Page 69 of The Comedown

A collective “Ooh” spreads around the room and I smile, honored I get to provide a little slice of the same escape they just gave me.

The same tiny girl from before comes over and tugs on Julian’s shirt twice until he bends down to her level, asking her, “What’s up, sunflower?” She whispers something in his ear, then he says, “That’s right, I did, huh? Will you help me out?”

She glances at an acoustic guitar sitting in front of the wall of windows, nodding shyly. Going over to it, Julian lifts the Yamaha off the stand before taking a seat on the floor while the girl settles in next to him.

The sight needles its way into my psyche, sewing a clean little stitch of an imprint of itself to my memory.

“You’re going to play?” I gesture to the guitar he’s already mindlessly strumming, and he nods. “Anything in particular or do you just make it up as you go?”

“Both,” he says on a chuckle, making me laugh, too.

I know he’s got lyrics just waiting to come out, he just has to make sure they’re clean.

As if just remembering that fact himself, Julian’s eyes fly to mine. “None of my songs are appropriate.”

Well, yeah.

“Make something up right now then.”

Gazing down at his helper, he hums as his fingers float across the strings. “What should I sing about, sunflower?”

She lifts the doll in her hold, giving it a suffocating squeeze that only comes from love—the kind you can see and feel.

Julian smirks up at me. “A dolly?”

“Hey, you asked.”

Bringing his attention back to the guitar, his eyebrows crease as he concentrates, and I walk closer to get a better look, planting myself on the other side of the little girl and her doll.

The rest of the room falls into a sort of trance, lulled by Julian’s clever handwork until his raspy voice blends with the chords, captivating everyone all at once.

“Sifting through the dozens just to find that one true dime.

Right out the box, she’s got that sparkle and shine.

Promise not to let it dim long after she’s mine.

Her ’fit’s so fine, got these other girls claimin’ it’s a crime.”

With a smirk, Julian looks at the little girl between us, then shifts his focus to me.

“The day she came into my life,

right in through those eyes,

I felt myself drop, on for miles and miles.

Down, down, down,

powerless to stop the fall, not that I’d even try.

’Cause ain’t nowhere else I’d rather be,

than right beside that glowing smile.”

Julian doesn’t typically sing, more so talks his raps, but on our song he does a kind of mixture of the two on the parts we do together, so this is the first time I’m hearing his actual singing voice all on its own and it’s…incredible. I don’t know why he doesn’t sing more often. Or play guitar. He should be doing both.

“Didn’t think I’d—”