Page 27

FIREFLY'S NEW VIXEN

I took in a deep breath.

“I love the smell of new comics,” I shouted.

“You’re still weird,” Amanda shouted from the loft. If she wasn’t my best friend, I’d have shot up a one-finger salute. We’d have to renegotiate her rent.

“Are you working?”

The lack of an immediate reply told me everything I needed to know. “Of course,” she shouted. That meant she was curled up in her loveseat, giving her creative process room to breathe. Call it whatever she wanted. It sounded like procrastination to me.

I took another whiff of the box before opening it all the way.

Before I could get them on the shelves, I had to go through the pull lists.

The most faithful customers didn’t browse the shelves looking for new issues.

They called ahead and had me set them aside.

Knowing I had guaranteed money always made me happy.

I had cleared the calendar for new-comic day. The anxiety of the convention would have to wait for tomorrow. I had to remind myself that while the convention would put Firefly on the map, I needed to make sure I didn’t go out of business in the meantime.

“Everything will be fine,” I told myself. “Better than fine.” I raised my fist in the air. “It’ll be awesome!”

“Hi.”

“Jason!”

Lucas rushed to the counter, his little hand waving back and forth.

I couldn’t stop staring at the woman standing in front of the door.

Up close, Lucy bordered on perfection. Nobody should have legs that long or cheekbones that sharp.

Did she only have a suitcase full of fluffy sweaters?

I needed to check the weather in Africa. I had questions.

“Lucas has been talking about coming non-stop.”

“I got an A on my spelling test. Mom said if I got an A, she’d bring me.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sheet of paper. “I spelled them all.”

I picked up the paper as if I checked his work. His penmanship was more legible than mine. “Looks like you got them all.” I gave him a wink. He spun about, looking at the entire store.

“You own all these comics?”

“Sort of.” Despite owning a comic store, my collection wasn’t all that grand. There were plenty of customers who boasted more boxes than I could fit into my house.

“Can I look, Mom?”

“You can look. But don’t touch.”

Lucas vanished down an aisle, leaving me alone with the blond bombshell. I might not be attracted to women, but if she gave me the time of day, I might reconsider. If Amanda had been down here, I’d have to stop her from pouncing.

“He’s been talking about coming all week.”

“Kids love comics.” Did I sound as odd as I felt? When did I cross my arms? I dropped my hands into my pockets. I was convinced the way I stood screamed, “I shagged your husband!”

“If he’s reading, I’m happy,” she said. “Though if he makes me read him the same issue one more time, I might cry.”

Comics. I could talk about comics all day. It didn’t matter if it was a kid or a grandma. I had something to say. Stick to the safe subject. “Good news for you. The new issues came in today. I bet we can find some new material.”

“Mom!” Lucas came running back. Tugging on Lucy’s hand, he dragged her down the aisle. When she laughed, I saw why Simon found her attractive. Light and airy, the sound made me smile. Could I like her? Was that even allowed?

“Who’s that?” She asked, pointing at a poster.

“Mom…” I could hear the eye roll from Lucas. “That’s Elixir. She fixes people like you.”

Lucas might only be eight, but the kid had insight.

I could very well see Lucy in spandex and a cape.

She’d fight crime by night and save lives by day.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized she was a superhero.

On the other hand, I, a self-proclaimed geek, spent my days living in a fantasy.

If we were to have an epic showdown, I had no doubts I’d lose. As much as I liked Simon, I wouldn’t be a home wrecker. Lucas deserved to have his mom and dad in his life. If I caught wind of any turbulence, I’d gracefully bow out.

“Can I get one?” Lucas had moved to the posters, flipping through them at record speed. He stopped and pointed. I didn’t need to see which one he gawked at. It always came back to Valiant.

“Okay, let me see what I can do.”

Lucy walked through the aisle of action figures, inspecting the contents of boxes. While she browsed, I went digging behind the counter. I had something that would light up Lucas’s face. Where had I stashed it?

“I really need to clean back here.” There were a half dozen open boxes with inventory.

The cupboard behind the counter was filled with some of the more expensive collectibles, along with items I hid away for customers.

