Page 34 of The Incredible Kindness of Paper

Chloe

You didn’t need to come so far out of your way from work,” Chloe said, as she and Zac walked through Central Park later that morning.

“I wanted to see the little production line you’ve assembled for your paper roses,” Zac said. “People all over the city are talking about them, Chloe. I’m proud of you.”

She blushed. There was still a part of her that remembered how he’d called it a “cute project” and only took her origami seriously once others started paying attention to her.

But Chloe had mostly let that go. She tried to put herself in the shoes of others when possible, and she could see how—from Zac’s perspective—it might have just seemed like something she did to occupy her time while she pondered her next job.

After all, folding paper flowers had been a small element of what she used to do for the kids at school.

There had been no reason for Zac to think it was important, until it was.

They strolled down the wide path of the Mall. Soon, a cluster of card tables came into view.

Zac started to smile. “Is that—?”

“It is.” Chloe actually skipped in place upon seeing Bonnie and Mary already set up with their sign—“Start Your Day with a Smile!”

There were a couple other tables, too. Ricky the driver/aspiring pharmacist was there, and Felix from the Central Park Conservancy because today was his day off.

Each had their own stack of yellow origami paper and their own style of happy or motivational messages they liked to write.

They had become Chloe’s morning regulars.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Mary got up to hug Chloe as soon as she saw her. Bonnie, Felix, and Ricky joined in.

“Everyone, this is Zac,” Chloe said.

“Oooh, you’re handsome,” Bonnie said, waggling her eyebrows.

“A lovely compliment from an even lovelier woman,” Zac said, kissing her hand.

Bonnie put her hand to her heart and looked at Chloe conspiratorially. “And he has an accent!”

Chloe laughed. Apparently it wasn’t only the young who were susceptible to the charms of the King’s English.

A few minutes later, a man carrying a big bakery box arrived. “Hey! I found you!”

Everyone looked at the new arrival; he wasn’t one of the regular crew. But after a moment, Chloe recognized him.

“You’re the guy who feeds the pigeons every Saturday afternoon at my park! I was actually at your bakery the other day.”

“No kidding? I’m sorry I don’t remember; so many faces every day!

” He executed a half bow. “I am Giovanni, at your service. Thelma the Terrier Lady told me about the paper rose that inspired her to start her business, and I mentioned that I had also found a flower that gave me the encouragement I needed with my new bakery. She told me who you were and that you were here every morning, so here I am with a token of my gratitude.” He opened the white box, which said Giovanni’s Croissants it’s free to be online.”

Chloe made a face. “I know it’s free to be online. I mean, I don’t want to use my story as publicity.”

“Why not? Most people would kill for a narrative like yours. And you have to start now; you want to take advantage of being at the beginning of your journey so your audience can follow along. They’ll be more invested in you and—”

“And what?” Chloe said.

“You can leverage audience loyalty for even better monetization. Remember, we talked about this?”

Oh. So that’s what this is about.

“I remember,” she said. “But I haven’t made a decision yet.”

“Time’s ticking,” Zac said. “The world moves fast, Chloe. They might be interested in your project today, but in a week or two, you’ll be old news and they’ll be on to the next thing. I just don’t want you to miss out.”

She sighed. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

“All right, but don’t think too long… If you don’t act soon, the window will close. Look, I’ve got to get to the office now, but let’s talk more about this later.” He kissed her on the forehead.

As Zac left, Ricky was polishing off the last crumbs of the chocolate and mulberry croissant. Chloe suddenly wanted to cry.

Which was such an overreaction for a pastry.

Still…

“That Zachary has a lot of opinions,” Bonnie said. She didn’t look up from the rose she was folding from yellow polka-dot paper.

“He means well,” Chloe said.

“I’m sure he does.” Bonnie said. “But don’t forget that you have opinions, too.”