A T   1 1 : 4 2   A M   O N   S A T U R D A Y,    A U G U S T   2 N D with @liliberks downtown.

          “I really appreciate you meetin’ up with me on such short notice.” Sydney’s fingers still trailed over the intricate weave of a handmade beach blanket on display but her eyes cast back to settle upon Lili’s face. When she texted that morning she hadn’t been sure what to expect. Lili no doubt had her hands full between the store and the rest of her social life. True to nature she didn’t disappoint, though, and in no time at all they’d found themselves aimlessly wandering through row upon row of market stalls. “It’s just— it’s August, y’know?” The one time of the year she absolutely dreaded the most. August meant the end of summer. It meant reminders and memories of accidents she’d give a limb to forget. “I woke up ten kinds of restless and needed to get out of the house before I burnt it to the ground. Besides,” That time the edge of her mouth twitched, indicating the promise of a smile. “I think I’ve been goin’ through Lili withdrawals on top of it all.”

Lili never turned down an opportunity to get out of the house before noon on a weekend. She normally didn’t open the store until mid-afternoon, to stay open later at night on Saturday evenings. It was usually for the people bar hopping or out on a Saturday night date, but Lili didn’t mind. It meant she actually got a weekend morning. And if it meant she had free time to hang out with one of her nearest and dearest, then why shouldn’t she take advantage of it? “I know, believe me. You don’t have to explain yourself.” Lili stopped at a stall covered in those mosaic wind chimes her mother was obsessed with. “As long as you managed to avoid burning down your house that’s what matters.” She chuckled, her fingers dancing along a particularly pretty bird design. “Well, we certainly can’t have that. Everyone needs a healthy dose of Lili Berkhart. I’ve been saying it for years. Have you been doing okay otherwise? Besides it being August.”

“That would be good,” Cal said, nodding thoughtfully. “Obviously we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Scotland, so there wouldn’t a conflict of any sort there.” He raised his eyebrows. “Overnight as a museum?” he said. “I would have been disappointed if none of the exhibits came to life at night.” He nodded. “That is true,” he said. “It definitely wasn’t Skippy. I don’t thing it was even name brand.”

“Well that’s the point. The beginning of the month would be perfect. Plus since there really isn’t any Thanksgiving celebration going on I bet they would start having some Christmas stuff out.”  It would be like Hogwarts at Christmastime, except in actual real life. Lili laughed. “I think I’d be worried. It’s a science museum, there’s already some insane stuff going on.” She shook her head. “So disappointing. You know what? We’re just going to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead, cause now I’m in the mood for peanut butter.” She was already rifling through their kitchen once more, looking for what she needed.

MATIAS: Well, you’re welcome, but you deserve it, you know.

Letting out a laugh, Owen shrugged his shoulders and gave Lili a knowing look. “You and I both know that this ego’a mine ain’t nothin’ new. And denying it’s not gonna grant you any favors, Ms. Berkhart.” The brunette knew him better than most people, especially as they grew older, meaning she was keen enough not to be annoyed – or, at least, to pretend not to be annoyed – at his immaturity. “I know, but still. You know I appreciate it.” Not that he needed to remind her of that. He was pretty sure Lili could read him better than he could read himself these days, which could be seen as both a blessing and as a damn curse. “Anythin’ you need, I’m happy to help. I’ll wrangle Jamie over, too, for some extra muscle.” He smirked, taking another sip of beer. “I wanna hear what’s goin’ on with you, though. Feels like every time we talk it’s been all business.”

“Well certainly not, and I would never deny it in the first place. But I never knew it was the size of the city itself,” she teased, laughing. “I mean I’m surprised you can even fit your head through the door sometimes.” Shrugging, Lili brushed her fingers against the table, her fingers skidding against the surface. Sure, there was definitely some ego buried in Owen, but Lili knew him better than that. Most of it was just a show. Owen had a reason to be confident in himself. He was well-educated, business savvy, a decent human being. Sure, he made stupid decisions, but didn’t everyone? And yeah, Owen’s decisions were definitely more stupid than most. But he had a good heart, and that was what kept him most grounded and what Lili admired most about him. She snorted. “Yeah, right. They’ll probably just sit around and supervise.” She took another drink, the bottle dangling from her fingers. “Well...I mean things have been okay. Cal’s good. We uhm...” she swallowed. The last time they had discussed Callum hadn’t gone well. Thankfully, things were far different between them, but it was still a bit weird to bring her relationship into the conversation. “We’ve recently been talking about taking our relationship to the next step.”

