Page 47 of Cashmere Ruin
You can’t have someone else. Not now, not ever.
So where does that leave me?
“Oh,” Charlie says, expression falling somewhat. “Right. Well, this one’s probably a handful already. Ain’t that right, Li’l M?”
I fail to suppress a snort. Leave it to Charlie to put a smile back on my face after such a grim tangent. “Is she getting her street name already?”
“Damn right she is. She’s dope like that.”
At that moment, another knock comes. “Am I interrupting?” calls a deep, familiar voice.
I beam at the sight of my boss in the hallway. Something very few employees can say, I’m sure. “Elias!”
The third hug of the day nearly makes me two-dimensional. “There’s my employee of the month!”
“I thought I was your only employee.”
Elias blows me off with a wave. “Details, details. Ohh, is that the little mannequin?”
I shake my head and laugh. “A perfect one. Barely moves at all.”
He boops May on the nose while she’s still wrapped up in her uncle’s arms. “Don’t say that too loud. Other moms might get jealous.”
“I’ll make sure she cries every now and then at the grocery store to even things out.”
“Look,” Charlie tells him, “she has freckles, too.”
Elias squints playfully. “Is that right?”
I watch them from the door, tenderness filling my heart. Elias and Charlie are already familiar with each other, of course—what with my little brother kicking back at the shop on more than a few occasions. Basically whenever our mom went batshit, or when his dad…
Don’t think about it. That’s in the past for you. They can’t hurt you anymore.
Charlie transfers the baby into Elias’s arms, interrupting my train of thought. The old man grins down at her and lets her grab his gnarled finger with her tiny ones. She seems very curious about this new face in particular—probably because she’s never seen such a long beard before. He lets her play with it, then turns to me with a smile. “She’s perfect, you know.”
“She kind of is, isn’t she?” I murmur.
“You always did make the most beautiful things,” Elias says, surprising me. “But this time you’ve truly outdone yourself, April. You made a miracle.”
I can feel a lump forming in my throat, tears pooling at the corners of my eyes. I blink them away quickly; I will not go back to being a sobbing mess for the second time today.
“Thank you,” I say sincerely.
Elias nods, eyes shining with tears of his own. God, look at us: a bunch of crybabies. May’s eyes are literally the only dry ones in the room. “Uncle Charlie, can I leave her with you? I have something for your sister.”
Charlie’s only too happy to get his baby niece back. He starts playing peekaboo with her on the couch while Elias beckons me towards his suitcase. “As you requested,” he says while opening it with a flourish.
I check out the contents: fabrics, notes, instructions. As my hands run across the materials, I feel something click into place, like I’m finally back in my element. “This is all this month’s backlog?”
“This week’s, actually.”
I blanch. “Elias, did you at least hire a temp?”
“Nonsense,” he pshaws. “Kids these days don’t have the passion.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m ‘kids these days,’ too.”
“You’re the exception, my dear, not the rule. Maia was the same.”