“So you stay here, just because?”
Oliver shrugs. “Pretty much. It’s an Ellensburg thing. You wouldn’t get it. You’re from”—he makes a long arch in the air with both hands—“Seattle.” He takes a sip of his latte and sets it back down. “You’re practically an alien to us.”
“I feel like one around here.”
“Then what’s keeping you? It’s obvious you can’t stand it here, but I don’t blame you for that. You always seemed ready to leave. Even if it meant finding a job waiting tables or something. I mean, you even convinced Sam to—” He stops himself.
I drop my gaze. Because I don’t want him to look me in the eye and see he might be right. That maybe Sam is one of the reasons I don’t want to leave. They were once our plans, after all. Moving to Portland together, finding an apartment, and taking whatever part-time jobs we needed to save up money. He’d play his music somewhere, I’d find places to write. But he isn’t here anymore. So I have to figure everything out alone.
I stare at the table. “I just need a little more time…”
“Yeah, I get it,” Oliver says. He reaches across the table for my arm. “Listen, at least you’ll have me here. Maybe we can take some classes together. I’ll need someone to copy off of.”
“You always know the right thing to say.”
He leans back, smiling. “I have a way with people.”
I take a sip of coffee, ignoring this.
We finish our drinks. At noon, I have to leave for work.
I push in my chair. “Did you want to walk with me?”
Oliver checks his phone. “I would. But I’m meeting someone.”
I give him a look. “Oh? Who is it?”
He hesitates. “Jay.”
I give him a different look.
“What’s that look mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
I sniff the air. “Is that why you’re wearing cologne?”
“I’ll have you know, I wear cologne all the time,” Oliver says, folding his arms.
“Yes, but I’ve been noticing it more recently,” I say.
“Aren’t you late for work or something?”
I can’t help smiling as I leave, but not without whispering, “Is that a new shirt, too?”
“Please go.”
I wink at him. “Tell me everything tonight.”
* * *
I spot Tristan as soon as I enter the bookstore. He’s balancing on a ladder, trying to nail down a poster I’ve never seen before. It’s been a while since we worked the same shift. Mr. Lee is out of town for the weekend, so he asked both of us to watch the store together while he’s away.
I stare at the poster. “Who is that?”
“It’s General Griz from Space Ninjas, volume three,” Tristan says. “A classic.”
“He looks sort of like a bunny.”
“A mutated rabbit,” he corrects me. “From a lab experiment.”
“Gone wrong?”
“Yeah, you’ve read it?”
“Just a wild guess.”
Tristan starts down the ladder, nearly stumbles, and plays it off with a nervous laugh. He runs a hand through his hair and dusts off his shirt.
I set my things on the counter. Beside the register is a tray of streamers, trading cards, stickers, and some name tags. I turn to Tristan. “Are these things for the book club?”
“No actually, it’s for the Space Ninjas event,” he says, gesturing at the other posters around the room. “I’m working to promote it. I just made our store the regional meetup location.”
“That’s incredible! We must have a ton of people coming.”
“Well, only eight people signed up so far,” he admits. “And most of them are friends from school.”
“That’s not so bad. I’m sure more will come.”
“I know you’re not big on science fiction, but we’re having a Space Ninjas 4 movie release party soon,” he says. “You can come, if you want. I can add you to the mailing list.”
“Why am I not already on it?”
Tristan blushes. “I’ll send you the link.”
I tie back my hair, step around the counter, and open the register. There’s a box of bookmarks I’ve never seen before. I go through them. “Tristan, where did these come from?”
Tristan comes and leans over the counter. “Oh—I made them in the photography room at school. It has the store hours and location on it. We’re giving them out to customers when they buy something.” He points at the illustration. “That’s Mr. Lee—see his glasses?”