Page 45 of Falling Again

“Chloe, remember, I said let’s talk about our feelings, not cover them up.” Annika tells her.

“But it’s so much easier to skip my troubles away.”

“Well, let’s try to be aware of innocent people in your wake.” Annika gently places her hand on Chloe’s shoulder to steady her.

“Where are we heading anyway?” Reid asks Chloe, who points to me. Reid and Annika stop walking and turn to me. “You planned it? You’ve never even been here,” Reid asks, puzzled.

“Well, I just made the itinerary. Chloe and Annika told me all the places they thought we should go, and I organized it,” I say, looking over ladies, who both nod. Chloe told me some places when she came to see the cottage. The events of that night nearly send my thoughts drifting and I think I see blush creeping on Chloe’s cheeks, as if she’s thinking the same.

Annika looks between me and Chloe and gives me an eyebrow raise that I promptly ignore. I clear my throat and take my phone out of my back pocket, reading off the list. “Okay, first stop is Herbal Thrift, then the Salvation Army, then Picnic on the Beach and Dazed Music, then finish at Last Page Books.”

“Hey! I didn’t add Dazed Music!” Chloe runs up to grab my phone, and I stick my arm up in the air. “No fair, you’re like eight feet tall.”

“As the organizer, I took creative freedom and added a spot that sounded fun. Plus, they have records and other music there besides instruments.”

“Tyler, you’ll have to check your bag if you buy a guitar,” Annika says, putting her hands on her hips.

“It can just go on my lap,” I say, sticking my tongue out at her, which causes her to roll her eyes.

“Well, come on! We gotta go, Aimee’s party is tonight, and none of us have costumes!” Chloe says, pulling my arm toward her and leading us down the street to the first stop.

According to Annika and Chloe, the first two thrift stores had nothing to spark any Halloween costume ideas. I consider these people expert thrifters. As soon as they step into a store, they somehow can sense if it’s going to be a good haul. The first place didn’t have any men’s clothing, which we probably could have worked with, but we didn’t really have the time to figure it out. So, we made an ad hoc decision before lunch to go to a small boutique thrift store near Pacific Beach. We walk in, passing a small painted sign that reads, “Shelly’s Finds.” The threshold for the front door is bordered with seashells, and inside, a plethora of sand-colored rugs are layered on the floor. A wind chime sings as the door opens and closes.

A college-aged-looking gal is at the register in the back left corner, greeting us quietly. Only two other people are in the store, but it is jam-packed with stuff. Circular racks are cluttered together, and a wraparound staircase goes up to a loft with even more racks.

Chloe gasps next to me. “This is the one,” she announces, and the four of us dive into the racks. I look through the selection of men’s T-shirts and almost instantly find something that could work with what I’m wearing today. I grab the blue shirt and keep looking through the racks.

Annika runs over to Reid, holding a long black dress, and tells him to look for a striped blazer. We’ve been in the store for barely five minutes, and Chloe somehow has an entire stack of clothes thrown over her shoulder.

“Chloe, you’re going to have to check a bag if you get all that,” I say to her, and she looks up, her brow furrowed, then breaks into a huge bright smile. She laughs and lets out a snort, then covers her mouth.

“Did you just snort?” Annika asks her from across the store.

“Yeah,” Chloe says, laughing even harder and snorting once more. We all burst out laughing. I glance over, and even the employee is struggling to suppress a smile.

“Come on, let’s try on our options,” Chloe says to all of us as we snake toward the back of the store, where there is one fitting room. I take a seat on a stool shaped like corn on the cob, while Chloe sits cross-legged on the floor in front of me and Annika leans against the wall.

Reid goes in first with a pile of black-and-white jackets. He takes about a minute to open one. He’s wearing a black sports coat that is probably two sizes too big for him, but it has intense shoulder pads and thick white stripes. He runs his palms along his hair, trying to slick it back.

“I have no idea who you are supposed to be,” I say to him.

“Yeah, me neither,” Chloe adds.

“Just wait till you see mine,” Annika says and goes into the dressing room next with her all-black outfit. Reid moves aside and looks through Annika’s purse.

A minute later, Annika reveals her look. She’s wearing a floor-length black dress with a deep V-neck and long sleeves. She’s tucked her black hair behind her ears. He hands her a tube of lipstick, and he himself turns around. She applies red lipstick, and when Reid turns back toward us, he has a black mustache drawn on his face.

“Mi amor!” Reid exclaims and grabs her hand, trailing kisses up to her neck.

“Ah! Morticia and Gomez Addams!” Chloe exclaims. “That is so perfect for you two!”

“I see it now. Great choice—you both look amazing,” I say.

“Definitely winning the hottest couple costume,” Chloe adds. “Okay, my turn!” She scoops up her pile of clothes and hops into the dressing room.

Chloe takes much longer than Reid or Annika did. I’d think she escaped from the store if I didn’t hear her muttering to herself in the dressing room.

“Any day, Chloe, I’m getting hungry,” Reid says.