Paula’s car was parked in front of the theater, facing away from us as we drove up, the same as yesterday. I hadn’t considered it then, but now I realized that this must have meant she’d returned to the theater from the same direction as us. In other words, it was clear that she’d gone to check on Fago at the temple.
I pulled the Kettle in behind Paula’s car, and we headed inside. It wasn’t just Nito and me today; Charolles had ridden with us too. Her role wasn’t just to watch us give the invitations, of course. Later, she’d be carrying supplies that we needed her magic bag for.
Both of them were just inside as we entered. They must have been cleaning. Paula was wearing a handkerchief over her mouth and another over her hair, and she had a broom in her hand. Jill was in the middle of opening a window on the second floor.
“Oh my! What brings all three of you here?” Paula exclaimed, hitching up her usual colorful dress as she came on over.
Jill trotted down the stairs too. I met her eyes as she approached, and she inclined her head slightly. I nodded back. I knew that without Jill’s help here, Paula would never accept the invitation. The issue was that we’d had no chance to arrange things beforehand. I’d just have to hope that she could infer what was going on.
Charolles placed a hand on Nito’s back. The smaller girl seemed to draw courage from the touch and took a step forward. She looked up at Paula towering above her and then held out the invitation.
“Paula, would you take this?”
“A gift? For me? Oh, Nito, you lady-killer,” she said jokingly, taking it and then dropping her gaze to it.
Painted onto it was Fago’s shoe workshop—in other words, Paula’s home. There was no way that Paula would be able to look at that and not realize what it meant and what emotions Nito had put into it. It truly was a painting full of her earnest feelings.
I waited with a slight amount of hope for Paula’s reply. Nito stared up at her uneasily while I looked on more calmly.
“I’m really happy with this, Nito. Both the picture and the invitation. They’re wonderful,” Paula said, crouching down to meet Nito’s gaze. “But I—”
“Oh, right,” I spoke up, seeing my cue. “We’ve got one for Jill as well.”
The young woman in question jolted in surprise.
“Hey, Nito, you should give Jill hers too,” I prompted.
“Eh, ah, um,” Nito stammered.
“Go on. She’s waiting,” I said, following Charolles’s example and putting my hand on her back.
Nito’s straightforward feelings were wonderful—they were almost blindingly bright to adults mired in their worries. That didn’t guarantee immediate acceptance, though. Sometimes, you had to take a slightly more roundabout approach.
Jill was just as flustered as Nito. Her gaze wouldn’t settle at first, and then she threw me a searching look. I couldn’t let Paula get suspicious, so I just looked evenly back.
“Um, Jill,” Nito called, “this is an invitation to the Lantern Flower Festival tonight.”
Jill floundered for a second before replying.
“Th-Thank you. But I...” she hedged, looking between Nito, Paula, and me.
She flapped her hands around, uncertain, and didn’t immediately take the paper.
The invitation was doubtless a lot for her to process. She wasn’t used to being around people, so taking part in a festival would be difficult for her. Right now, she had a look of near-panic on her face as she tried to decide how to deal with it, rather than just taking it like Paula had.
I wanted Jill to come, both for Paula and Fago’s sake as well as for my own little idea. I had a plan, and I wanted to bring her in on it, but if Paula noticed, she’d never set foot anywhere near the festival.
That left me no choice. I hadn’t wanted to do this, but I knew I couldn’t let my pride win out here. I waited for the next time Jill was looking at me, and then I winked, just like Paula always did.
I never thought the day would come when I’d give a serious wink to a woman.
Whether I’d managed a proper wink was beside the point. As long as it’d gotten the point across to Jill, it was proper enough. I decided to consider the slight fear in her answering expression as my imagination.
“O-Okay. I’ll join in...” she managed, hesitantly taking the invitation.
“Really?!” Nito gushed.
I’d taken a heavy blow, but we’d managed to achieve our goal. Paula’s eyes were wide. She knew Jill well, so her shock and sense of unease about the other woman’s answer were probably to be expected, but I didn’t think she had even an inkling that we were plotting anything.
“Oh, wow,” Jill murmured, staring at the invitation.
Nito had painted the theater for Jill. This was where they’d met each other and where the shock of Jill’s singing had gained them both a new friend, so it was an important place to both of them.
“Um, Paula, we’d really like it if you would join in as well,” Nito said, turning to face Paula again.
The timing was perfect, and so was the courageous look in her eyes. The effect that both together had was amazing. Jill’s acceptance had also likely had a strong influence. Paula, still crouched, looked again at the invitation in her hand. She remained silent for a long moment, and we didn’t rush her, just stood waiting for her decision.
“If I go, it might ruin the whole thing. I might even end up bawling and running away.”
She was probably worried about how things would go with Fago. I was sure that she didn’t need to be, though. Fago wouldn’t act like she feared—but it’d take a prompt, and a slight push, to help Paula find her resolve. Just as I was about to open my mouth, something tugged at my wrist. Glancing that direction, I saw that Charolles was shaking her head. At the same moment, Nito beamed at Paula.
“That’s fine. We’ll be with you!”
Paula’s mouth fell open, then her shoulders started to shake, until she finally broke out into laughter. It was hardly a surprising response. Really, it might have been the only fitting response. Even I couldn’t help a weak chuckle.
There was absolutely no logic in what Nito had said. How on earth would that make anything better? I had no idea, but I knew that its absurdity was exactly why Paula could accept the reassurance. If Nito said it, then it must be true. The rest of us had lost that frankness at some point, so Nito’s bright words served to give us courage. Paula wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes and then lowered her head.
“I’ll be counting on you, then,” she said. “I can hardly refuse if you’re willing to go so far.”
I’d never forget the smile that made its way onto Nito’s face then. She clenched her fists in front of her chest and then spun around to face us, cheering, “We did it!”
Now I was sure that Monty would agree as well.