There was nothing like seeing their eyes go wide when I showed them a signed edition of a comic they read as a kid.

“How long have you had the store?”

On my hands and knees, I rummaged through the cupboard, hunting for one particular poster. “Three, no, four years, now? I went to school for art, but surprise, I can’t draw. That dashed my dream of being a comic book artist, so this is the next best thing.”

“I bet that was more fun than reading medical textbooks.”

“We had to study anatomy. I can’t tell you how many naked people I had to stare at my freshmen year.”

“At least your naked people were alive.”

My head shot up. Lucy leaned on the counter, watching me as I shuffled through comics. Sexy, kind-hearted, and a sense of humor? My theory about her being a superheroine only grew.

“Except Benjamin.” I shivered at the memory. “I’m not convinced he was alive.” It wasn’t in the cupboard. I started hunting through boxes. “How are you liking Firefly?”

“It’s… quaint.” Definitely a flatlander. “I grew up in Boston. I’m not used to people being so friendly.”

“Nosey.” I had noticed in the city that people kept their eyes down and moved ahead as if on autopilot. In Firefly, we didn’t wait for eye contact to strike up a conversation. If she still used the word friendly, then she hadn’t heard the gossip about her arrival.

“Yes!”

“They’re mostly harmless. You should have seen them when Simon opened the Bistro. The town manager nearly declared it a holiday.”

“I know how this works,” she said. “What have the old bitty’s said about me?”

I went back to searching. “Nothing really.” It was a lie. Every woman in Firefly had an opinion about Lucy. In the park, I’m sure the gossipers had split into two camps, pro and con.

“You’re not a very good liar. Simon warned me. He said by the time I snatched the paper off the porch, they’d activate the phone tree.”

I laughed. We had done the same thing to Simon. “Gladys likes your sweaters. Abraham wants to know why Harriet doesn’t try your haircut. The moms, well, they’re waiting to see which husband you steal in the middle of the night.”

“The town does have its fair share of lumberjacks.”

“I consider it a perk of small-town living.” I found the rolled-up sheet of paper. “A-ha!” I grabbed it and climbed to my feet. “So, what brings you to Firefly?”

Did I mention we were a nosey bunch? I didn’t want to pry… okay, I lied. I totally wanted to know what was going on. Standing on opposite sides of the counter, I couldn’t help but think we had both seen Simon naked. That probably wasn’t a suitable topic for conversation.

“I’ve been doing medical relief in Africa for the last three months. Setting up hospitals, that kind of thing. I figured I’d stay with Simon while we figured out how to make things work between us.”

Make things work? My heart sank like a rock.

My stomach tightened, and I grew more and more uncomfortable.

If things worked out for them, it meant Simon and I would never be more than friends.

I wanted to be the bigger man and say I’d treasure our time together, but the hurt crept in. We ended before we could begin.

“Oh, that’s good.” I didn’t hide the callousness in my words.

“I think it’ll work out. Who knows, maybe Firefly is the new start we needed? Lucas is already doing better in school. He’s having a sleepover this weekend. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”

I could only hide my emotions for so long. I needed a buffer before I said something stupid. “Lucas, I got something for you.”

He came speeding toward the counter. “What?” He almost vibrated as he bobbed back and forth, waiting for the reveal.

“I thought you might like this.”

I held up the rolled-up paper. Too slow for Lucas, I unrolled it, revealing the poster of Valiant. The smile spreading across his face was the pure glee I needed. He reminded me of myself at that age, and if he wanted to grow up to be a geek, he needed walls covered in posters.

“Signed by Valiant himself.”

I pointed to the signature. I didn’t explain that the actor who played Valiant in the movie had signed it. For him, it only mattered that it revolved around his favorite hero.

“Is that Chris Wilde?”

“Shh.” I held my finger up to my lips.

“I bet your walls could use some posters.” I let go of the bottom, and it rolled itself shut. “Can you keep it safe for me?”

He looked from me to his mother. “Can I?”

She raised an eyebrow at me, and I nodded in silent agreement. I handed him the poster. “Now, let’s see if we can find some new comics so you don’t drive your mom crazy.”

She mouthed a silent thank you.

It was the least I could do for sleeping with her husband.