Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
He begins to sob. Slowly at first, then wailing like a dying animal as the house truly begins to burn. The heat is amazing and we have to back off even further, over toward the car. Kenny gets out, staring in total shock, before he goes over to Cowan and kicks the old director. “That’s for all the shit you put me through, you piece of garbage,” he screams and kicks Cowan again. “I hope you rot, you filthy old fuck.”
The smoke is thick and tar black and fills the sky with ash and particulate, and I like to imagine Cowan can literally taste his life’s final work going up in flames.
“By the way,” I call out to the old director as he sobs into his hands. Kenny glares death at him, apparently not afraid to show his face all of a sudden. “Your former assistant here gave us the password to your Dropbox. There are no digital backups anymore. It’s all gone, you piece of shit. Every last stolen frame. All that hard work. It’s gone.”
He only cries harder, an old, broken man in his underwear, watching the last decade of his life go up in smoke.
Something touches my hand. I look over and it’s Blair, smiling as she watches the house burn. Our fingers lace together and my heart does flips, excitement coursing through my veins. I move closer, and we stand there, waiting until we hear the sirens in the distance before we finally turn back to the car. “Time to go,” I say to Kenny and he hops into the back seat.
But before we get inside, I pause and pull Blair close. “I really love you, Blair,” I whisper and kiss her softly.
She kisses me back. “I love you too. Stop smiling like that, I’m still mad.”
“I know you are.”
“You’re going to work to earn me back.”
“You know I will.”
Her lips break out into a huge grin. “Yeah. I know you will.”
I kiss her as the building burns behind us, pumping all our darkness into the sky.
Chapter 29
Blair
Five Months Later
The Blair is electric. Every seat is packed, the concession stand is mobbed, and the air feels like it’s supercharged. Baptist puts an arm around my shoulders, hugging me closer, and I put a hand on my clearly swollen, pregnant belly.
“What do you think?” he asks as the band walks out on stage and everyone goes insane. The lighting drops, changes, colors shift, and the show truly begins.
“I think it’s incredible,” I say.
Pride begins to play. They’re a massive local band from the Philly area, and Marie was able to get them to headline our first show, mostly as a favor. They’ve been blowing up, and the show sold out in like ten minutes—which is the perfect way to reopen a venue.
Ansell and Marie stand nearby. I grin at Marie and she smiles back, and even Ansell gives me a little nod—though he never smiles. Marie puts a hand on her belly, and I know she’s mirroring my pose, because she’s pregnant too. Our kids won’t be that far apart, and if we’re lucky, they’ll be friends. I can already see our future, the two little ones running around the theater together, watching the shows, enjoying the music and whatever else. The idea makes me smile, and I lean against Baptist as the music rips from the speakers.
He leans down and kisses me gently, and I can finally see why he did all this.
I was so freaking mad. Even after we burned down Cowan’s house and ruined his work, I was livid with him. It took a few weeks before we really started working it out, but once we did, it was like two puzzle pieces slipping into place. We seamlessly made this theater our priority, and worked so damn hard to get it ready, staffed, and prepped for this show.
And now here it is, happening in front of me, all those hours of work, all that struggle and that sadness, and all of it was worth it.
I get what Baptist was trying to do now. He wanted to prove to himself and to me that he cares about things bigger than himself. This theater is bigger, because it represents our family and our family’s future. It represents everything we love in the world—music, show business, comedy, joy and crowds and excitement. This is our world, our joy.
And we’ll share it together.
“I have something for you,” he says in my ear and takes my hand in his. There’s something small and hard in his palm and when I pull away, there’s a glittering, beautiful ring left behind. I stare down at the ring and he’s grinning as he slowly sinks to one knee.
“Yes!” I shout over the music. “YES!”
He laughs and kisses my fingers and slips the ring on. “Will you marry me?” he asks.