33. Chapter 33

Chapter thirty-three

Caleb

Breathless, I was looking down at Juliette, eyes closed, a satisfied smile ghosting her lips. She reached for my hand and I laced our fingers together. Her smile broadened. It felt like my ribs would crack.

I wouldn't think about that.

Instead, I dipped down to kiss her cheek and lay beside her for a long time as she nestled into my arms, tracing the lines of my chest and stomach.

"Don't you have to go to work?" she asked, propping her head up in her hand.

"Yes," I replied, turning on my side to mirror her.

"Did Ana's mother say anything when you dropped her off?"

"Said they should be back from the zoo by four."

Juliette's gaze dropped to the sheets before flicking up to look at me through her lashes. "Want to come over for lunch?" she asked.

"Sure," I answered.

We ended up in the exact same position after lunch. Only this time around we'd taken our time and I made sure she came more than once. Grazing my hands up and down the slope of her waist, I listened to her to-do list and suggested she let me tag along to organize the costume closet.

"I have to press and steam all the costumes," she whined.

"I'll bring a second iron."

"Kelsey was supposed to help me."

"Then we'll buy a third and knock out the whole project today."

After a brief inner war over whether or not to accept the help, Juliette asked, "Can you put up some shelving? "

"Can I try on a costume?"

A wicked grin graced those pretty lips of hers. Several hours later we were squabbling over whether reading the instructions was necessary to hang the track shelving I bought her.

"I've done this before, I don't need to read them," I sighed.

"But if you don't go through the studs, you need to use the drywall screws," she protested.

"No, you don't. Trust me."

She scoffed in response. Kelsey, who had been dropped off at the studio by Ana's mom, cut me a look from the ironing board that barely fit in the room. I, being a very capable and practiced shelf hanger, tapped the wall until I found the stud and drilled. The drywall gave way to a two by four and I shot them both a shit-eating grin while also thanking God I paid attention to my handy father.

"Caleb," Juliette said after I hung the first track, "You didn't buy matching tracks. This one says regular duty and that one says heavy duty."

"Well, shit. It's fine, they're all compatible—probably—and you're hanging tutus. They can't be that heavy."

Kelsey and Juliette glanced at one another, their bodies overwhelmed in tutus that I overheard them complain had six layers of ankle length tulle. The steam from their irons hissed.

"You're kidding, right?" Kelsey laughed.

"It's fine," I said. Juliette and I glanced at one another, recalling the last time we'd sworn it was all fine. She bit her bottom lip and returned to work.

After the shelves were up, I helped press the boy's costumes and hang them. The work was tedious and she'd been right to worry about burning the delicate fabrics. I almost regretted offering to iron because I was scared I'd melt the velvet. Juliette left the room to turn up the air conditioning because we were all getting sticky with sweat from the humidity.

"How was the zoo?" I asked Kelsey.

"It was so cool. I haven't been since I was a kid on a field trip. Did you know they have a nursery for the endangered turtles? "

"I did not. Were they hatched, yet, or in eggs?"

"Hatched. There were eggs incubating, though. Ana's little brother was obsessed with them."

"I always liked the reptile exhibits," I mused, "But the large mammals always got me. A monkey once stole my ice cream cone, you know. Back when monkeys were kept in cages and not behind glass."

Kelsey barked out a laugh, "No it didn't."

"Yes, it did. I was a little kid, and it reached through the bars and took my ice-cream. In all fairness, I was offering it to him."

"That's probably why they don't let the monkeys interact with humans anymore."

I shrugged, taking responsibility, "Sorry."

Juliette rejoined us, wiping her brow. "What about you?" Kelsey asked.

"I'm a bird person, myself," she replied, smiling from ear to ear. "All the plants and feathers. I love the noise."

My attention snagged on her a fraction of a moment too long. I knew her now. I understood what she meant.

The noise .

My heart ached for her. She loved the birds because they were colorful, and chatty, and flocked together. They were a family in a home full of noise.

"Oh, no," Kelsey shook her head, "They're so annoying. The parrot house was too much."

"You used to wish you could fly," Juliette smiled, bumping Kelsey's hip with hers.

