The Lunacy Fringe

Ninety-Seven

When we lost sight of the boys, Claire was the first to approach me. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze.

"You're a strong girl," she said. I was surprised she didn't hate me for breaking her son's heart. I sniffed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Doesn't feel like it."

"He loves you. Don't forget that." I nodded even though my heart felt broken into thousands of tiny pieces.

We waited long enough for their bus to depart just to make sure there were no issues. And then we headed back home. After we said goodbye to Claire, I headed to my room with every intention of not leaving for at least three more days. My dad only knocked to make sure I ate and let me cry it out.

Crystal decided to loan me Quinn's car while they were gone since he wouldn't be using it, and I needed one for school. But after a week, it was clear I would need a job just to keep gas in the tank. At least for the rest of summer, anyway. So I borrowed money from my dad and drove to the beach. I remembered the guy we met the night we played beside the fire. He told us he worked on the beach at a music store and to come check it out. I didn't know if he'd even give me a job, but I decided to try it before looking elsewhere.

When I finally tracked down the record store, I let myself in and headed to the man behind the counter. He wasn't Rocco. But some other dude with shaggy blond hair and a beer belly who was flipping through records and bobbing his head to the music playing over the speakers.

"What's up?" he said when I approached. I smiled.

"Hey, is Rocco here?"

"Sure is. He's in the back. I'll show you where to go."

"The back," it turned out, was not a back room. But a back section of the store that was a whole pile of cushions and pillows where people could chill and listen to records they wanted to sample before buying. There were no customers yet. Just Rocco, hovering over a ukulele and trying to tune it.

"Hey, Rocco. Someone is here to see you," the other guy said to announce me. Rocco looked up, blinked a few times, and then grinned.

"I remember that red hair. My favorite beach jammer." He got to his feet and stuck out his hand.

"I'm surprised you remember me."

"I don't meet a lot of women with fire engine red hair."

"That's fair."

"Your name was—something to do with the color red, right?"

"Ruby."

"Ruby, that's right. What can I do for you?"

"I was actually wondering if you were hiring. I'm looking for a place to work for the rest of the summer."

"Why the hell would you want to work here?" I laughed.

"It's summer, and all my friends are off doing bigger and better things. I gotta keep my gas tank full somehow."

"Gotcha. Well, we don't really have any openings. We sort of just run things ourselves. But I'm sure we could find a place for you."

"We could use an extra hand for the summer rush," the other guy agreed.

"Alright. Awesome. Alec, this is Ruby. She's one of the kids I told you about who was jamming on the beach that one time."

"Right. I remember. Nice to finally meet you, Ruby." I shook his hand.

"You too."

"You can go ahead and show her around. Give her an idea of the place. Help her get settled. I don't know much about wages. But we can figure something out to make sure your gas tank stays full."

"Sounds good. This was—actually easier than I thought." They both laughed like I'd said a joke. And then I realized what I'd walked into. These were business-savvy stoners.

And that worked out just fine for me. It was an easy job. I mostly just drove to the beach every day to hang out and occasionally make sales at the register. But sometimes, they just did that for me. And we spent most of our time listening to music or playing in the back until I got the hang of it enough for them to leave me alone for a few hours a day.

When I got my first paycheck, I went to the salon Billie always took me to and asked them to dye my hair. I didn't tell anyone what my plan was. And my dad seemed startled the first time I walked up the driveway when he was coming home. He just nodded to himself as if he had expected it. Billie, however, freaked out.

"I knew you were the kind of person to change your hair after big life events," she said. "But I didn't think you'd ever do anything dramatic."

"Red isn't dramatic?" I asked.

"Red is Ruby. Black is—not Ruby."

"Black is current Ruby."

"Current Ruby is fucking depressed."

I didn't argue about that. But she didn't talk about Felix any more. She made it clear that she disagreed with my choice and thought I was an asshole for breaking his heart, but she was still my friend—still the same old Billie. And eventually, I started taking her to the shop with me to hang out with us. Then she sort of became an unofficial employee. She helped us clean up and take care of customers but never asked for money. Rocco just bought her lunch every day, which seemed to work out well for both of them.

But as summer began to draw to a close, Rocco knew my time with them was also coming to an end. He finally got around to asking about where I was going to college and what my plan was. I would be close to home but too far to make the drive back and forth every day. So as much as I wanted to keep working there, it was obvious I couldn't. But we'd grown close anyway. They seemed to fill a void that the rest of the boys had left behind.

"I just wanted you to know that you'll always have a family and a home with us," he told me when we were hanging out in the back playing music.

"Aw, thanks, Rocco. That means a lot to me."

"I mean it. Don't be a stranger. We'll miss you. And if you ever want to come down just to jam or make some extra bucks, you know where to find us."

"I will definitely do that."

"Cool. Let's try something new this time."

"Sure. What do you want to play?"

"You sing. Whatever you want."

Over the past few weeks, I'd gotten a lot more comfortable playing in front of people. Mostly because I couldn't work in that shop without getting (at least) a contact high from all the smoke from the back room. But also because customers rarely paid much attention to us when we played. Sometimes they would stop and bob their heads. But for the most part, they got what they wanted and left, or browsed and left tips in the tip jar.

When we finished the song, I noticed we'd caught someone's attention. But this time, I recognized him. And he was clearly there waiting for me to notice. So I stood up to greet him.

"Mr. D'Angelo, what are you doing here?" I asked, setting my guitar aside.

"Just came to check out my favorite record store, and who should I find but my favorite songstress," he replied. "How long have you been working here?"

"Just about a month."

"You're still attending school in the fall, right?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving in a few weeks."

"Good."

"Thank you for all your help. My dad and I really appreciate it."

"It isn't a problem. I just put my money where the talent is."

"Still. How are the boys doing?"

"Great. Working with some of our best producers at the moment. We hope to get the record out by Christmas."

"I really hope it goes well."

"Well, you're a talented group of kids, and you have a good manager." I nodded. I'd have to let my dad know he thought so. I really just wanted to know how Felix was doing. Quinn called, of course, but he didn't talk about him. And Billie didn't. And Claire never said anything when I saw her outside. Felix didn't call. I knew he wouldn't. But I didn't know how much of it was just because I'd broken up with him. I clearly couldn't ask that. So I just tried to find a reason to end the conversation.

"It was really nice seeing you again. I should get back to work, though."

"Yeah, of course. Have a good day, Ruby. I'll be in touch."