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Ava Silva didn't mean to wander into a record store one Sunday morning but she was out buying some pastries to satisfy her cravings and noticed the unfamiliar sign.
The yellow letters spell out Meraki on the maroon rectangular block. The huge clear window panes let Ava see that the inside harbors shelves of records. That alone prompts Ava to press the brakes on her bicycle. She has been doing well with the bartending job. Not to mention she is getting more gigs to play her guitar and sing. A little self reward will be fine. Ava places her bicycle against the wall, choosing to leave her bag of pastries hanging on the right handle because no one rarely steals anything in this town. Pulling the glass door open, she steps inside.
The lights above cast a soft warm glow to the store and the walls were painted orange but not in an obnoxious brightening way. The air conditioning serves as a nice break from the summer afternoon heat and Ava takes her time looking at the vinyl records. Three other customers occupy the store but the space is wide enough for Ava to stroll and shop freely.
Ava bites her lower lip as she contemplates what to get. She still faces indecision problems when she puts the vinyl version of Nothing Happens by The Wallows and Stranger In The Alps by Phoebe Bridgers on the counter.
“Wait, wait. I want to browse a bit more,” she says sheepishly after the red headed boy had scanned the first vinyl. The name tag reads Keith and he seems just a few years younger than Ava. Keith does not seem to mind and puts the vinyl back down.
Her indecision sinks further when she spots an album by Coldplay and now she's stuck with whether to purchase that one or the one by The Wallows. After half a minute of tapping her foot, a habit she developed as a kid when she could not decide something, Ava figures that the best possible solution is to listen to both albums and decide on the one she feels the most emotions for.
Taking out her phone and her earbuds from the pocket of her denim shorts, she opens Spotify. Her eyebrows scrunch in mild frustration when the cord refuses to be untangled. In the background, she hears Keith greets someone but Ava continues to focus on the infuriating tangled cord.
“Good afternoon, boss!”
Ava lets out a celebratory but quiet “yes” when the tangling becomes a success. She connects it to the phone and starts typing the name of the album by The Wallows.
Keith keeps talking more.“Once again, thank you for letting me have afternoon shift instead of the evening one today, I can make it to the train station in time-”
The music starts playing and Ava finds herself closing her eyes to fully resonate with it. As always, she got lost in the realm of melodies and she panics when she realizes she's actually supposed to be choosing. Nearly twenty minutes have passed but at least she knows which album to get now. She takes out the earbuds and looks up to reach the album by Coldplay when her eyes land on a ball of orange fur sleeping on the row of records. Her heart immediately melts at the sight of the small orange kitten and affectionate gibberish escapes past her lips.
It takes all her willpower to not reach out and pet the sleeping cutie as she did not want to accidentally wake it up. She settles on staring at the curled up kitten with giddy love. She has always loved cats. She has wanted to adopt one for ages but the logical side of her is waiting for financial stability first. So for now, she always squats down and gently reaches out to any stray cat to leave a few loving strokes if they let her.
"Hello, do you need any help?”
Ava didn't turn at first. "Oh, I have already chosen which albums to buy but I can't bring myself to walk away from this fluffy ball of cuteness. It's just so-" Ava turns and feels the breath knocked out of lungs when she faces a beautiful woman with freckles adorning her cheeks, brown hair tied back into a low ponytail and wearing a simple collared t-shirt with black pants but looking oh so stunning. Ava feels breathless. She hadn't even thought it was possible to feel like this, but she doesn't remember seeing someone this-
"Gorgeous..."
The woman was already facing the sleeping kitten. "She mostly gets called cute but thank you on her behalf." She turns back to Ava and smiles.
Shit. She said that out loud. But the woman had thought it was directed at the kitten. And shit. That smile…
Ava clears her throat and composes herself. "Yes, she's so cute too.” She wants to ask the kitten’s name but she also wants to know the woman's name. In the end, the question that comes out of her scattered desires is “name?.”
Way to go, Ava. Way to go.
“Her name is Sunbeam.” Just then, Sunbeam starts to stir so the woman scoops her up. Sunbeam lets out a tiny meow. She grins and pecks the top of her head. The whole sight feels like a double attack on Ava's heart.
“You can try to pet her but she might hiss at you. She doesn't accept everyone's affection.” Ava reaches out and strokes the top of Sunbeam’s head. Her heart, once again, melts. The kitten purrs and even snuggles her head against Ava’s hand. The woman is smiling again. “She likes you.”
Ava grins too. “I’m really glad she likes me…whose name is Ava. That's my name. What about yours?”
Ava should just hit herself with the pastry bag hanging from her bicycle because what kind of introduction was that?
“My name is Beatrice.”
Pretty name.
