Page 27 of The Toy Maker

I shook my head in annoyance. “That wasn’t funny.”

The sales floor was nearly vacant except for a few customers deciding between battery operated and rechargeable toys.

“I thought it was funny,” he replied with a light chuckle, the sound warm and annoyingly charming. “And you were doing good before the sound system malfunctioned.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

Reaching the front door felt like staggering across a desert and finally spotting water, except instead of an oasis, my salvation was the cracked sidewalk outside Pink Cherrie littered with cigarette butts and glitter confetti from last night’s show.

“I saw you with the remote,” I accused, narrowing my eyes at him over my shoulder.

“I would never be so cruel.”With that, he winked and turned away.

I watched as he strolled toward a group of wide-eyed customers and launched into a pitch for whatever new twisted invention sat in the display case. The customers leaned in, hanging onto every word like he was some kind of sinful prophet.

Shaking off the encounter, I headed home to a well-deserved hot shower.

TWELVE

No amountof napping would wash away my humiliation from appearing at Jason’s window. I knew I should let it go, but the memory haunted me.

I spent hours resting for our final rehearsal before the big event and still wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball. I swore off tequila and hid my shame in an oversized hoodie. The walk to Pink Cherrie in scandalous attire always elicited stares, so I tried to avoid it completely.

The front desk was empty when I entered the vanilla-scented building. Kitty was hard at work directing the movement of the shelves so the floor could be open for the event this evening.

My gaze wandered to the back door where I knew Jason was working on new toys, wondering if he’d spend more time outside of his workshop during the event. Not that it mattered to me, although my thoughts drifted to him more than I cared to admit.

Before I could lose myself again, I focused on the dressing room. My unruly hair needed direction, and I couldn’t spare any time from applying the stage makeup Sarah gave me.

But still, I wondered what new toy to expect next.

My curiosity never faltered as I primped, curled, and shimmied my way to the look of an ideal Cherry. I sat down in my chair and stared at my face; all the makeup reminded me of my senior prom. My phone vibrated on top of the vanity, and the screen lit up with the wordunknown.

I answered before Dad changed his mind or gave up. “Hello?”

“Hey, honey.” His voice tugged at my heart.

“Did you get my message?”

“About Tristan and Tracy?” he asked. I could hear the sound of little feet running around him. “I got it.” My chest ached. Tristan’s kids would only be a few years younger than our half-siblings, and they’d likely never meet.

I remembered the day they sent me a picture of the positive pregnancy test. “Good, I thought you should know.” He was about to become a grandfather, and he didn’t care.

Dad cleared his throat. “I’m a little low on money this month.”

Of course.“I don’t have any right now.”

“What do you mean?” Suddenly, he was invested in the conversation. Forget the fact that his son was having a baby.

“I lost my job,” I said, trying to keep my voice level, “but I got another one, and the paycheck is going to be really small.” Between bailing my car out of car jail and catching up on my expenses, I had little left to give. I had to be smart. I had to save myself.

“I’m really in a pinch here, pumpkin.” I recognized the familiar tone of desperation too well. He’d been living off handouts for as long as I could remember. “Your sister needs money for the book fair, and the electricity is going to be shut off really soon.” His voice dropped when saying the last part, probably so he wouldn’t worry his new wife.

I thought about my baby sister and her lack of say in any of this. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’ll see if I can get an extension on one of my bills.”Or work overtime.

“Thank you, cupcake. I have to take Megan to ballet class now, but I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah.” As if he would call anytime in the next month other than for the money. He never had before. “Tell Megan I said hi.” The phone clicked, disconnecting the call, and I was alone in the dressing room, staring at my face in the mirror until my eyes blurred my features together.

The door opening snapped me out of my trance.