Elizabeth looked down at the note addressed to her before putting her key down. She picked it up and nodded, knowing without a doubt who had left it for her. With a little smile, she opened the neatly folded paper. The neat writing gave everything away: it was from Sam.
"Liz, I'm super sorry I was rude this morning" - Elizabeth smiled a little, she didn't think he had been rude at all - "but I was so tired. Man, let me tell you that was one creepy ride back and I hate biking, like some people call that a hobby? It was hell. This place is kind of a dump, almost no lights work, I had to cycle in the dark? For real. Anyway. There's an arcade and bowling, laser tag, movie theater. It's cool. They" - she assumed he meant the Frog Brothers - "actually took me somewhere cool. Stew on that for a second. Somewhere. Cool. Here. Santa Carla. I'll take you too when Mom's back. Mike and I are hiking tomorrow at 8am if you wanna join us" - she blinked in surprise, glad that they had made up but also not particularly wanting to hike in the morning. She kind of felt the same way about hiking as Sammy felt about cycling but it could be nice to just hang out with them both -"but 8 sharp if you're in. Taking no prisoners, you will be left behind, soldier HAHA. If it's cancelled, I'll come find you. I'm with the Frog Brothers tonight, remember? So call me if you need me. They said they're listed. Your brother, Sam."
She put the note down with a smile, quite liking the familiar formality of the letter. Sam rarely wrote her memos or notes, he'd never really had a reason to, but he wrote with the same formal air he used when he was asking for a favor. Lucy was usually on the receiving end of it all since she was the one with the money and that was usually what he was after. Reading the note made Elizabeth feel happy in a warm way. She glanced down again, "if it's cancelled, I'll come find you" ...that must have meant that Sam wasn't fully confident Michael would commit to their plan. She carefully and a little regretfully ripped the note in half, then half again. She didn't want Michael to see it and get offended. If the two of them had plans to hang out, that meant their fight was forgiven. She didn't want to overthink anything but she also didn't want to add fuel to a dying fire.
"Grandpa?" she called, "Mike?"
There was no answer but, as she scrunched the torn paper up in her hand, she saw the key bowl was empty. There was no note from Michael or Grandpa, no letters or jotted call back notes. She laughed a little as she moved towards the kitchen.
"Nanook? You back from your date, buddy? How was it?" of course the dog didn't answer her, the house was empty, "romantic? Did you share pasta-jah!"
Elizabeth yelped in surprise when she saw her older brother sat at the table, the TV guide before him. He looked up at her with wide, faux innocent eyes.
"What?" he asked, holding back a laugh, "...expecting Nanook?"
"I called for you..." she told him, rubbing at her chest a little, a look of annoyance on her face, "I thought the house was empty, wasn't expecting a heart attack.."
He finally laughed, grinned and gave the weakest, most insincere apology she had ever heard, "...sorry"
"Asshole" she laughed with a shake of her head, half tempted to shower him in the shredded paper, "you're not sorry at all"
"Guilty" he spread out his hands, "you OK?"
"Fine, heart attack aside" she told him pointedly, dumping the paper in the trashcan, "you?"
"Good. Full. Grandpa made pasta before he went out though Nanook didn't indulge..." he chuckled and she shot him another look. She nodded and rolled her eyes at his joke, briefly wondering what the pasta was and how it tasted. She couldn't imagine Grandpa rustling up anything simple or traditional.
"How was the pasta? Sammy OK?"
"Anchovy tomato with a poached egg plopped on top of the-ugh, I know" he caught her grimace, "we almost walked out when he told us but it was pretty good.." Michael stretched a little, "uh...yeah? Yeah he's good. Gone to meet the Toad Bros-"
Elizabeth shot him another look and he laughed, "sorry. Whatever. He's out for the night, Grandpa's gone-"
she knew they both had plans, that wasn't news to her, "-and you're on your way out, too?" she guessed.
He nodded.
"Are you going to be OK? Grandpa mentioned you were bored?"
She laughed as she briefly washed her hands over the sink, "I love him. I'm fine, chatting with Grandpa really helped with the boredom" she shook her hands and shrugged, "he's really interesting. Then there was the library, you wouldn't bel-"
But Michael was already talking over her, "-he's crazy!" he protested, "he told Sammy that Nanook could stay with The Widow all this week.."
Elizabeth laughed, drying her hands, "yeah?"
