Page 59 of The Incredible Kindness of Paper

Chloe

After The Today Show clip, Chloe had run out the door and across the street to the park, stumbling onto the path that looped through the grass and trees.

She tried to remind herself that Oliver didn’t know she had invented the paper roses. That he wouldn’t have commented so cruelly if he’d known it was her.

But did it matter? Because if that was his unfiltered, honest opinion of the very thing she’d poured her soul into, then how could she possibly love a man like that?

She paced and paced around the park’s path, losing track of how many times she wove through it, her mind bouncing back and forth between the Oliver she thought she knew—who was still, at his core, the same as the boy from long ago—and the callous version on CNBC.

And that made it even worse, didn’t it? That he’d thoroughly disparaged her work on national TV!

Eventually, feet aching, Chloe sank down onto the bench where she usually liked to read, the one where Giovanni fed scraps of baguettes to pigeons on the weekend. There was no one else around right now, though, being the middle of a Tuesday.

Not long after she’d sat, though, a familiar voice said, “Chloe?”

She blinked—partly through a sheen of tears and partly at the sun—and looked up. “Zac? What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the office?”

“No. I should be right here.” He had clearly been in the office, though, because he was wearing part of a suit; the jacket must have been left behind. “As soon as I saw The Today Show segment,” Zac said, “I came over. Becca told me I might find you here. Are you all right?”

Chloe shook her head and ducked into the arm Zac offered.

“I didn’t know you watched The Today Show ,” Chloe murmured into his chest.

“I don’t. The video clip is all over the company Slack chat.”

She knit her brow. “Already? What time is it?”

“Close to eleven.”

Wow. Several hours had passed since the original broadcast. Chloe didn’t know how she’d lost so much time.

“Fucking Tolly,” Zac was saying. “I am going to destroy him and his cheap suits. How dare he hurt you. He walks around the office every day, smugly silent, but then when he decides to open his mouth, this is what he says?

“I know he’s your childhood friend, Chloe, but you were young then and didn’t know better. Even now, you’re so sweetly guileless that you don’t see the bad in people. But that’s what I’m here for, okay? I’ll protect you.”

Chloe pulled back from Zac’s arms. “What?”

“Let’s make it official, you and me. Let me be your boyfriend. I’ll shield you from Oliver and any other arseholes who try to take advantage of your innocence.”

She bit her lip.

Guileless. Innocent. Easily taken advantage of.

“Is that what you think of me? That I need a protector?”

Zac frowned. “Is that so bad?”

Chloe stared at him. He really didn’t understand her at all.

It was so clear now, looking back on the time they’d spent together.

How he would try to convince her to work out with him here at the park, even though there wasn’t an exercise-inclined muscle in her body.

How he’d thought her paper roses were a cute distraction when she started them, rather than seeing the value of art and kindness in and of itself.

Even how differently they approached the physical side of their not-quite relationship—her wanting to go slow in bed, while he preferred it fast, in whatever room they happened to be in.

But in the early days of getting to know someone, you made excuses for them.

And it was good, actually, not to judge things as patterns before you had a chance to see the whole picture of the other person, because what they did might be one-offs.

Human beings were complex, and just because they were different didn’t mean they were bad.

And Chloe didn’t want to condemn Zac now, even after dating for a while.

She was used to looking at her students with compassion.

But as adults, it was easy to forget to treat yourself and others with the same tenderness.

People smile at kids when they make mistakes and as they figure out their way in the world but forget that even as adults, there’s still no road map and everyone’s bumbling along as best they can.

Maybe if grown-ups could see the kids they once were—the kids who were still inside—then everyone would be a little better for it.

Chloe knew that Zac wasn’t trying to be condescending.

He really did mean well, and she genuinely believed that he liked the sweetness and guilelessness he perceived in her.

He dealt with manipulation and politics all day at the office; he didn’t want to spend his free time playing games with the women he dated.