MATIAS: You don’t have to thank me, really.

            “Well, maybe scratch all of that — how about I swing by the store with some takeout once it’s closed up for the night, and we’ll have dinner and go through all of the new shit and old shit?” Gema suggested, figured it was a way to kill two birds with one stone. She got to experience some well deserved catch-up time with Lili, whilst enjoying some decent food too. Win, win, right? “How ‘bout it?” She proceeded to add, a grin immediately forcing itself against her lips at the idea, before sliding herself off the stool. “And on that note, I think I’m gonna head home, anyway. So, you go on back to your sisters.”

“That sounds brilliant.” And right up her alley. Late night visitors to the store were her favorite kind of visitor. Especially when there was no costumer in sight, and she could lower the blinds and play whatever kind of music she wanted without fear of being interrupted by someone asking to hear something. “There’Is tons of places in the area around the store that I’m sure will be perfect.” With a sigh, Lili scooted off her own stool, reaching for the drinks that the bartender had put in front of her a few moments ago. “If you insist.” She pinched her sisters drinks in between her fingers, grabbing her own with her free hand and silently thanking her parents for forcing her to work at the restaurant as a teenager. “I’ll see you soon, Gem.”

As it so happens, sitting around and doing fuck all are two of Winnie’s most cherished pastimes. Without boasting, he feels as though he’s remarkably talented at both of them. He’s under the false impression that they’re transferable skills, that potential employers would drool over his inability to apply himself to anything he doesn’t personally find entertaining. Needless to say, he has no concept of what it means to have an actual job. Stand-up, despite its tiring nature, is a different kettle of fish. It’s different when it’s your dream; he pours his love into that side of his work, fine-tuning material until he’s gotten the formula right – but at the record store? He lacks the same drive. He invents ways to make it fun because, if he didn’t, Winnie fears he’d have to accept that maybe he just isn’t good enough to be a comedian full-time. Maybe it’s a lack of talent that keeps him picking up odd jobs on the side, because he can’t do what he loves. It’s not a fun thought – far from it – so he tries not to acknowledge that as much as he can. 

“Marie Kondo would hate you.” He punctuates it with a huff, returning his gaze to the signs and starting to half-heartedly sketch a design. "Who’s your favourite employee here?“ It’s a bizarre attempt at a conversation, his expression schooled into one of concentration as he continues sketching. "Like, who’s got the best vibes? Who’d pass a vibe check? It’s me, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I won’t tell the others.”

“And that is something I can live with for the rest of my life,” Lili deadpanned, unsure of who exactly Marie Kondo was but not really caring one way or another whether or not a woman she didn’t know hated her. She knew Marie Kondo definitely didn’t know she existed, so she doubted the woman would hate her either. Finally, with Winnie starting to draw, Lili rolled some of the markers towards herself, taking a piece of paper and starting on a sign of her own. She had to resist the urge to scoff at Winnie’s question. “Favorite employee,” she echoed. It’s not like they had an entire arsenal. Most of the store’s employees, current or former, were standing in the store at this very moment. “Lennon, definitely,” she said, tilting her head towards her fast asleep dog. “He pulls in all the young kids who wanna pet a dog and then look at music.”

Cal smiled softly at her. “I’d love to take you home,” he said. “I’d like you to meet the rest of my family, they’d love you.” He chuckled. “Where did you go in Charlotte? I don’t think I’ve been up there before.” He wrinkled his nose at the memory. “I think it was. It was oily, it was odd.”

“We’ll have to figure out a time. Maybe early November, before Thanksgiving so my mother doesn’t have to freak out on me over missing a holiday.” By then, maybe what they had discussed earlier in the evening would pan out in their favor. Then her mother definitely wouldn’t want them to miss a holiday in the states; any excuse to flaunt her successful daughter in Lili’s aunt’s face was a good one. “When I was younger we’d go to the science museum there every year. The principal got a better deal there compared to anywhere else so we go super early and spend overnight there. It was always a huge thing. When I started doing chorus and stuff in high school we would go for theatre whenever shows wouldn’t go to Raleigh.” She shook her head, her nose scrunched up. “Skippy, creamy peanut butter is the best and only valid peanut butter. So if you had anything else but that it was bad peanut butter no matter what.”

