Celeste loved watching Jess in his element. And the opening certainly was that - perhaps even more so than his book signing that she'd recently been to. Here he was an author, editor, manager and all of his experiences in every step of the literary business - all at once. He understood how words appeared on screen, how the sentences got torn to pieces by editors, then turned to print, and from there got published, distributed and sold by bookstores like his. Though it was safe to say that their store was not like any other in the States at least.
Celeste watched him with pride, embracing on the hostess role, dressed in her hottest black velvet midi wrap dress with a very deep V-neck and a elegant slit that came up to her mid-thigh and her black 4.5 inch pumps, making sure everyone was happy and entertained, especially their performers and allowing Jess to freely mingle while she took care or everything else. For a brief second she thought that perhaps that role wasn't that far off from what she'd done for Logan years ago. She knew how to do this.
She'd taken care of all of Taylor's inspections they'd had earlier that day - all the licences and loops he'd made them jump through, he'd even had her do a sound check to make sure it was in accordance with the town's rules. She'd done all that with diplomacy despite Taylor making a face at the niche of the store when he'd pondered out loud whether it was going to begin drawing some sketchy crowd. Taylor was a master of demagogy but thankfully Celeste's education came in handy in this case, pointing out on an analogy that selling crime fiction did not have a causal link between actual crimes just as action video games didn't lead to violence as they were played abundantly just the same in both more and less violent countries.
It was finally as the guest speaker had finished and it was time for the band, the lights were turned down, replacing them with some fairly simple spotlights, and the Oh Wonder played one of their signature songs 'Technicolor Beat', when Jess snuck up to Celeste in the back and slipped his hands around her, for a moment making her jump. Yet she recognized the familiar scent and touch a millisecond later, welcoming his embrace smilingly.
"You chose well," Jess whispered, appreciating the band's eerie yet broad-spectrum alternative indie sound that clearly the guests were enjoying as well. The band's most well known song was actually the intro of a noir TV drama, hence fitting the thematic of the store beautifully. Jess didn't need to tell her that he couldn't have done it without Celeste, but whispered it nonetheless and complimented on her look, getting a kiss in return over her shoulder as acknowledgement. For a moment both of them were able to forget all else and enjoy the fruits of their labor - months and months of preparations for this.
They weren't expecting the store to just take off and become the biggest go-to place for books. It was small-scale - a niche store. But as their timing, just before Christmas, had been spot on, at least the online store already was doing fairly well - the social media marketing directed to people who followed certain authors or liked certain TV shows, Celeste had done for it having clearly worked.
They hadn't planned on quitting their day jobs, not completely at least, simply employing one highschooler to help them out at the store at least in the beginning from time to time and setting fairly relaxed store hours.
Celeste and Jess hung out in the back, Jess resting his chin on her shoulder as he held her, watching as much the band as simply their guest - they looked like they were enjoying themselves.
A few songs later, as the performance allowed Celeste's mind to wander, Celeste felt like she needed to tell him something she'd kept from him, not wanting to distract him earlier, knowing how nervous he'd been about the launch. But they'd promised - no hiding, and out there in the back, with a hundred people in the room, none of them watching them, the music and the darkness - it all created a different kind of intimacy.
"I sent the letter," Celeste confessed to Jess, just loud enough so only he could hear, as the band continued to play.
Her words took him by surprise and Jess couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Her family had been such a challenging topic for Celeste and now in the midst of clearly being overworked with planning of the opening - she'd just torn the bandage off. She just kept surprising her. When things were bad, she just kept outdoing herself when he least expected it.
"I just couldn't sleep last night, I had this long check-list in mind - everything I needed to do... I figured that perhaps if I read something else, it'd take my mind off it… so I read the letter again, I rewrote it and before I could change my mind just slipped across the street at like 3 AM and mailed it," she whispered, explaining to him the process.
They'd discussed before that whatever happened after this - sending the letter - didn't even really matter. It wasn't like Celeste was expecting some response from her very elderly mother - if she even ever got it. But it was as much about simply saying what she needed to say, putting it out there, than anything. It was more about letting go and expressing what she felt. Figuring out what she felt for starters.
