Page 42 of Fibre and Ink

The attic wasn’t too dusty. I was pretty good at coming up here and evicting crows and bats to keep it neat.

There were boxes, carefully labelled, of Mom and Dad’s old things. Most of their clothes had been donated, but I’d preserved things like Dad’s wedding suit, and Mom’s bridal dress. Plus Dad’s painting supplies, and Mom’s old knitting patterns. A lot of memories were stored up here.

I found the box with the slide projector, and just under that, the exact thing I wanted. Complete with outdoor safe extension cords and a transformer for the power point. I lugged the whole box downstairs.

“Everything okay?” Aster called from the kitchen.

“Yep, just—” I wanted this to be a surprise, but I’d have to admit I was doing something. “Just arranging a surprise for you!”

“Oh?”

I flushed. “Well, uh, you just focus on dinner, and I’ll get this set up for something to do while we eat. Okay?”

“Okay!” Aster sounded dubious but willing to go along with it.

There were deck chairs in the garage, that would be a good option for seating. Or, maybe something more snuggle-friendly?

Couch cushions and hay bales!

That’s what Dad used to do.

Some blankets, some citronella candles, a ton of cushions and we’d have a cozy set up. The candles and hay bales were easy to source. I had them set up in a jiffy, along with a double stack to rest the projector on.

I had to go back into the house for the other stuff.

Aster had put on music and was singing as he made dinner. My heart did a little flutter, he was here, he was planning to stay with me. And he was going to be delighted by my surprise.

I dragged couch cushions and blankets out into the field.

By this time a couple of members of the flock had started to express interest in the hay bales and whatever it was I was doing. I ushered Stitch and Mulan back out to the adjoining field and locked the gate.

“You can hang out with us from here, but I won’t have you stomping around lit candles or powercords, okay?”

Stitch gave me a regretful look.

I was glad Dad was the kind of man with foresight. The instruction manual was stowed safely in with the electronics. The projector was easy to set up, as was the DVD player he’d stowed in with it. Which just left... Aster, food and drink.

No, one more thing, I needed to choose a movie to watch!

Something cute, and romantic?

Something arty that’d make us think?

Something spooky? No, not that. I wanted Aster in my bed tonight but I wanted him to be there because he wanted to be, not because he was frightened of night stalkers.

I went in to look over my DVD collection, started by my parents and added to over the years by Harlow and myself.

The choice wasn’t easy. I wanted to impress Aster a little bit, show him something he might not have seen.

Then I saw Shall We Dance? And knew that would be the one.

There was an American remake with Richard Gere but in my heart the original Japanese version would always win.

It did require reading subtitles, but Aster had mentioned loving foreign film.s Besides, it was about fresh starts and trying something new, and it always warmed my heart.

Perfect. I picked up the DVD and pressed it to my chest.

“Dinner’s ready in five,” Aster called. “Should I put it on trays?”