“There’s Libby-beans!” Serena squeals, dragging Emily’s attention away from me.
The girl I’d call the star of the show runs over and tackle-hugs Serena. “You came! What’d you think?”
“You slayed it, girl.”
“Straight fire,” Emily adds.
Libby slowly rolls her eyes at her big sister. “Stop being so cringey, Em.”
“What? Serena can steal your slang, and I can’t?” Emily teases.
“Ugh. I dropped an entire line in the last scene.” Libby glances over her shoulder. “I don’t know how. I memorized every word.”
“I couldn’t tell,” Serena says.
“Really? You’re sure?”
“Deadass serious, Libby.” Serena holds her hand up like she’s about to swear on a stack of Bibles. “In fact…” She pulls the program and a marker out of her purse. “Can I have your autograph?”
“You should get it now before I’m famous.” Libby dramatically throws her long, red hair over her shoulder and uncaps the marker with her teeth. She scrawls Libby with huge swirling letters next to her name on the first page. “There ya go.”
“I’ll treasure it,” Serena says with a playful grin.
Libby opens her mouth but her gaze lands on me and she frowns.
“Oh.” Serena hooks her arm through mine. “This is my friend, Grayson.”
“Great show, Libby.” What the fuck else am I going to say?
She tilts her head and stares at me, then shifts her eyes to Serena, clearly wanting to ask some questions. But finally, she nods at me. “Thanks for coming to the show.”
“Before I forget.” Serena rummages through her purse and pulls out a black envelope with silver stars drawn all over it.
“There better not be glitter in there,” Emily warns.
“Psh.” Serena waves her off.
“Oooh! What is it?” Libby grabs the envelope and tears into it. From what I can see, it’s a card with what looks like a credit card tucked inside.
“Fifty bucks at Pretty Cheeks!” She hugs Serena again. “Thank you.”
“It should be enough for that lipstain you like and some bright liners.”
“I sooo want that electric blue one.”
Serena brushes the girl’s hair back and studies her face. “That would look amazing on you.”
“Can we please not clown paint my little sister’s face?” Emily begs.
“Ugh.” Libby wrinkles her nose and sticks her tongue out at her sister.
Serena just laughs, so this must be the norm for the three of them.
A bunch of other kids from the play call for Libby.
“Go on,” Emily says.
“Thank you, Serena.” She waves at me. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
The girls laugh as Libby runs off.
“She’s such a firecracker,” Serena says, giving Emily a light shove.
“You want her? You can have her. She likes you better, anyway.”
“That’s because you’re the authoritarian parental unit.”
Emily pulls a wide-eyed sad face. “That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.” More seriously, and in a lower voice, she adds, “You didn’t have to give her so much. That’s a lot of money.”
Serena shrugs. “The company gives me gift cards sometimes. It’s okay.”
“Don’t you need to buy stuff to review with that money, though?”
“Nah, I’ve got plenty of product. Let her have fun with it.”
Emily’s eyes soften and she squeezes Serena’s arm. “Thank you.”
Serena glances up at me. “We can go now.”
“Whenever you’re ready.” Listening to them reminds me that I’m old as fuck, but also gives me something to focus on besides how crowded it is in here.
The girls hug again.
I glance at the concession stand. “You want something to go?” I ask Serena.
“Oh, yes. A blueberry muffin.” She reaches in her purse.
“I got it.” I tap her bag as she pulls out her wallet. “Put that away.”
I pick up a muffin the size of a softball and hand the kid behind the counter a twenty. When he passes me the change, I stuff it in the can on the counter labeled “Theater Camp.”
“Let’s roll.” I hand her the muffin, take her hand, and we get the hell out of the crowded room.
At the exit, I help her slip into her coat.
“Was that okay?” she asks softly as we cross the parking lot. “I didn’t realize the play was so long.”
“It was fine.”
Her teeth chatter as I open her door, and I hurry to start the truck and crank up the heat.
“She’s a cute kid,” I say, easing us out of the parking spot. “Hell of a voice.”
“I know, right?”
“It’s just the two of them? On their own?”
“Yeah.” She sighs. “Their parents died, and Em’s been raising her since she was nineteen.”
“Damn, that’s tough. How’d you meet?”
She turns toward the window. “Ah, Emily and I met at this support group thing. We were both trying to make big changes in our lives. Our goals and what we wanted to accomplish lined up. We just clicked.”
It’s clear she doesn’t want to share specifics, so I don’t probe for more information. Hell knows, I’ve got plenty of my own details I want to keep to myself.
“So, your place?” Serena asks. “I’ll finally get to see it?”