"Yeah. I swear Sam almost crapped his pants"
"So Nanook's coming home with Grandpa tonight? 100 percent?"
Michael nodded, "for sure. Sammy's voice got all shaky and his eyes watered so of course Grandpa relented"
Elizabeth nodded, not surprised. Sam could laugh and joke and he could land some pretty sharp sarcastic digs but he was a total softy at heart and she knew how much he loved Nanook. She also knew that Grandpa had the biggest, warmest, kindest heart behind all of his...antics. Grandpa would never leave Nanook with his girlfriend, if that's what she was, if he knew how much it hurt Sam.
"That's good"
Michael shrugged, "that dog snores louder than Sammy. I actually slept last night"
Elizabeth laughed and rolled her eyes. Somehow she doubted that Nanook's snores - though she could admit they were quite loud - were the reason for Michael's numerous late nights.
"So...I found something really cool today" she told him instead, going back to what she had wanted to say before he interrupted. She smiled, sitting down on the seat opposite him. Sure, he hadn't asked but she was excited to talk about it all the same. She actually wished that Grandpa was around, she thought he might appreciate her discovery.
"Yeah?"
Elizabeth tucked her feet up on the edge of the chair and wrapper her arms around her shins, "I found the coolest book-"
"A book? In the library? You're killing me"
"Cheapest form of humor" she told her brother, "but I'm serious this was like, a first edition, hand made history book. Local history-"
"Our definitions of cool kinda don't match, Liz" Michael told her with a smile.
"No, but that's what I'm saying, it was a cool book. It had annotations-"
"-wow-"
"-and, and these witty little comments-"
Michael shook his head.
"I'm serious, Mike! This was an old, old book right? And someone had scrawled lobcock over a Chief Constable's name in the most beautiful cursive. It took me ages to look up and it's-"
"-something to do with being a dick?"
"Yeah! Like..a..you know...a kind of big one but..uh..flacid-" she shook her head with a little blush as Michael shot her a look of his own, "-stop! It means that but by extension it means a dull person.."
"I'm glad you had fun" Michael said with a chuckle, making it clear that her story was definitely not his idea of funny, interesting or cool "so where is this amazing, awesome, awe-inspiring book?"
"I left it there.." she bit her lip. She had actually hidden it pretty well around one of the shelves, "I didn't think the lady would let me check it out..and I didn't have a bag with me"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
She had certainly piqued his interest.
"Well.." she felt bad admitting it, "I kind of...I kind of want to keep it. Is that bad?"
"Bad? That's theft!" Michael laughed with a mock gasp, his eyes bright.
"But it's not a library book" she insisted, "I swear it isn't. It must have been misplaced a while ago or something. There were no stamps, no sign out sheet, nothing. That's why I think she'd say no! And a bunch of pages had been torn out..like, a decent amount.."
The book had been fairly generic at first, talking about the construction of local buildings and the boardwalk but when it started to get interesting, she'd found that lots of pages had been ripped out. She had actually imagined the librarian gasping in heavy, accusatory shock when she saw the condition of the book. Elizabeth imagined her indigence turning to confusion when she saw the lack of identifying information or library markers and then, she just knew the book would be slid away and out of sight, kept away for an investigation that would take forever.
It was a fascinating book...
Michael shrugged, "so take it"
"Really?"
"You said it's not a library book..." he wheedled.
"But it is theft"
"Nah" Michael shrugged, "if it's torn, missing pages, doesn't have a sign out thing..I think that book would get more love being stolen by you than rotting in a library, nerd"
"Well, there is a donation box. I could give a donation.."
"In exchange for the book?" Michael laughed.
"Yeah..I could.." what? Just borrow it for an extended period of time?
Elizabeth had never stolen anything in her life.
"I'm just kidding, Liz. It's a book, forget about it"
"Yeah but it was seriously interesting" she mused, "I just want it? Like...whose was it? Who wrote those annotations? What's with those missing pages?"
Michael laughed and shook his head, "don't take this the wrong way?"
She looked up at him.
"you're kind of a lobcock" he snorted a laugh and she rolled her eyes, smiling along with him.
"You weaponized my story"
"Your dull story, weirdo" he told her affectionately, standing up, "I'm gonna head out"
"OK" she paused to look at the TV guide before looking at her brother again, "were you just waiting for me?"
"Ugh, I hate people with big egos" he grinned before looking down at her, "...but yeah..kind of..."
