Chapter 1 "The Artist"

Baz:

"His name is Simon Salisbury," Penny says quickly, with a twinkle in her eye, "and he's very good."

I raise an eyebrow at her because that's what I do… I challenge people. Bunce is brilliant and I've given her the go-ahead to implement changes at the family book shop, but it's up to her to convince me of the merits of her decisions… mostly posturing on my part, of course. I have no intention of entangling myself in the business of booking the shop's first musical act. Introducing a coffee shop / musical vibe to the book store was her idea, and she can run with it. I'm here to look at the bottom line. I want her to know I'm still paying attention, even though I'm not at the shop as much, lately.

"If he's so good, why have I never heard of him?"

"Because he's new. He's only 23 and he just joined this band maybe six months ago. But I'm telling ya… he's good."

"Why don't we have to pay him anything, then?"

"Because he's my friend and he's doing this for me. Plus he and the guys want exposure with your audience… the college-age, book & coffee shop crowd. Baz, they're going to love him."

"What's so great about his act?"

"Well, he's dreamy to look at, for one thing. All tussled and boyish… like a beautiful swaggering boy. But when he opens his mouth he has this amazing rough singing voice. Kind of blue-sy, almost harsh. Soulful and sweet. It catches you off guard and… arouses you, you know."

"Sounds like you might have a thing for your own friend, Bunce."

"I assure you, I do not! You know I'm happy with Micah. And once you actually get to know Snow, he's a bit of a dork. So there's that."

"Snow? I thought you said his name was Simon."

"Just a nickname. And kind of a stage name."

"Hmm." I have to admit being interested in seeing a rough-voiced beautiful boy in my book shop. But I press a little further. "And he will be a good fit for our book and coffee shop… how?"

"Trust me, Baz."

I sigh. "You know I do, Bunce. So he'll play tonight?"

"Yes!" she says excitedly. "I told him I'd call and confirm in half an hour. He's super excited, Baz. Will you be here to see him?"

I think it over, and frown. "I have a photo shoot with Agatha later this morning, but we should be done early enough to catch most of the act. If Agatha doesn't take the time to change and we come straight over, we'll make it. I don't have her wearing anything too bizarre today, so she may agree. We'll see what her level of interest is in this performance."

"Tell her he's hot, Baz."

"I will NOT. That is not a designation I give out lightly. He'll have to earn it, first."

Penny laughs and shakes her head, running off to call "Snow".

My parents entrusted the running of this shop to me two years ago, after university. I wanted time off before grad school, to soul-search and work on my photography. My father is anxious to have me join the family publishing business, but I'm holding back because I'm not sure that's really what I want to do. Running Pitch Publishing's book shop for him is a kind of compromise. I've put in lots of hours and it's doing well, but last year I decided I need at least one "experimental" year to devote to photography. With Pitch Publishing's (aka Father's) blessing, I hired an old college friend (Bunce) to assist with the managing.

And one of her ideas was this coffee shop / music thing.

It was a hard sell, for her… she really had to make a case. Bringing her vision to life meant reducing our book space to clear a large area for the coffee counter, tables, and a stage, and I'm not one to want to reduce book space. But she assured me it would be worth it, and so far it's been promising. The coffee bar and seating area seem to bring more people into the shop, and sales have been up. We're becoming a kind of destination for the young literati of London. Musical acts are the next step of her plan.

Agatha:

I close my eyes as Baz applies my eye shadow and try not to let them flutter. Today he has me dressed (dreamily, as always) in a black gothic gown, with a corset and wings sprouting off my back. I wear a crown of flowers and twigs pinned into my light blonde hair, which is left to hang long and loose. The hairstyle is deceptively simple, but actually Baz spent over an hour on it, crimping and spraying it in place with pins and artificial wild flowers. We're going for a woodland elf kind of a look today, I guess.

