors generally run?” I asked, already budgeting in my head.
Claire walked by carrying a box of tinsel. She smirked. “Ooh, someone’s thirsty. Good luck. You’ll be bidding against half the town.”
I laughed like I wouldn’t drain them all for this man.
When we’d finished putting up all the decorations, we took a step back to admire our work.
“It looks…” Stephanie hesitated.
“Empty.” You could barely tell we’d done anything. The gym was just too big. “Is it always like this?”
“No, this is our first year in the gym,” Jessica explained. “Maybe I was too ambitious.”
We stared at the twinkling Christmas trees in silence. It would be fine if we had a few bigger decorations.
“You know, I saw some theater sets in the storage room,” I said. Jessica didn’t look convinced, but I was suddenly filled with confidence. I was Tiffany Amanda Blair, damn it. If Heaven could crystal magic her humanity back, I could tap into my inner Martha and save the day (and the bachelor auction).
When I flicked on the storage room lights, I found the theater sets in all their amateur, high school glory. They were clumsily painted and so charming. One set featured a giant clockface that read,Radium dial, ottawa 1917. It was bold and dramatic. Another background featured the windows of an old-fashioned factory, the kind of building filled with loft apartments and young people who drank expensive coffee. The windows were bleak in a way that appealed to me, showing nothing but the night sky, pitch-black and dotted with stars. The stars glowed in a way that was unnatural but also beautiful. The set pieces were also movable—if you were a vampire.
I rolled the clockface out just as Jessica was snapping the lid on the last Rubbermaid bin.
“What do you think?” I said. It was perfect.
Jessica nodded with approval. “It says ‘Time to buy a bachelor!’ to me.”
While Jessica and Stephanie arranged the clockface, I dragged more of the set pieces into the gym and propped them up behind the stage. The starlit factory was a little Dickensesque, but it felt right.