Jess also knew that another part of this was her need to feel like she had some roots - French ones - to decide how she introduced that part of her culture to Evie in the future. She used to love that part of her, the music, the language, certain behavioral traits, but with being cut from her family like that, angrily and without having really made her peace, she hardly felt like she could have that without the other. That was still something she needed to figure out.
But nonetheless - Jess was proud of her, perhaps even more so than Celeste was of him for making the store a reality. Whatever came of either was out of their hands - but she had obviously let go of something she'd held within her for a long time. And as he now looked at her, he could tell she felt lighter somehow.
"I love you," Jess simply whispered to her.
G had hung out with Doula most of the evening, snacking and listening to the music while browsing a few books, on occasion helping Rory or Celeste out with whatever they needed. Doula gladly listened to G talk about her travels, fashion tips and what highschool was like in New York, while Doula at the same time kept feeling like the only interesting thing in her life really was the store and her books. She wasn't as comfortable in her body or had a very clear view of who she was - what 13 years old did?
While to G Doula really seemed like a kid sometimes, in a way she appreciated her company feeling a little like Doula looked up to her. Inside it really was much more complexe than that. Despite everything - she was still lonely, craving to have people around her.
After Doula had headed home around 10 PM and most of the guests were already gone, the band included, G helped Celeste tidy up their living room that had been set out as the band's green room. Evie was at Liz's, thankfully having taken quite a liking to her grandmother, giving Celeste one less thing to worry about on an evening as busy as this.
Rory was downstairs with Jess, still talking to some guests they both knew, Rory having too, years ago, worked for Truncheon for a bit. Rory had also discovered for the first time what it meant to be the only Huntzberger in the room, as some people were clearly chatting her up, trying to impress her. Considering she was barely involved with the HPG, and mostly changed diapers all day these days, it was kind of entertaining actually and she couldn't wait to tell Logan about it.
"Thank you," Celeste exhaled, seeing G bringing down some empty glasses from upstairs, as she herself was just filling up the dishwasher in the kitchen. "Do you think it went well?" Celeste asked her, seeing G lingering. G had dressed in a simple black jeans and black tight-fitting turtle neck combo - she wasn't there to really impress anyone.
"Yeah, very cool. New York level cool," G replied. Though, what did she know about openings and parties in New York - certainly not much. All she knew was what Finn had told her in his stories. And it certainly seemed as cool as those had sounded or looked on photos.
"I hope the others thought the same," Celeste said a little worriedly and turned on the dishwashed, shutting it's door. She knew the band and speaker had been great, but for a bit there had been a shortage of ice, then wine and then she simply wasn't at all sure anymore that her home-made appetizers were any good. Still - she was energized by the night, tired, but still packed with adrenaline and wanted to do something - clean something, arrange something, unable to sit down and fully relax.
"Hey, I know you're probably busy but do you think I could talk to you. We're probably heading off pretty early tomorrow," G asked, and that certainly caught Celeste's attention, giving her something else to focus on.
"Everything okay?" she asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. She'd thought about G a few times since they'd talked, wondering how she was doing. She and Rory didn't really talk about G when they talked, and even though she had offered, he'd wondered whether the reason G hadn't ever called or texted her was because she didn't need to or something else.
G took a seat opposite to her.
"Yeah, I guess. And I talked a bit about this with Rory.. I just… I think because you know what you know…," she began referring to her knowing about her and Finn. "...that you might understand better," she added, glancing over her shoulder Rory wouldn't overhear. She didn't want to offend Rory by trusting Celeste's opinion more, and she didn't want to tell Rory about the 'nothing' that had happened with Finn. She also thought that Rory didn't really know that much about seeing someone casually, or just casual sex - but then again she didn't know everything about her.
"Go ahead - I'm a big ear," Celeste asked. She actually kind of like this position - that there were these two teenagers in her life that listened to her, that appreciated her opinion on things.
"I'm sort of seeing someone," G said. "He's a little older," she added, correcting soon enough as she saw Celeste eyebrows raise, as if she was hearing a record on repeat. "He's not that much older - he's 20," she explained, having just recently asked him. "And I guess we have good chemistry, we're friendly - not soulmates or anything and we've been just hooking up. At first he didn't know how old I was, and now I told him. I only really told him because Rory told me to. And I guess she also sort of suggested that I don't do anything else with him… but..," she continued not spelling out the rest, being worried Rory might hear her. "I guess I just want to figure out what to do about him...," she added.