She tilted her head and he rubbed his neck a little.
"I just felt like I owed you an apology?"
"For what?" she asked, touched.
"The other day. I'm really sorry I snapped at you, I feel bad about it" he shrugged, "I dunno, just. It got heated"
She nodded, "yeah, it did. I'm sorry too, we kind of ganged up on you a little..."
"Truce?"
"Of course" she agreed, standing herself "you and Sammy cool, too?"
Michael nodded, "I think so" he opened his arms and gave her a brief hug before releasing her, "he's really got his panties in a twist about the whole thing"
"Yeah" she agreed with a nod, saying nothing more, "are you going to see Star?"
"Yeah" he mirrored her words, also saying nothing more. He touched his jacket, moving to the other pocket when the faint jingle of his keys confirmed their presence before nodding firmly.
She could almost hear his thoughts: keys, check. Wallet, check.
"Did you really wait for me?" she asked.
"Of course" he ruffled her hair, "you're my sister. I don't wanna fight with you"
"I love you, Mike" she told him, giving him another hug.
He laughed, "love you, too, lobcock"
She pushed away from him, "I regret telling you already"
He laughed, "have a good evening, Liz. Try not to steal any books, OK?"
He winked and moved out of the kitchen.
She heard the front door shut and sighed through a smile. It was nice to see Michael being his usual self. She was glad she could laugh with him again, she really had missed him a little. It was great to just chat and relax with him. She had been lonely in the morning but now she was happy, she probably didn't have much time until-
Elizabeth inhaled happily and glanced up at the clock, the cuckoos still and lifeless.
She really had killed a lot of time in the library.
Smiling brightly, she figured she probably had an hour before Dwayne came.
She resisted the urge to squeal and dance on the spot and instead jogged upstairs, beyond her brother's closed doors and ascended the narrow stairs to her room two at a time. Her penthouse, as Sam still liked to joke. She had worn jeans and a blouse down to the library...she looked down at her body.
She should change.
She quickly shimmied out of the jeans and folded them thoughtlessly, plopping them on top of her laundry hamper.
Without Sam and without Lucy - not that she would want to divulge her plans - she was a little lost as to what she should wear. What would be OK? She sighed and looked at her clothes. Suddenly everything looked ugly, frumpy.
"I have nothing" she whispered, scanning the rail before her.
Dresses, t-shirts, sweaters...
"No…" she muttered, pushing aside a long dress. Long dresses weren't often her style. She didn't know why she'd even bought it. She flicked though a few more tops, a cute but kind of casual striped, long sleeved shirt and what actually turned out to be one of Michael's old sweaters.
"Nothing, nothing.." she mumbled as she worked. How could she have nothing to wear?
She continued flicking through the hangers before pausing and pulling out a white dress. It was a simple dress, knee length with a scoop neck and three quarter sleeves. Simple but kind of beautiful all the same. She didn't often wear it because the scoop neck was more daring than she was used to. She was definitely a t-shirt kind of girl usually and the last time she wore the dress, she'd popped one of her tees over it. Michael had laughed but Sam assured her it looked good. Michael argued that the white zip, hidden though it was, looked stupid half obscured by a t-shirt but Sam had immediately rebutted him and said it was fashionable to layer. After her brothers had ping-ponged opinions on her dress right in front of her, she'd felt self conscious and not worn it again.
She shook her head and put the hanger back on the rail.
She didn't want to overdo it. Sure it was a nice dress but maybe it was too nice?
Musing over a few options, she finally pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt but something made her stop.
Why exactly shouldn't she try and look nice for her date?
She paused before putting the clothes back and moving to retrieve the white dress.
Why not? she mused again.
Slipping off her blouse, she dropped it into her small laundry hamper. She pushed her jeans in, too. They were good for another few wears but she didn't care anymore. She was too focused on the task at hand.
Elizabeth raised her arms and shimmied into the white dress, smiling a little when she caught herself in the mirror.
She let her hair down, brushing it out quickly and letting it fall in its usual place before slipping on a pair of bright, white sneakers. She thought Sam would say she had hit the balance of casual but nice..maybe. She felt dressed up but not too dressed up.
"Ugh..." she groaned a little, adjusting herself.
Was it too plain? She nibbled her lip before pulling a floral shawl down from its place. She shook his out with a brisk swish of fabric and draped it over her shoulders.
"I look like a Grandma..." she stared at herself.
