don’t need to be a certain way around you because I don’t even like you, and also we’re stuck together, so what you think about me or want from me doesn’t really matter.”
His eyes went blank. “I don’t really know what it’s like to have someone have expectations of you.”
“Oh. Well, it’s not bad. I don’t really mind it or anything. It’s just that...it means that I make sure I behave a certain way in certain company is all. And yeah, I don’t go around saying weird things in public or around people who wouldn’t get it. So I’m...restrained in certain settings and...”
“Fake,” he said.
“What?”
“You’re fake. And that’s okay, I am, too. I mean, I know how to be. Witness how we met. And how do you think I survive a week of meetings like this? I don’t go in telling them where I’m from. I make sure to temper my language. I’ve learned how to dress in a way that reflects who I am now, and what I do now, not in a way that reflects who I was. Or where I’m from.”
“I’m not fake.”
“Don’t look so upset.”
She realized she was frowning with great ferocity. She didn’t bother to stop. “How can I not be upset when you’re telling me that I’m fake?”
“Because it’s a life skill. Chameleons do it. It’s how they survive. It’s how we survive. You don’t want to walk around showing the wrong colors, so to speak. You have to learn how to blend in.”
“Deep, man.”
“It’s the truth is all. And you do it, so you obviously, instinctively, know the benefits of it, whether you like it or not.”
“It’s...being appropriate in your surroundings. It’s not fake.”
“Is it authentic?”
“Does it... What does that mean?”
“I’m not judging you, Rachel, I’m observing.”
Her phone started buzzing against the hard marble tile and she grabbed it, looking at the screen with no small amount of dread. Because she hadn’t talked to Ajax at all since his wedding with Leah and she hadn’t talked to Leah on the phone. Or her father. And she didn’t know if she could handle any of them.
Fortunately the caller ID showed that it was Alana. Alana, who she was prepared to deal with at least. They’d talked a little bit during the week, and while she hadn’t broken the pregnancy news, her friend had guessed that Alex was the reason for the wedding no-show and had been nothing but supportive.
“I have to take this. In an authentic manner.” She hit the green button on the screen. “Hi. What?”
Alana was talking so fast that Rachel could hardly decode what she was saying. “A huge order. Like...huge, and I can’t fulfill it if I can’t buy the materials—I’m only getting half paid up front. And you’re not even going to believe this! A pipe burst in the shop upstairs and flooded me completely. I have ruined inventory, things that I can’t just replace and my insurance thinks her insurance is responsible and vice versa and it’s just absolute madness!”
“What can I do?”
“There’s the obvious but I hesitate to ask.”
“Well, since I’m part owner in the business, it makes sense that I help, especially since— What is this huge order?”
“It’s costume stuff, which I don’t love to do, but I’d get a film credit. It’s for a really big French film and—”
“Say no more. I’m coming over. We’ll get it all worked out.”
“You don’t have to come if you’re still deep in issues with your mystery man.”
Rachel looked up at Alex. “Let me worry about that.” She hung up. “I have to go to Cannes.”
“What?”
“My friend Alana has a boutique there. Technically, I have a boutique there. I own most of it. But I’m a silent business partner, as it were.”
“How is it I didn’t know that?”
“No one knows that,” she said. “Not even Ajax. And yes, I felt a little guilty about it, but I believe in her skills as a designer and I wanted to support her. So I set her up with a boutique. And we’ve been
His eyes went blank. “I don’t really know what it’s like to have someone have expectations of you.”
“Oh. Well, it’s not bad. I don’t really mind it or anything. It’s just that...it means that I make sure I behave a certain way in certain company is all. And yeah, I don’t go around saying weird things in public or around people who wouldn’t get it. So I’m...restrained in certain settings and...”
“Fake,” he said.
“What?”
“You’re fake. And that’s okay, I am, too. I mean, I know how to be. Witness how we met. And how do you think I survive a week of meetings like this? I don’t go in telling them where I’m from. I make sure to temper my language. I’ve learned how to dress in a way that reflects who I am now, and what I do now, not in a way that reflects who I was. Or where I’m from.”
“I’m not fake.”
“Don’t look so upset.”
She realized she was frowning with great ferocity. She didn’t bother to stop. “How can I not be upset when you’re telling me that I’m fake?”
“Because it’s a life skill. Chameleons do it. It’s how they survive. It’s how we survive. You don’t want to walk around showing the wrong colors, so to speak. You have to learn how to blend in.”
“Deep, man.”
“It’s the truth is all. And you do it, so you obviously, instinctively, know the benefits of it, whether you like it or not.”
“It’s...being appropriate in your surroundings. It’s not fake.”
“Is it authentic?”
“Does it... What does that mean?”
“I’m not judging you, Rachel, I’m observing.”
Her phone started buzzing against the hard marble tile and she grabbed it, looking at the screen with no small amount of dread. Because she hadn’t talked to Ajax at all since his wedding with Leah and she hadn’t talked to Leah on the phone. Or her father. And she didn’t know if she could handle any of them.
Fortunately the caller ID showed that it was Alana. Alana, who she was prepared to deal with at least. They’d talked a little bit during the week, and while she hadn’t broken the pregnancy news, her friend had guessed that Alex was the reason for the wedding no-show and had been nothing but supportive.
“I have to take this. In an authentic manner.” She hit the green button on the screen. “Hi. What?”
Alana was talking so fast that Rachel could hardly decode what she was saying. “A huge order. Like...huge, and I can’t fulfill it if I can’t buy the materials—I’m only getting half paid up front. And you’re not even going to believe this! A pipe burst in the shop upstairs and flooded me completely. I have ruined inventory, things that I can’t just replace and my insurance thinks her insurance is responsible and vice versa and it’s just absolute madness!”
“What can I do?”
“There’s the obvious but I hesitate to ask.”
“Well, since I’m part owner in the business, it makes sense that I help, especially since— What is this huge order?”
“It’s costume stuff, which I don’t love to do, but I’d get a film credit. It’s for a really big French film and—”
“Say no more. I’m coming over. We’ll get it all worked out.”
“You don’t have to come if you’re still deep in issues with your mystery man.”
Rachel looked up at Alex. “Let me worry about that.” She hung up. “I have to go to Cannes.”
“What?”
“My friend Alana has a boutique there. Technically, I have a boutique there. I own most of it. But I’m a silent business partner, as it were.”
“How is it I didn’t know that?”
“No one knows that,” she said. “Not even Ajax. And yes, I felt a little guilty about it, but I believe in her skills as a designer and I wanted to support her. So I set her up with a boutique. And we’ve been
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