Page 24 of The Incredible Kindness of Paper

Chloe

That evening, the crumpled rose that Oliver had defaced was sitting on Chloe’s kitchen table. But she didn’t see it right away, because the table was covered with a hundred other yellow roses. Which was precisely what Becca was lecturing about.

“The table is for eating , not storage,” she was saying.

“And look, you know I fucking adore you, but you can’t take up the whole table.

Fifty percent of that space is, like, technically mine.

I always sit on the north side, and you sit on the south side, so all your stuff really ought to be on that side of the dividing line. ”

Chloe scrunched her nose. “What dividing line?”

Becca sighed and shook her head, like she was disappointed in Chloe’s life education up until this point.

“The invisible one that’s obviously there!

Everyone who’s ever had a roommate knows these things.

Didn’t you learn that in college? Order is respect and keeps things running smoothly.

That’s why we alternate weeks getting mail from the Hell Room.

Why we have designated shelves in the pantry and in the fridge.

And that’s why we have a rotating schedule for who gets to use the bathroom first in the mornings, not that it matters now that you don’t have a job and don’t have to be ready by a specific time. ”

“That was kind of a low blow,” Chloe said. She knew Becca didn’t have a filter and hadn’t meant for the comment to land so harshly, but right now, Chloe was not feeling very inclined to move her origami to the “south side” of the kitchen table.

Becca just sighed again. “Anyway, clear some space for me, please? Oh, and by the way, this was in our mailbox.” She tossed an opened envelope on top of some of the paper flowers.

“Hey!” Chloe snatched the envelope. It had smashed some of her origami.

But Becca was leaning against the counter, arms folded as she waited for Chloe to open the envelope.

The plastic window showed it was addressed to both of them. From their landlord. Chloe’s stomach curdled as she unfolded the letter inside.

“?‘The rent on unit 2C will increase by five hundred dollars per month, effective in two weeks.’?” Panicked, she looked up at Becca. “He can’t do that, can he?”

“We signed a shitty lease. I reread it. He can raise rent with fourteen days’ notice, and he did.”

Oh god. Chloe’s hands shook and she had to set the landlord’s letter down. She could barely pay her half of the rent even when she had a job. Walking dogs for Thelma wasn’t going to be enough to supplement, if Chloe was now responsible for an additional $250 every month…

“Why don’t you ask Zac to help?” Becca said. “If I had a rich boyfriend, that’s what I’d do.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Chloe said.

“But he’s rich, right?”

“I thought you didn’t want me getting closer to him.”

“I mean, I’m not saying keep him around forever, but while he is—”

The intercom from the front of the building rang. Chloe frowned. “Are you expecting anyone?”

Becca shook her head.

Chloe pressed the speaker button on the intercom. “Hello?”

“Surprise,” Zac said, his accent immediately announcing who he was without even needing to utter his name. “I brought you something. Can I come up?”

As Chloe buzzed him in, Becca smirked. “Rich guy enters the scene, right on cue.”

Chloe didn’t even bother to respond.

“Hullo,” he said, kissing her as soon as she opened the door.

“Hi… It’s nice to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“I can’t swing by just because?”

“Sure. But it’s not exactly on your way to anywhere. Besides, you usually spend most of the weekend at the office.”

Zac chuckled as he stepped inside. “I’m heading back there soon. But I saw this as I walked by Tiffany’s today, and I thought of you.”

He handed over a robin’s-egg-blue box. Chloe’s jaw dropped.

“Open it.”

Still standing awkwardly by the front door, she lifted the lid. Inside, on a velvet cushion, sat a gold brooch shaped like an origami crane.

Out of the corner of Chloe’s eye, she saw Becca mouthing, Love bomber.

It was a hugely expensive gift for someone Chloe had known for a matter of weeks. Or, like, ever.

“Do you like it?” Zac asked.

“It’s beautiful… Really, it is. But, Zac. It’s too much.” Even as she said this, though, she thought about how, if she returned this bauble to Tiffany’s, it would pay for her rent several times over.

“Try it on.” Zac reached into the box, picked up the brooch, and pinned it on the collar of the sunflower-print blouse she’d gotten on super discount at T.J.Maxx, not seeming to care about the contrast of the expensive jewelry and her cheap shirt.

“God, it looks perfect on you,” he said.

