“No, there’s still a lot of hope,” Isaiah said. “All I’m saying is you have to hang in there and not let her presence get under your skin.”
It was the only way forward.
With nothing more to say on the subject, Victor pulled out a sleek binder he’d been toting around for weeks and said, “All right, let’s talk about the party. There’s a little less than a month until the twins’ birthday. Silas, are you still good to make the party favor bags?”
“Yeah, man. Whenever the materials arrive, send them my way,” Silas said.
He wasn’t an arts and crafts guy, but he’d offered his help with the planning process. Granted, that was before he found out they were throwing a big circus-themed party, complete with a bouncy castle they were renting from out of town, food catering, and a performance by someone Victor would only refer to as the “special guest.”
Silas had made the mistake of teasing Victor about the grand plans, missing his brother’s signals to abort the jokes.
“This is the first birthday where their hippocampus is developed enough to form long-term memories,” Victor had said indignantly. “I’m going to throw them a party worth remembering.”
Silas never questioned any of the party choices again.
“Also, I meant to ask you if you mind us inviting Desiree,” Victor said.
Silas frowned. “Why would I care?”
Desiree had been the twins’ babysitter when they were toddlers. She was now a product manager at the sawmill.
“Because you two dated for a while,” Victor said.
“We went on one date over a year ago.”
“Now, why did I think it was more serious than that?” Victor asked, looking over to his husband, who shrugged.
“I have no idea, but you’re free to invite her,” Silas said.
“Anyone you’d like us to add as a plus-one, then?” his brother asked.
“Are you asking if I’m seeing someone right now?”
“Yes, I thought my question was thinly veiled enough to make that clear.”
“No, it’ll just be me and a ton of presents for Leon and Maggie,” Silas said.
Dating in a small town was weird. Silas had known practically everyone around his age since birth. Those in town who were destined to be together had made that official years ago. The remaining ones, like him and Desiree, would try, at some point, to create a romantic spark, only to find out that familiarity and friendship had deadened the possibility.
Half of the reason his brother had been so excited to leave for college in a major city was, as a gay Black man, he could finally have an active dating life. Ironically, it was back in this very town he’d ended up meeting the love of his life.
Silas eventually wanted to find love too, but he was in no rush. Besides, at the moment, he had more pressing issues to attend to.
* * *
“Okay, ready?” Raven called out from inside her motel bathroom.
“Ready,” came the voices in the main room.
She walked out, hands on her hips, to reveal her outfit.
Linda, who’d come to Raven’s door to deliver fresh towels, had been lured into staying by the fun of the one-woman fashion show underway. She sat on the bed holding a phone with Raven’s mother on the screen.
“Thoughts?” Raven asked, frozen in a pose.
“I don’t have the words,” her mom said. Her face was pushed up close to the camera, the green goo of her face mask not obscuring her pained expression.
“I like it better than the last one,” Linda said, her voice uncertain.