"Uh-uh," Celeste acknowledged, understanding fairly well what she'd meant. "Do you like him? Like do you have feelings for this guy?" she inquired.
"Not like I had with...," she she began, referring to Finn but again not wanting to say it. The image of him with the curvy blonde still haunted her.
"So why are you seeing him? I mean what does he offer you - if it's just him convincing you to hook up - that is exactly what the law is for. Are you getting as much in return as he's getting from you?" Celeste pondered out loud, giving her something to think about.
"He makes me feel good…," she replied without thinking much about it. People used a variety of things to make them good - alcohol, drugs, food and sex. There was a fine line between any one of these things, among others, as something recreational and something self-destructive.
"Is it just about the fact that he likes you - he's chasing you or… shows his affection, or is it just mutually physically satisfying?" Celeste asked.
"I guess a little of both," G hesitated. When she was with Brody, or when he was texting her, she almost didn't miss Finn. At best he was still a distraction. Maybe that's what they were both to each other in a way - a means to an end. But she was confused, and with having to hide at least part of that relationship from Rory, she just wanted someone's advice the help her figure things out. Why was this all so hard?
"I don't know a lot about this guy - maybe he genuinely likes you, maybe if you don't like him as much - maybe it's his feelings that might get hurt in the end. Or is he in fact using you to get what he wants because he understands that flattery and attention is what you crave," she discussed.
G didn't really not know what to say, but she really couldn't have said a thing, as it was then Rory walked in with a deep sigh.
"Finally!" Rory exclaimed having felt a little ambushed by some journalist hoping to get employed by one of the HPG papers.
"I heard you were quite popular," Celeste commented, glancing at G apologetically for having to cut their talk short. She was a little conflicted, which was more important - maintaining G's trust in her or telling Rory that she was actually quite worried about G.
"Yeah," Rory rolled her eyes, taking a glass of water, feeling parched. "So what are you guys talking about," she asked.
"Oh just - the dresses, you know," G replied, before Celeste had a chance to say anything else.
"Oh yeah, are the auction's finished? I haven't checked on them in the last couple of days," Rory asked. She'd bid on them fairly regularly herself, but had lost track at some point, having had other things on her mind, having begun to interact more with her former supervisor again.
"Yeah, one of them is at like 11 G," G replied.
"Seriously?" Celeste exclaimed, having had too much else to think about to really keep track of them.
"And I think two others were like 6?" G tried to recall, pulling out her phone. She noticed Brody had again texted her something, but she didn't open it at that point, looking up the auctions instead. "Okay, three are already sold - 3 and 7 grand, the rest are still ongoing as people keep upping them," she explained, sounding quite surprised of the interest herself.
"Can you see who the bidders are?" Celeste asked curiously. She really hadn't expected that much interest.
"I'll check," G replied checked on a few more auctions.
"That's it - that was the last of them," Jess said as he walked into the kitchen, having sent the final guest on his way, adding, "Oh, and Tin House is thinking about having a workshop here next summer," Jess shared proudly.
"That's great," Celeste commented.
"Newyorkcollector94, Mamieblue, Sseymour, AudeeG and YvetteBeualiue78," G listed, pronouncing the latter with the appropriate French pronunciation. She recognized one for them - a famous vintage store in Paris that her mother had actually taken her to once, which was kind of cool.
Jess didn't quite follow what G was talking about.
"Are you sure it was Beauliue?" Celeste asked suddenly, raising and walked over to see it for herself.
"Yeah, why?" G asked in confusion.
"Yvette Beauliue was... I guess is, my mother's private assistant," Celeste explained, going pale in her face.
From there on a whole other conversation began, Jess and Rory worrying about Celeste, Celeste not really knowing what to think.
While G knew the general story, she didn't quite grasp what the big deal was - so what if her mother wanted to have some of her dresses, when Celeste was the one getting the money in the end? G felt Celeste deserved it and more. Hence she couldn't help but to feel a little disappointed - it was just another one of the times when her issues took the back seat. She knew that her issues were hardly major matters, but they were major to her.