“Um, let’s look in the mirror.” Chloe grabbed his hand and pulled him to her bedroom, mostly to get away from Becca’s hovering.

When they were in her room with the door firmly shut, Chloe made sure to admire the brooch in the mirror. But then she took it off and put it back in the Tiffany’s box.

“Zac, I really appreciate this, but I can’t accept it.

Not when I can’t even pay my rent, which the landlord just informed us is increasing.

And I’m not asking for help from you, money-wise,” she said, cutting him off when he opened his mouth probably to offer precisely that.

“I want to do this on my own. Maybe it’s a cliché, but I’m a girl from a small town in Kansas, and I want to be able to take care of myself in New York. ”

“That’s fair,” Zac said. “And I admire that, although you should still keep the brooch, because I want you to have it. But do you want to tell me what’s going on?” He sat on her bed and patted the mattress beside him.

Chloe smiled. This is what Becca didn’t get about Zac. He might be a little showy about his wealth, but it wasn’t the only thing that defined him.

“As you know, I’ve been applying to the few guidance counselor jobs that are open,” Chloe said.

“But even if I got one, they wouldn’t start until August or so.

I’m going to try to pick up whatever odd jobs here and there I can get, but most gig positions require a bike or car, and I have neither of those.

Plus, I don’t think I’d want to ride a bike on crowded Manhattan streets anyway. ”

“Good point.” Zac’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. “Hmm. My nemesis is up to something at work. But go on. I can take care of it while you talk. I’m listening.”

Okay, this was something Chloe didn’t like about Zac.

He was always connected to the office. But she couldn’t really complain.

They were still getting to know each other, and it was early in their not-yet-a-relationship.

You didn’t point out stuff like that until you were officially, exclusively a couple.

And Chloe certainly wasn’t ready to take that step.

So while he scrolled through his company Slack chat, Chloe made herself more comfortable on her bed and kept talking, not sure how much he was really hearing.

“So I should be working,” she said. “But I’m torn about it, because these paper roses are starting to strike a chord with people.

They make me so much happier than if I were to be a part-time nanny or work in a store.

Did you know that, today, another volunteer showed up in Central Park?

Not just the flight attendant sisters, Bonnie and Mary, but also Ricky, an aspiring pharmacist who is also a driver.

He said one of his passengers had left a rose in his car that inspired him.

He, Bonnie, and Mary all brought their own card tables and their own yellow origami paper, and we folded flowers together for hours.

They wanted to contribute to the cause.”

“A cause, huh?” Zac looked up from his phone, forehead wrinkled. “You know, I’ve seen some videos on social media about the paper roses. And I think there was a mention of them in Time Out or BuzzFeed or one of those sites. You’re getting popular, Chloe… But a cause. Wow. Who’d have thought?”

Chloe bristled. Was he surprised that her “cute project” had grown into something meaningful?

But then she chastised herself for being ungenerous. He was impressed, and that was a positive thing. Just because the landlord’s letter had put Chloe in a bad mood didn’t mean Zac deserved to be on the receiving end of it.

“You should monetize,” Zac said.

“What?” She propped herself up on her elbow on her bed.

“People like your flowers. And you need rent money. You should charge for them.”

Chloe shook her head. “I don’t want to make people pay when I’m trying to do something nice for them.”

“Then let’s get advertisers to buy space on your origami paper,” Zac said, as he typed on his phone. He didn’t like being inefficient, so he multi-tasked whenever he could.

“No, the paper flowers are supposed to be like a little gift,” Chloe said. “Something kind in exchange for nothing, in a world where there’s a price on everything else.”

But Zac wasn’t listening to her. One part of his brain was focused on whatever he was typing, and the other part was riffing on the idea of sponsorship deals.

“Oh, I’ve got it,” he said. “It could be like, You’re going to have a great day!

And underneath, it says, Brought to you by Carlson A+ Mechanics .

“Or, they could print coupon codes on your origami paper, you know? Didn’t you say you liked leaving the flowers in ice cream shops?

I bet they’d love to run ads with you. But really, all sorts of companies would want to get in on this, Chloe.

The goodwill alone that their names would be associated with would be worth a ton… ”

“Zac!”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to monetize.”

He sighed. “Look, I understand your initial instincts against it. But let me explain where I’m coming from, and maybe you’ll see why I believe in this, and in you , okay?”

Chloe exhaled loudly, too, and flopped flat on her bed.