Kelsey's ears burned.

"Are you hungry, yet?" I asked them both.

"Yes!" Kelsey replied, eager for a break. "I'll go get us some pizza."

"Surprise us," I said, fishing my wallet out of my pocket.

"I can use my debit card."

"No way, that's your money," I said. One day Kelsey would be able to make eye contact with me when I gave her cash. For now, she plucked the money from my hand and raced out of the studio.

Juliette and I continued working. She held the hem of a long white tutu taut while her other hand steamed the fabric. It was obvious she'd done this a million times before, but it was slow work. I knelt and pulled the fabric taut for her, "It might be faster if we do it like this." I stretched the tulle while she steamed it, and I thought, looking up at her, that maybe I belonged on my knees. "Which ballet is this one from?"

"Les Sylphides," she replied, hanging the costume behind her and pulling out another one from the pile. She quickly ironed the satin bodice and hung the tutu.

I grabbed the hem again and asked, "How do the men lift the women with all this slippery fabric?"

She cocked her head and chuckled, "They hold on tight. Also, it's a give and take, the woman contributes equally to the lift."

"I bet I could lift you," I teased.

Juliette lifted a brow and nodded. "Ah, yes, you bet you could perfect a skill that is honed with years of specialized training."

"Put one of these on and let's see."

Her expression changed, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Only if I get to send a video to the Friday group chat."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

Kelsey

I was only gone for twenty minutes.

One hand on the door knob and the other burning under the pizza box, I walked in on the two playing dress up and laughing hysterically. To be fair, only Juliette donned a white tea length tutu, matching faerie wings, and tiara, and my father had only removed his shoes. They were doubled over, Caleb's hand on her waist, with tears streaming down their faces. I would be shocked, but I'd seen them laughing like this countless times before.

"You're pushing me away!" Juliette said between side-stitching laughs.

"I'm pushing up!" Caleb motioned what he thought was up, but really was just diagonal enough to throw the whole thing off balance.

"No, you're not!" Juliette rubbed her sides. "I think you squeezed me so hard you rearranged my organs."

"Okay goldilocks," Caleb huffed.

Somehow, my mere presence pulled me into the squabbling and they started squabbling at me, demanding I take a side. I agreed to be the judge of who was at fault for their failed lifts (Caleb no doubt) so long as I got to eat in the studio. Perched at the front, the cold mirror against my back, I watched as Caleb took his place behind Juliette and put his hands to her waist. She adjusted them slightly, and placed her feet properly before counting.

"Down on eight, up on one," Caleb said, determined.

"Five, six, seven, eight," Juliette bent at the knees into her plie, and I didn't even have to watch to see that Caleb would not be successful, "One." Juliette squealed before she reached the top of her jump, tried to save the unbalanced weight but surrendered to a flailing fall.

I laughed at them with my mouth full of vegetables and pie crust. They immediately started squawking at one another. "Your fault, Caleb," I yelled over them. I brushed the crumbs from my lap as I stood and walked to the center. Juliette followed me.

"You've got to get under the weight. Feel the crest of my jump, the momentum, and then fight gravity," Juliette instructed. She stood behind me. I jumped. She lifted. I floated down. Simple.

"That's exactly what I did," Caleb half-shouted, frustrated by our smug grins. "One more time," he said, waving Juliette over.

I stuffed my face and counted them in, sitting criss cross at the mirror again. This time he got his weight under hers and she did not go flailing into the air. I wouldn't call it graceful, per se, but it was acceptable for his first lift. I clapped for them as they celebrated and bowed.

Caleb came to join me in the front while Juliette ran to where her phone was propped up. "I'm sending the first one," she cackled, running to join us on the floor.

"I can't leave you two alone for a second," I mock-scolded, wiping my face and leaning over Juliette's phone to watch a video of Caleb trying to dead-lift Juliette before she jumped. His hands were in the wrong place, causing her to dissolve into a fit of giggles before they even attempted the second time.

Snapshots like this, of the three of us in the studio eating pizza and sharing true laughter, that made me feel like I was finally able to tread water.