But while Zac might have wanted a partner he could protect, Chloe didn’t need a white knight.

She was perfectly able to fight for herself.

She just did it her way. Like when she lost her job, she took on the paper flowers as a way to work through her emotions and to discover a new path forward.

She hadn’t needed Zac to swoop in and rescue her.

Maybe there was another woman out there who would need him to save her or who would at least enjoy letting Zac play that role.

Chloe wasn’t going to judge, because everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and maybe whoever that woman was, she’d be a complement to Zac in other ways that he needed, too.

But as Chloe looked at Zac, so earnest about giving her protection, she knew for certain that he was not The One for her, and she was not The One for him.

“Thank you, Zac.” She reached out and held his hands. “I appreciate your concern and that you ditched the office to make sure I was okay. I know what a big deal that was.”

“Of course. I—”

“Wait. I’m not finished.”

“I’m sorry.” He smiled. “Please go on.”

She nodded. “I know sometimes it might look like I’m kind of floating around, handing out origami and going with the flow. I don’t generate publicity and I’m losing out on potential monetization, and I smile at everyone and seem too naive to see them for who they really are.

“But there’s nothing wrong with believing in the good in people.

I’m not naive; I see how things could go badly.

But I also see how they could just as easily and equally go positively, and I choose to tip the scales in the direction of good, even if it’s just the minuscule pressure of my left pinkie.

“So I appreciate you wanting to protect me. But I don’t actually need that. What I need is someone who sees me, who understands why I do what I do, and why it makes all the sense in the world. You’re a good guy, Zac. But the person I need… it’s not you.”

His hand clutched Chloe’s tighter. “No. Chloe, please. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. But I… I hate to see you hurt, and I’d do anything within my power to prevent it from ever happening again.”

Chloe squeezed Zac’s hand but then extracted hers.

“I know. But that’s another way we differ—in how we understand what happened.

Yes, I’m hurt. But you think I’m hurt because of what Oliver said, and you want to protect me from people making negative comments on my work.

Whereas for me, the real wound wasn’t the specific words, even though they stung.

It was that it was Oliver , that he—who had meant so much to me—said anything at all. ”

Zac sighed as he leaned forward on the bench. “Well, at least you’re not choosing him over me. I suppose it’s better that you picked neither of us.”

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh. “You are incorrigibly competitive, Zac.”

He smiled a little, sheepish. “I did like you a lot, Chloe. Do like you. So if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Zac walked her back to her apartment. Before he left, though, she returned the gold crane brooch, still untouched in its Tiffany’s box.

She gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks again for coming out here to make sure I was okay.”

“Take care, Chloe.”

“You, too, Zac.”

Chloe smiled softly, glad to have known him but also proud of herself, as she watched him walk away for the last time.

Chloe went to the one place she knew would make her smile—to see her origami-folding crew in Central Park. Almost everyone was there, except Felix, who was on duty, and Jennifer.

Bonnie, Mary, Ricky, Jocelyn, Xander, and Ravi all enveloped Chloe in hugs of sympathy as soon as she arrived.

“Sorry about that Today Show video, Ms. Quinn,” Ravi said. “That guy seemed like a dick. Pardon my language.”

Jocelyn from the cancer center knit her brow. “That’s not my impression of him.”

Chloe blinked. “You know him?”

She nodded. “A couple years ago, his secretary had leukemia. Mr. Jones personally accompanied her to all her chemo appointments because she didn’t have any family in the area.

She’s in remission now, and she credits his constant presence for part of the reason she had the will to fight and recover. ”

“Oh!” Ricky said. “I knew he looked familiar. I was actually the one who drove him and his secretary to your treatment center, Jocelyn. Since it wasn’t official company business, he couldn’t charge Goldman Sachs, so he always paid me directly in cash.”

Bonnie tutted. “I don’t know… We live in the same building as him. Sometimes we’ll be chatting with Sal, the doorman, and Oliver will just march by, hardly even grunts hello.”