“Owen’s the only criminal on my end of things, thank you very much.” Jamie scolded, swatting at Lili as she further teased them. “… Did you just call it maidenhood?” Jamie’s face went slack for a moment then before they burst into laughter, forehead falling onto Lili’s shoulder as they giggled. “But, God you’re so right. Traditional weddings are boring! You know I’ll be whatever you want me to be, hot stuff. As long as there’s a good bachelorette party planned by yours truly, you know I’ll do whatever you need.” Lightly flicking her pout, Jamie would roll their eyes and relent. “Okay, okay, fine. I like, trust your judgement or whatever. I’m sure he’s a total dish if you’re shagging him, lady. I need to, like, meet him before the wedding though! Sort of late if your best friend doesn’t meet your boo until it’s, like, legally official y’all are filling out your taxes together, you know?”

“God, don’t remind me.” Lili shook her head. Finding out about Owen’s imprisonment on her birthday certainly wasn’t her favorite memory. “But I’m not wrong! It just feels weird to think about bridesmaids like that. It’s almost...culty?” She shrugged. Her mother would probably force her into some kind of traditional nonsense, but she would fight her every step of the way. “I think you and Anna are going to have to go halfsies, quartersies if my sisters get wind of it.” At the end of the day as long as Jamie was involved, she didn’t care who planned whatever bachelorette party was thrown. She was hardly even engaged yet. “Well of course you’re going to meet him. We’ll have like a dinner or something.”

MATIAS: I know, I’m psyching myself up for nothing.

MATIAS: That sounds like the way to do it. Let me know when it’s all official, yeah?

LILI: Quite frankly yes

MATIAS: Okay, okay, I’ll stop fishing for reassurance.

MATIAS: A white dress and a veil kinda dress? Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. I’m so happy for you. For you both!!

LILI: The more you think about it the more nervous you'll feel.

Brain energy would be all well and good if he had a brain to energise. The absence of one is apparent in everything he’s doing. Flicking the lid of a pen cheerfully around the countertop. Completely ignoring the task at hand. Already trying to parkour to an entirely different subject. “I know you want me to make the signs, but hear me out. Instead of doing that, why don’t I just… not do that?” He thinks he’s offered a checkmate for the ages, congratulating himself inwardly for his unrivalled powers of persuasion. All Winnie wants to do at Vinyl Resting Place is choose the records they play and talk to — read: relentlessly pester — customers. Real work doesn’t rank high on his list of priorities — or the tasks are abandoned midway through in favour of lovingly pawing at all of the Cher records in their shop. “It’s just not sparking joy for me, Lili. I just wanna stroke Cher —- which sounded a lot better in my head. The records. I wanna stroke the Cher records. ‘Cause that would spark joy.”

Lili let out a sigh. It’s just like dealing with Louise, she thought to herself. Again, it was no wonder they were friends. Like minds. Lili folded her hands together, putting on what she hoped was a perfect Kindergarten teacher smile. “Winnie. You know you work here, right?” At least, she hoped he did. Sometimes Lili wasn’t sure if he knew that or just...showed up and caused chaos and then received money at the end of the week. “I pay you well enough to just...sit around and do fuck all, really.” She shrugged. With Winnie around, she could focus more on the actual administrative side of things, and since more often than not there weren’t people packing the store, there wasn’t much to do but sit and pick out music and try to engage in conversation with one of the three people that were quietly puttering around the store at one time. There was plenty of time to do nothing. Lili liked the days where they did nothing well enough, but things needed to be done eventually. “Whether making signs sparks joy or not, I’m still gonna have to ask that you do it. Once we clock out for lunch you can stroke the Cher records all you want and spark all the joy your heart desires. But the signs have to be done otherwise someone is just going to pick up the records and throw them away. And that does not spark joy.”

“Criminal? That would imply I’d ever gotten caught, which, I never did, and secondly, there’s no proof. Aside, from like, your burn book style list, sweet cheeks.” Jamie declared with a wink and an elbow nudge. “I am completely comfortable with bridesmaid, thank you. Dress and all.” Far be it from Jamie to harken to any form of toxic masculinity, or to shy away from a dress when they were in the mood. “… Not actually seduce him. I’ve got to see if he’s loyal.” Jamie nodded as if this was completely sound logic on their end. “Fine. I guess I’ll spend, like, some normal time with him or something. But that sounds so boring.”