She'd gone from maybe too daring to actually too plain to a full blown grandmother. With a frustrated sigh, she ripped the shawl off her shoulders and threw it over the mirror. It hung half on the frame and half draped down the reflective surface.
Maybe a necklace?
Before she could further scrutinize her appearance, before she could really second guess herself and outfit entirely the doorbell chimed and she jumped, startled and excited.
"Shit, shit" she mumbled to herself. Scooping up her usual bag, she dumped some lip balm, hairbrush and mirror inside before dashing down the stairs. She clicked off her light as she passed it. Taking the other set of stairs two at a time, she quickly shook her head and rearranged her hair before approaching the door.
With a deep breath, she smoothed her dress and hair once more before opening the door.
"Dwayne?" she smiled widely, "hi!"
She felt elated and she knew it was obvious, but she couldn't help herself. She was so happy to see him. She'd waited for this moment all day and it had been worth it. God, it had been worth it. He always looked amazing and today was no different. He was wearing tight, black jeans and a fresh, sharp white t-shirt under his jacket. He was so effortlessly stylish, so cool in his attitude and style and now, as she stood before him she didn't worry about her own clothes. She felt like she matched him perfectly. And the way he was looking at her?
It made her pause.
He took his time obviously running his gaze over her face and body, and she blushed, pleased when she realized what he was doing.
"You look beautiful" he told her sincerely and she felt her blush deepen at his tone.
"Thanks..." she replied with a shy smile.
The dress had been a good idea.
The dress, the man, the empty house..
"I'm really happy to see you" Dwayne said, giving her a chaste, smooth kiss.
"Me too" she told him honestly, moving closer to him, lips tingling delightfully "I could barely wait"
"Really?"
"Really" she assured him with a little laugh.
"Come on" he invited and she stepped out beside him, closing the door.
"What's the plan?" she asked as he helped her onto his bike.
She rearranged her dress discreetly.
"Your classic, All-American date" he promised and she laughed, holding his waist tightly as they raced into the night.
"No way" Sam exhaled, disregarding the comic in his hand, "No way, man"
"Way" Alan replied in a deadpan.
"Seriously" Edgar replied.
"But…"
"Ken, for real" Alan insisted.
"Stop calling me Ken" Sam retorted, placing the comic back down into its place on the shelf without really registering it.
"You do dress like a Ken doll" Edgar reasoned, sticking a small, yellow price tag to a children's comic.
"Can I see one?" Sam asked, shaking his head as if to shake away their Ken comments.
"We'll close up at eleven" Alan replied as Edgar nodded.
"Wait. For real? You'll let me see one?" Sam said, staring at the two brothers intently. He didn't want to mess around. Yesterday had been fun in the end, horror movie aside, and it would suck if they were just messing with him now.
"See one?" Alan repeated, "Ken…Ken, Ken, Ken" he looked disappointed and for a moment, so did Sam.
"You're our friend" Edgar expanded, "You're not gonna see one. You're gonna read them"
"Holy shit!" Sam exploded happily, "Them?! Plural? Jesus. You might be the best friends I ever had!"
Edgar and Alan laughed, nodding.
They didn't doubt it.
"You really got the first editions?" Sam asked excitedly, hardly believing it.
"A bunch" Edgar promised.
"That's what got our parents interested in comics. They have all the originals, had 'em since childhood…" Alan said.
"And we get them by extension" Edgar shrugged.
Sam's face exploded with happiness.
"Hey wanna get a pizza delivery?" Alan asked, pushing himself away from the sale pile, "I'm starving"
Sam nodded and led the way towards the back of the store, "pizza's always good. Is it cool?"
"Oh yeah"
"Customers are unpredictable but it looks like a quiet night"
Sam nodded in agreement.
Edgar and Alan shared a smile.
They were on track. Sam showed promise.
With a self-satisfied nod, Edgar moved to the phone. "Our unit's getting bigger" he told Alan in a happy, low, voice as he picked up the receiver.
He began to dial the number from memory.
"Hey, you should check out Hounds from Hell while we wait for the pizza" Edgar advised Sam.
"Yeah, it's horror but we've got time to kill" Alan suggested, picking up a messy inventory sheet.
Sam shrugged with an easy, "sure..."
Horror comics didn't seem so bad with the promise of some pizza and first editions just around the corner.
Meeting the Frog Brothers may have been a really good thing.