“The other day,” Mary added, “Sal said Oliver’s mother came by to visit, and he kicked her out almost as soon as she arrived!”

“Wait,” Chloe said. “You live in the same building? And did you know that Jennifer, who’s been volunteering here sometimes, is Oliver’s mom?”

“Huh,” Bonnie said. “Why, now that you mention it, they do have the same eyes and hair, don’t they?”

Chloe turned to Xander, the only one in the group who hadn’t spoken up yet. “Don’t tell me you know Oliver, too.”

Xander’s ears turned pink. “Uh, actually… Mr. Jones is a regular at my mom and dad’s restaurant.

And he literally saved my life! You know that paper rose you gave me on the last day of school?

It blew into the street, and I stupidly dove after it.

But Mr. Jones grabbed me and rolled me out of traffic, then went back into the street to get the rose for me. ”

Chloe gaped. “Oliver saved your life?”

Xander nodded.

She let out a small laugh, both surprised and not that everyone here was somehow linked to both Oliver and her.

She just didn’t know what it all meant.

When Jennifer arrived, everyone excitedly repeated their connections to her son.

While they chattered, though, Chloe thought over and over about what Oliver had said, that the origami flowers didn’t mean anything, that they were no better than horoscopes.

And then she thought about Zac, encouraging her to take advantage of the popularity of the paper roses. And Wanda from the New York Times, asking about online branding and corporate deals.

Chloe gasped. Suddenly, it was clear to her what she needed to do. She disagreed with Oliver that the roses didn’t mean anything, but she could make them even more than what they already were.

“I know how to take advantage of the popularity of the flowers,” Chloe said.

“I thought the point was you weren’t going to do anything?” Mary asked.

“Not like how Wanda or Zac were thinking,” Chloe said.

“But what if I can use the attention these paper roses are getting to start a nonprofit? I was at a party the other night that was for an arts foundation, and it has me thinking about how to increase the good in the world. It’s so wonderful how far the paper roses have already spread, but I want to create something that helps get our uplifting messages to people who not only need them, but who might not be able to find them on their own. ”

“I’m not quite following,” Bonnie said. “How would we do that?”

“Kind of like how Jocelyn is bringing roses to her patients at the infusion center. I imagine, for example, that nursing homes could send in requests to the Paper Roses Foundation for origami flowers to help their residents feel like there are people out there who care,” Chloe said, beaming now at the bud of the new idea.

“Or schools could request delivery of origami flowers for their stressed-out seniors who are applying for college—kids like Xander and Ravi. I don’t know the details of the logistics yet…

I’ll figure it out, but Zac was right. I have a window of opportunity, and I shouldn’t let it close. ”

Jennifer clapped her hands together. “I love it. And I want to pitch in. It’ll be complicated, of course—corporate filings and dealing with the government to get tax-free status. But I know some people who can help.”

“Perfect,” Chloe said.

“I’ll take care of everything for you,” Jennifer said. “Give me a couple hours to reach out and get things sorted. All you’ll have to do is send me the fees for the accountant, lawyer, and the filings.”

Chloe winced. Her bank account was running on fumes, and her credit card was already carrying the Bergdorf Goodman charge. She’d have to take out a cash advance on her card.

But this was worth it. Chloe hadn’t realized that losing her job would turn out to be a good thing, but here were the results.

Not working had given her mind and her soul space to breathe, and now she was on the cusp of creating something that would be even better than being a guidance counselor.

She’d be able to reach so many kids, in so many schools.

And once they got the nonprofit set up, she’d probably be able to reimburse herself for at least some of the startup costs, although she had a lot to learn first. If Wanda was right and the paper roses were growing into a worldwide phenomenon, it hopefully wouldn’t take long to collect enough donations to get started.

“Let’s do it,” Chloe said to Jennifer. “Whatever it costs, I’m in.”