“Yes, criminal. That list is damning and you know it.” It wasn’t really. In fact, it clearly wasn’t that big of a deal if the cops never purposely went out of their way to track Jamie down. “I never said you couldn’t wear a dress, but who said I like the concept of the name bridesmaids anyway. I mean I clean up pretty well and I’m obsessed with holiday traditions but the idea of an old fashioned wedding seems...boring? Bridesmaids feels...like you have no purpose in life other than to assist in passing my maidenhood onto the next man. But bridesbros, on the other hand, feels much more like you’re just my friends celebrating a good time with me.” She pouted at them. “He’s good, I promise. You can ask Owen. He’s met him...I think.” Lili swallowed. She definitely remembered pointing Cal out to Owen once, at a New Year’s event not that long ago, but Lili didn’t like to dwell on that evening if she could help him. “And I’m sure you’ve seen my mother and her bridge club practically hover over him whenever he’s out and about. It’s...a bit much.”

MATIAS: That’s all the vote of confidence I’m gonna get, huh?

MATIAS: Wait, wait wait wait. Back up. Does this mean what I think it means?

LILI: It's the truth. You'll be totally fine

“As if I could ever forget. That was like free black mail for anyone who could get their hands on it. Can you imagine if ma ever found that? She’d have me by my neck.” Not that Colleen needed solid evidence to scold Jamie for every antic they’d ever gotten up to, but there was no mistaking that Jamie received a soft touch while Owen always got the wooden spoon. “What pray tell is disgusting about that? What else could you possibly be talking about?!” Jamie retorted — until Lili further explained, and there was a bit of genuine surprise on their face. “… Does that make me Maid of Honor? Can I pick out my dress? I gotta vet this guy. Try and seduce him, you know, the whole nine yards. There’s a process here.”

“Which is why I made sure that no one ever found it. Believe me, if my mother found out you were hiding out at our house she would call your mother right away and then we’d both be dead,” Lili pointed out. “You for running and me for harboring a criminal,” she snorted. Her mother probably would have allowed Lili to hide Jamie anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. Her father wouldn’t have even blinked twice, considering the Fitzpatricks part of the family to the point where he wouldn’t even notice if one of them was in the house. She was about to explain just what was so disgusting about discussing mutual masturbation with your friend when Jamie thankfully caught on. Lili nodded once more, twisting her fingers. “It makes you part of the wedding party, for sure. Bridesbro or Bridesperson or whatever you want to call it.” She held up her hand. “Okay number one, you are not seducing my boyfriend, number two you don’t need to vet him. He’s wonderful.”

MATIAS: None of this is making me feel any better.

MATIAS: So. The rest of your life, huh?

LILI: You'll be fiiine

“Don’t sound so surprised! I’m a man of endless talents. My brilliance just lies below the surface.” Far below the surface – scraping the seabed at this stage, if they’re being entirely truthful. The world’s expectations for Winnie are so low and still – still – he limbos gleefully under them. “I can do calligraphy. I can play the ukulele. I can recite the entirety of the Bee Movie.” He ticks the “skills” off one by one on his fingers, impassioned. When she walks away – he doesn’t realise it’s to retrieve the sandwich, he just thinks she’s decided to leave the conversation, which is fair enough – he doesn’t give his motormouth any well-needed respite, calling after her the whole time. “I can do an uncanny impression of Cher! I can consume my body weight in jelly beans and not throw up! I make unrivalled hamster outfits! I have depth, Lili.” The sandwich is acknowledged with curled-lip levels of disdain. “I bet you think I’m even incapable of eating a sandwich, ‘cause I’m so untalented, clearly.”

“I have no doubt it does,” Lili assured him. Winnie’s lists of...talents, if one could even call them that, were extensive. The Cher impression was particularly interesting. But people like Winnie only had talents like these because they were either bored, or someone told them they couldn’t or shouldn’t. It’s why Winnie and her sister were friends in the first place. Winnie’s talents seemed to be the kind that he decided upon simply because he could. Or he was just insane enough to try. Lili couldn’t decide which one it was. Instead of arguing with him, Lili shook her head, gesturing to the breakfast sandwich. “No, of course not. In fact, I think you are more than capable of making one of these even better than the breakfast place ever could. But with all of the time you spend coming up with ideas you need to eat as well. Keep your brain energy up.” She hoped it sounded convincing enough, at least.