Eric looked over at them. “Sorry! We’re getting in the way....”
“Yes, apologies. Just can’t help myself sometimes.”
“She really can’t.”
Eric and Mia shared a laugh.
“I only wanted to pop in and see how it’s going, and clearly it’s going smashingly, so I’ll be off.”
Jane, seated on the floor surrounded by the flurries of papers, watched them walk off. She felt a warm inner glow and realized she couldn’t stop smiling.
Jane was grateful she had no plans that night. There was only one thing she needed to do: put Kelsey’s witch show into her DVD player and watch.
Eric had multiple box sets ofSpellbound. DVD box sets were artifacts of the nineties and the aughts. Jane had suggested keeping just one, but that was a bridge too far. He wanted them packed up so he could put them in his storage unit.
As she obliged, Jane had discretely slipped oneSpellboundbox set into her Goyard tote bag, a wardrobe staple she had liberated from the obscenely garish megamansion of a Russian oligarch where it was suffering from neglect, forlornly moldering in the depths of a forgotten closet.
It was the first time she’d watched the show since meeting Kelsey. Now that Jane was hyperaware of Kelsey’s real-life mannerisms, she could see her in the character and realized there wasn’t a lot of distinction, really. Very early in the first episode, Kelsey had a big, dramatic scene with a demon that was breaking her heart. It was all so absurd: stilted dialogue, chintzy special effects. But in a close-up, Kelsey’s face was so open and vulnerable. And then she started crying. Somehow Kelsey made it all feel real. It was pretend, but she was all in.
Committed.
Chapter Nine
Eric, Again
The next day, Jane told Esmé, “We should spread out, divide and conquer.” They had worked industriously side by side the day before, but the office was almost done, and Jane wanted some solitude and to avoid any chance of getting lashed by that ponytail. There was a lot of work to be done in Eric’s closet, and Esmé readily agreed to tackle it.
When it was time for lunch, Jane stopped to check in on Esmé. For all her faults, Esmé was very competent. Every drawer had been emptied and there were neat stacks of clothes everywhere, making the room seem even fuller, almost claustrophobic.
Esmé shrugged. “It’s a little daunting but I’m making progress. How about you?”
“The same.”
“Where do you want to eat?”
Jane hadn’t planned on having company, but she remindedherself she was trying to be open-hearted. “It’s nice outside, so let’s eat in the yard.”
When the dogs realized they were not going to be fed by Jane and Esmé, they were entirely uninterested, and each one went to a different part of the yard, plopped down, and soaked in the autumn sun.
Jane took a seat across from Esmé.
“Your bento box is so on point,” Esmé cooed. “I wish I could put my lunches together like that.”
“It’s my routine. I prepare enough for the week on Monday, so it’s really easy to throw together.”
“Throw together, ha! It’s absolutely elegant, a work of art. And it looks pretty tasty, too!” Esmé, about to bite into her burrito, paused. “Jane, have you had a review with Audrey recently?”
Audrey was one of the cofounders of the company. She had a relentlessly upbeat and bubbly personality that masked hard-boiled business instincts. But those attributes could coexist, Jane reminded herself.
“No, it’s been almost a year now, I’m probably due. How about you?”
“Mine was last week.”
Some of the filling of Esmé’s burrito oozed onto her chin.
“How did it go?” Jane asked, picking at a cold piece of broccoli.
“Very well. They really like the content I make for the Insta.”
