Page 39 of Soft
"I was emotionally prepared to. What's happening? The last thing I heard was that you were signing and then nothing. You went completely dark. Do you know what that does to a person?"
"I signed. Everything's official. Grizzly's my agent, and I've got a spot on the Bellport team if everything goes the way it's supposed to."
There was a sound on the other end of the line. Part pterodactyl screen, part baby squall. Then Doyle said, at significant volume, "DADDY. COME HERE. COME HERE RIGHT NOW."
I held the phone away from my ear. I could hear Pierce's voice in the background, patient as he could be with his demanding boy. Then Doyle was back. "Okay. Okay, I need you to say it again because Daddy didn't hear it, and I want him to hear you say it."
Once I heard the echo to let me know I was on speakerphone, I repeated the words. "I signed with Grizzly. I'm going to be playing for Bellport."
Pierce's voice came through clearly this time. "That's great news, Paxton. We're proud of you."
"Also tell him the other part," Doyle demanded.
"There's no other part.”
"There is absolutely another part. Did something happen with Grizzly or not? Because you texted me 'things are progressing' and that means something happened."
I leaned against the porch railing. "We had lunch. Just the two of us. It was good."
"How good?"
"Good enough that I keep thinking about it," I admitted.
Doyle made another ridiculous sound. "I knew it. I told Princess Aster. I said, those two are going to be the next big thing, and he said it was too soon to tell, and I said, watch. And now look at the two of you."
"It's not a thing yet, Doyle. It's lunch." His excitement, while nice, wasn’t helping my own. If I could have it my way, then I’d be dragging Grizzly here tonight to cuddle on whatever couch they had in stock at the local furniture store. He’d be in my arms, the way he’s supposed to be.
But that was rushing it. I couldn’t let myself get too far ahead of him.
"Lunch is how it starts. Do you know how many great love stories started with lunch?” Doyle paused. “Very few, actually, most of them start with something more dramatic, but the point is, it had to start somewhere, and yours started with lunch. It's beautiful."
I laughed despite myself.
"Princess Aster wants to know everything," Doyle continued. "He's right here. Actually, he's been right here this whole time, listening. I told him to be quiet so you wouldn’t get stage fright."
I shook my head at his admission, though I was smiling ear to ear. "Hi, Princess Aster."
"Hi, Uncle Paxi. I'm so happy for you. We're all so happy. When are you coming home to pack properly before you move for real?"
“I’ll be back soon. I've got to finish finals, then graduation. The logistics will come after that.”
Doyle interjected before Princess Aster could speak again. "We're throwing you a proper going away party. It's already decided. This is not up for discussion."
"I didn't try to discuss it," I said.
"Good. Because it's happening. Now tell me, is the house nice? Do you have enough room for visitors?”
I looked out at the yard, at the old trees and the hummingbird feeder. "Yeah. It's really nice, Doyle."
We talked for another few minutes while Pops came back through and gave me a thumbs up that meant he’d found Deb and set things in motion. The Princess Pack required a full account of the lunch. They needed to know what Grizzly had been like, what the general atmosphere was, and how I’d presented myself.
I gave them an abbreviated version while Pops leaned against the railing with an expression that told me he was deeply entertained at the shenanigans. He’d met Princess Aster, so he understood the interrogation I faced.
By the time I got off the phone, we had a purchase agreement to review and a tentative move-in date to work toward. We also had a going-away party being planned in my honor. None of this had been on my agenda when I woke up this morning. Well, maybe the house bit. I was hopeful for that.
Pops drove us back toward the hotel taking a longer way that went past more shops and got him a look at a stretch of the waterfront he hadn't seen yet. I didn't object. I was in the mood to be driven around and look at things. It was easier to let my mind wander.
We went past a row of small specialty shops close to the downtown strip. There was a blend of books, toys, clothing, and restaurants. I watched them go by idly until one of them caught my eye.
