THE NEXT EVENING, Annabelle arrived at the pub with butterflies doing acrobatics in her stomach. She'd changed her outfit three times, finally settling on the yellow dress Raven said brought out her eyes, and she'd even attempted to do something with her hair beyond "functional ponytail."
She pushed through the door and immediately spotted Raven at the bar.
Talking to Daisy.
Deep in conversation, actually, both of them leaning close like they were discussing something important.
Annabelle's heart sank. She was too late. Raven was telling people already. Probably asking Daisy for advice about breaking it to Annabelle gently, or…
"Annabelle!" Arty spotted her and waved her over. "There you are. Perfect timing."
She made her way through the familiar crowd, Gloria holding court at her usual table, Blossom reading in the corner, a handful of regulars at the bar, and came to stand next to Raven.
Raven looked up and smiled, that slow, private smile that was just for Annabelle. "Hey. You look nice."
"Thanks." Annabelle couldn't hold it in any longer. The words burst out of her before she could stop them. If she didn’t say them now, then it might be too late to say them at all. "I need to tell you something. I've been thinking about what you said, about things needing to change, and I've talked to Lily, and I'm not trying to fix things, really I'm not, I'm just being practical, but I'm going to take a sabbatical. So I can travel with you. For your tour. Wherever you need to go."
Raven's smile vanished. "What? No."
"What?"
"Absolutely not."
Annabelle felt like she'd been slapped. "But you said…"
Raven stood up, and suddenly everyone in the pub seemed to be paying attention. "You're not taking a sabbatical."
"I've already arranged it with Lily…"
"Then un-arrange it." Raven's voice was firm. "Because I'm not going on tour."
The pub had gone very quiet.
"You're not?"
"No. I'm staying in Bankton." Raven crossed her arms. "For good."
Annabelle's brain stuttered to a halt. "For… for good?"
"I'm retiring."
"WHAT?" Gloria's voice cut across the pub like a theatrical thunderclap. "Why on earth would you do that?"
Raven looked at her, then at the rest of the pub, all of whom were now blatantly eavesdropping. "Because I'm done. I've had two successful solo albums. I've proved what I needed to prove. And now I'm done."
"But your career…" Annabelle started.
"Is exactly where I want it to be. Finished." Raven's expression softened slightly. "I don't want to tour anymore,Annabelle. I don't want to spend months away from you. I want to be here. In Bankton. With you."
"Well," Gloria said, looking absolutely delighted, "in that case, we'll need you as musical director for the Bankton Players. We can finally do Les Mis."
"Absolutely not," Raven said, but there was no heat in it, and her eyes were still on Annabelle.
"Oh, you'll come around," Gloria said airily. "They always do."
Daisy, who had been watching the whole exchange with barely contained glee, suddenly piped up. "Actually, that's what we were talking about. There's a house on the outskirts of the village. Big one. Four bedrooms, music studio, proper garden. It's perfect for you two."
"A house?" Annabelle echoed faintly.
