The Beaujolais was renowned for its fine cuisine and matching prices, and as a result mostly isolated from the general populace. The card was expensive but Bryce loved to flaunt his, or rather his father's, riches and as he often assured Julie, 'Nothing's too good for my Muffin,' so they'd forgone the plethora of bistros and beach joints that littered the pier and were now seated outside on opposite sides of a little table with almost translucent white cloth draped over it, adding to the opulent atmosphere that reigned at the French restaurant. Julie pitied the waiters who had to walk around in outfits that were almost fancier than any of her father's suits, especially when the California sun was beating down on them quite mercilessly this spring afternoon. Everything breathed a level of extravagance and luxury she'd never thought to be a part of, and it was strange to think that with Bryce by her side she would likely be enjoying this lifestyle until her death bed, something that promptly served to make her feel guilty again. That wasn't to say Julie didn't enjoy their afternoon out, she just wasn't as accustomed to spending money that didn't technically belong to her and there was just no way that she'd be able to afford even an appetizer on her own, let alone a bottle of wine on the side and profiteroles after. But Bryce insisted; he knew that she wasn't able to say no when he cast her that charming smile and fair is fair, dessert was delicious. They'd spent most of their time chatting away about their family, the upcoming sailing trip and the wedding of Bryce's older sister Christine next month. It was just odd how easy it was to talk when the conversation steered clear of Reckless Life and everything surrounding it. Sometimes Julie wondered if it wasn't just better if she did move out. It definitely would make Bryce and Mark a lot happier, she suspected; sometimes she just couldn't be sure if, to Mark, her friendship still outweighed the presence of a man he so whole-heartedly detested it made Julie sad just thinking about it. She'd never expected things to go this way; four years ago, her heart had been filled with hope and excitement, and moving into the same apartment with Mark had seemed like an adventure and a chance to fully explore life out from under the protective wings of her parents. She wasn't sure if she'd managed to get everything out of it that she could, but there was no denying that the past four years had been pretty awesome.
Despite their differences, their high school influenced habits that set them miles apart, Julie and Mark had taken the risk of renting the pretty accommodating apartment together, two months before high school graduation. Admittedly, it had been for practical reasons – neither could afford to pay for a room on their own on their minimum wage weekend job – as well as a desperate need to leave their parental homes. But it wasn't just that and, looking back on it, Julie thought it was a clear sign that she hadn't even considered moving in with Kelsey or Selene at the time instead. Mark had been equal parts intriguing and confusing from where she stood in life, but he had never quite ceased to be that boy who'd come up to the fence and use their secret knock (two knocks, pause, three knocks, pause, two knocks, extra long pause then one more knock) to see if she were up for playing hide-and-seek or play soccer on the field behind their houses. Not even four years of high school had been able to change that, and although at age eighteen they'd both grown tall enough to lean over the fence instead, they'd never quite stopped to chat whenever they happened into their yards at the same time and, coincidentally, it was how the plan of moving into the same apartment came to fruition.
Julie was caught in a dreamy half-smile when her phone buzzed audibly. Bryce considered it impolite to leave your phone out during a meal, but even he knew better than to protest when she was so eager to hear if the band's talk with this record label had resulted into anything concrete. Julie didn't even bother to pretend that she hadn't been waiting for a message all this time – although that wasn't true; she'd expected Mark to have called – and quickly snatched up the device, unlocking it with her thumb and letting her eyes dance across the two lines of text. It was writing on the wall that the very reason he hadn't called was Bryce's presence, but the news was just too good to let that get her down and Julie literally jumped in her seat, barely stifling a cry of excitement before glancing at Bryce across the table.
“They're signed with Edge Records!” she exclaimed then, realizing people were turning to look at her, lowered her voice and conspiringly hunched over towards her boyfriend. “They've got a contract and they're celebrating at Manhattan Beach tonight. Isn't that great?” The smile plastered on her face could not be faked and merrily, Julie leaned back into her seat, scooping the last of the chocolate goodness from the crystal bowl it had been served in. Sucking the cream off the spoon she gazed out at the sea, wondering just what this would mean for Mark and his fellow band members. Signing with a record label this big was a major deal and she'd spent enough time with her roomie to know just how well-known Edge Records was in the world of upcoming bands in general, and rock musicians in particular. It therefore took her a while to realize that Bryce hadn't actually responded at all yet.
“What?” she asked, slowly lowering the spoon from her lips. “Aren't you happy for them?” An unhappy but familiar realization crept up on her and the mirth faded a little. “I know Mark doesn't like you much, but he's still my friend. Can't you just be a little happy for them at least?”
“Oh I am happy for them,” he finally responded. “Maybe he'll finally amount to something now. Are they paying them up front?”
Julie's lips parted, but she swallowed what she'd initially wanted to say, thrown off by the question. “I—I don't know,” she stammered, “Does it matter?”
Bryce shrugged. “If him and the other stooges finally manage to make some money, they might be able to get a place of their own.”
The words reminded Julie of the conversation she had half listened in on back at the apartment. “Why would Mark move out?” she asked cautiously, already knowing where this was headed.
“It only makes sense, muffin.” Bryce leaned forward, taking hold of her hand. As he affectionately ran his thumb over the back of her fingers he eyed Julie intensely. “His life and yours are going to be so different now; if Reckless Life becomes successful they'll soon be touring the state, the whole US maybe. What sense does it make to have him stay in the apartment when they can probably rent a home more... suitable to their lifestyle?” He raised his eyebrows in a 'Do you understand what I'm saying?' sort of way. “Besides, you've paid for just about everything in there that isn't in Mark's bedroom. In the long run it's only logical that he'd move out so we can live there until the firm in Miami has been set up properly.”
“Together?” Julie asked insecurely. “You mean...”