Baz does fine art / fantasy photography, and I'm one of his models. There's actually three of us who pose for him, but I'm the one who actually talked him into becoming a model himself. He's a very beautiful man and has a unique look about him that is hard to find in other guys and probably the unconscious inspiration for his artistic vision. With his shoulder-length, shiny black hair, grey eyes, and pale, olive skin, he is very gothic-looking. Plus with his gracefulness and slim elegant body (gorgeously tall), there's something kind of sexually ambiguous about him… something appealing to both men and women. He sets up the shots and the camera, all that, and I click the switch (when he's the model).

More than a pretty face, Baz is brilliant. He sets up and composes the ideas behind all the photos himself, and his taste and creativity are so good I wouldn't be surprised if a big movie studio tried recruiting him someday for set design or costuming. He does the clothes, make-up, scenery, lighting… all of it. Then he captures it on film. The result is beautiful gothic art photos of himself as a kind of brooding vampire devil and me and the other girls as fairies, elves, witches, and goth forest beauties. His website and Facebook page have a following and his art photography has really started to take off these past couple of months. People are requesting custom photo shoots left and right, and he's turned most of them down because that's not what he wants to do. He wants to follow his own ideas.

And he can do that, because Baz has all kinds of options. His father owns Pitch Publishing, for one thing, and the family is oozing in money. Baz can develop his art and make a dream career out of it. Or change his mind: honestly, whatever he wants.

A lot of people in his position would sit around most of the day and be shallow and idle. But not Baz. He gets up early for the book store AND works on his art photography, editing the website at night. He doesn't have much time for a personal life.

I wish I could help him with that. I would totally date him if he wasn't gay.

Penny:

I told Simon not to be late, and he isn't, for once (thank Merlin). He's actually fifteen minutes early, which is good because Simon looks a disheveled mess and I want to fix him. I convince him to wear a black cap over his wayward curls, which I then untuck and arrange in a flattering way around his face. He's annoyed but docile because is used to me fussing over him like a mother. I tell him to leave his black pea coat on while he's singing ("But Penny, I'll get hot"… "You're only playing two half hour sets. You can sweat a little"). I want him to look good for the college kids.

"I'll wear the coat later but not till after sound check."

"Mmhmm. You better."

He and Tony and Dev go about the business of setting up their equipment. I have the sandwich board out on the street and have been advertising this on social media ever since I got the go-ahead from Baz, so we already have a few students shuffling in. If Baz comes by later it will be good to have people at the tables.

I'm actually kind of looking forward to Baz and Simon meeting for the first time (if Baz stops by tonight). They're both such original people but different in every way… I wonder what they will think of each other. The matchmaker in me thinks there could potentially be sparks, though the realist in me understands it is more likely they will annoy the heck out of each other. Hard to say. I know Baz is gay and Simon (I think) is open to anything. He's had brief infatuations with both guys and girls, but never a true relationship, yet. His main focus since high school has been music.

Simon:

I've been singing in public for a while now, but still always get nervous, beforehand. I sweat and my mouth is dry and I keep a glass of water close. But once the lights go down and the mic is on, all that fades into the background. When I'm on stage, it's just me and the song… and the people listening. I just love it. In the middle of it, the singing, every ounce of my body is part of it… and my mind is totally focused. Usually my thoughts are racing and scattered and mixed up, but once I'm there before the audience everything comes together. I let myself feel and tell everything, and it's GOOD.

I think when I first started out, I kind of sucked. I mean, everyone clapped and stuff, but my vocal range wasn't where it should be and I spent most of my time blushing. There were a lot of songs I knew I couldn't do justice to and simply avoided. Plus I didn't have a set style, yet… I would see things other people did and try them myself. But with practice and effort I found my own style and became more confident. I started believing the applause. And it feels damn good to earn money from doing this (though of course it's nowhere near enough to leave my day job).

Penny thinks I'll make a go of it someday, though. She's been my number one fan, so I'm going to do my best for her tonight.