“Don't worry,” Bryce interjected, patting her on the hand reassuringly. “I know it's all still a little fast for you. We'll just wait and see how it goes, all right? And if Mark and his little band do make a name for themselves, then at least you won't have to worry about having to pay the bills on your own.” To that, he leaned far over the table and pecked her on the cheek. “I'll always be there for you, Julianne,” he told her soothingly. Julie smiled faintly at that.
“I know,” she answered, peering down at how her hand was firmly clasped between both of his. There was a familiar sensation of being unable to breathe pinching her throat and she tried to no avail to swallow the feeling away. There were a lot of things she wanted to say there and then, but as usual, the girl refrained from starting another argument and after a few seconds raised her chin and allowed the smile to grow more confident. “Let's head back,” she told Bryce. “If we want to make it back to the beach on time we can't hang around here much longer.”
----
The place was thriving from the get-go, and despite having arrived pretty early there was a particularly lively atmosphere at the Bolo. They'd picked up Rebecca on the way here and the girl was already in a good mood. “Ren's the exotic looking one, right?” she grinned, not even slightly insulted when Julie mentioned the text Mark had sent her (she really, really was a terrible liar). Kelsey had also tagged along per Bryce's request; Julie suspected that he wanted at least one person on his side in this place. The club fitted him as badly as a cheap suit would, and although he had traded the pastel shorts for khaki trousers, he still looked a tad out of place. Selene hadn't been able to make it; her current conquest had a successful IT manager quite smitten with her and they were currently on a weekend trip to the Big Apple, where the poor guy would no doubt lose a few grand to Selene's relentless shopping addiction.
The presence of Maria was a bit of a let-down to Julie, but Rebecca mercilessly jabbed her in the side, firmly telling her “Time to be a grown-up, Jules. You get to bring Bryce, he gets to bring the anime chick. Now for once you're actually even.”
Julie pouted rather childishly at that, but before they actually joined the band and their growing entourage she managed to shed the feelings of resentment and she was all smiles when she congratulated each and every one of them heartily. The girl even hugged Cave, even if his presence usually served to intimidate her a little. “So awesome, I'm really happy for you guys,” she told Dalton. Julie purposely turned to Mark last, mostly oblivious to Bryce's somewhat strained words of congratulations. Rebecca was making an effort to mimic Julie's exuberance, but likely it was only so she could get a closer look at Ren and decide for herself whether he was worth her attention. Julie looked a bit shy as she locked eyes with her lifelong friend; the fact that his arm was wrapped about the shoulders of the exotic looking girl was making her feel rather uneasy. She was too polite and by far not bold enough to request a moment of his time, even if at any other time in the past few years she'd demanded his attention whenever she'd wanted it. But things were different now, Julie was awkwardly aware of that. Fortunately he was quick to catch on, and as he temporarily abandoned the hold he had on Maria Liao Julie felt her nerves dwindle almost immediately.
“Congratulations,” she told him as he stepped in closer to the girl. “I was so happy when I heard you actually got signed! I mean, I know you would, you guys are amazing, but it's still great that now the rest of the world will know it too!” She dipped her head; Julie's hand purposely dug into her small shoulder bag, rummaging through the stuff inside before fishing out a small package. “I have something for you. I--” Julie paused, realizing she was barely managing to rise above the music and the excited chatter of everyone around. Her voice was gentle, melodic, but not very loud and she gestured for Mark to follow her just a few steps away from the crowd and to a slightly quieter corner of the club. “Sorry about that,” she said, brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I uh... I figured that since this is a pretty special occasion, you should get a present. Actually, that's not true.”
The tiny package had been neatly wrapped, but rather than handing it over, Julie seemed to change her mind there and then and quickly removed the shiny paper herself, then clutched the gift within her palm. “Hold out your arm,” she demanded, demonstrating what she was expecting by twisting her own arm wrist-up towards him.
“Now, I know you're gonna laugh and I know this is going to be the cheesiest gift I've ever given you, but bear with me, all right?” Julie extended her hands towards his now up-turned palm and finally stopped hiding the little object. With both her fingers she nimbly curved what looked to be a bracelet of sorts around his wrist. It was nothing overly fancy or shiny looking – definitely not something Bryce would have approved of – and rather seemed to consist of several dark-brown, smooth strips of leather that she was now tying together with dedicated precision. Julie glanced up at her friend once or twice, but mostly dedicated herself to the task. “Do you remember when you still thought I could actually learn to play the guitar, you know, way back when?” The memory made her grin; trying to get Julie to play a barre chord properly was like trying to teach a walrus to sing and he had been so ardent in getting her to learn that ultimately she had been able to play all of Stairway to Heaven together with Mark. You know, not counting the solo. She'd also stubbornly refused to play any other songs since.
“I know that didn't quite go the way either of us had hoped,” she continued, tightening the little knot with care. “But I did learn something from it; you love what you do and you're ridiculously good at it. And I was confident it would only be a matter of time before other people would notice that, too, so I made you this.”
She turned his wrist around, and on opposite side of the bracelet it revealed the tear-drop shape of a faded, gray guitar pick with a narrow gap on each end through which the leather rope looped, making it the single focal point to the unconventional wrist-band. It had some text on the underside of it – nothing she'd put there herself, mind; in pen writing it read “J loves the G”, a particularly deep inside joke that no one else should ever have to read. “You gave me this at the time,” she told him, tapping the pick with her fingertip. “And so... so I made a bracelet out of it like two years ago, so I could give it to you once you made it. Well, are making it.” Julie's cheeks flushed the longer she rambled on, and her fingers clenched around his lower arm with anxious firmness. “It really seemed a good idea at the time,” she added helplessly. “But maybe – egh. Tell me I'm not being too sentimental, please.”
Snowdrops
Tally Dor