“Cool name,” she ends up saying.
Wonderful job, Ava. Wonderful job.
“Thank you,” Beatrice replies politely. “Do you want to hold Sunbeam?”
Ava nods enthusiastically to that.
“Hi, cutie.” Ava whispers once the small kitten is in her arms. She grins when Sunbeam meows. “I found her abandoned near my store last week. She didn't have any collar and I waited there for nearly an hour to see if her owner or her mother would come pick her up but nobody came. So, she's mine now.”
Ava nods. She's usually chatty. But she finds it hard to talk in front of Beatrice and she just wants to keep listening to her hot voice.
“Getting a cat wasn't exactly on my list. Sure, I love animals. Cats and dogs especially. But it's just been several months since I took over my parents’ store and I thought I already have enough responsibilities. But when I met Sunbeam, I couldn't just walk away. And Sunbeam warmed up to me instantly too. At first, I thought she's just a friendly kitten but she hissed at the vet, my parents and my friends. It takes her a while to warm up to strangers. And then I just had this sort of epiphany that her home should be with me.” Beatrice pauses with a sheepish look. “Sorry, I didn't mean to blabber on. I am not usually talkative. I do talk. Just not to customers who probably wanted to just purchase and mind their own business.”
Ava wants to say that she did not mind at all. That she wants to keep hearing her voice. But she was silent for a few seconds too long because Beatrice asks her again if Ava needs any help with the shopping.
“I will be buying this and the two other vinyl albums on the counter already.”
Okay, she was supposed to choose and get only two but Ava thinks why not get all three. She loves music and she will be helping Beatrice's business.
Beatrice makes her way to the counter and Ava could only mutely follow. The employee from earlier has left since when? She does not know but Ava would admit she's secretly glad about that. Even the other customers are gone. It’s just her and Beatrice now. She wants to say something, anything, to prolong this moment of just her and Beatrice. For a second, Ava can't help but wonder if she stepped into paradise. Here, there are rows of music. A cute kitten. A gorgeous woman. What more could she possibly need?
Time is moving though and Ava should try to make a conversation or at least see if Beatrice wants to give her her number. But she is staring at Beatrice instead. The way her eyes focus on the work she’s doing. The way her freckles are like a collection of stars that Ava wants to study. The way a few strands of hair escape from her low ponytail.
“That will be seventy five dollars,” Beatrice says.
Ava’s hand reaches into her pocket and mutely hands the bills to her, despite her wanting to talk to her. No words just come out. In the end. Beatrice is thanking her for the purchase and wishing her to have a nice day. And Ava still has no clue what she should say. But with disappointed resignation, she knows the moment has passed and so, she grabs her bag of records and starts to walk out.
“Ava?”
Ava spins around. “Yes?” Hope blooms a little in her chest that maybe Beatrice doesn't want this encounter to end too.
“You still have Sunbeam with you,” Beatrice informs with a chuckle.
“Oh. Right.” The kitten is so quiet that Ava forgot she has it with her.
She returns the dozing off kitten to Beatrice. “So, umm, have a nice day.”
That is literally what Beatrice wished for her a minute ago and Ava wants the ground to swallow her up.
Beatrice does not seem to mind though. “Thanks. You too, Ava,” she replies with a smile.
She steps out, already missing the place.
__
Ava keeps wiping the counter with the rag even though she is certain it's already clean enough. But her mind wanders and wanders back to that records store, back to the cute kitten and Beatrice. Especially Beatrice.
It's been almost a week since she visited the store but it feels much longer. Sure, she could have visited again but she got cold feet whenever she tried. Because she wouldn't have been there to buy vinyls, she wants to ask Beatrice out. And the idea of that seems too daunting. The prospect of rejection hasn't scared her in so long but now here she is. Too scared to ask a woman out. Her high school friends would have laughed.
Ava sighs and finishes the last wipe with a gentle slam to the counter. She looks up to see Camilla walking in the bar for her shift with her signature friendly look and her yellow backpack covered in all sorts of various button pins. When she first started her job a few weeks ago, their manager, Hans, referred to her as Pin Girl.
“Hi, Ava! Love the new haircut!” Camilla says sincerely.
Ava’s hand unconsciously flies to her hair that's hovering above her shoulders now. She just got the haircut yesterday evening and she hasn’t fully remembered the change yet. “Thanks, Cam.”
Camilla nods and smiles at Lilith next as she walks to the other end of the counter. “Hi, Lilith! How's the new place?” The bar is empty enough that Hans does not shoot a glare at Camilla for not immediately getting to work. Ava is glad the girl got hired.. She's nice, easy-going and caring. She's also the only person that seems to be close friends with Lilith and that's saying something because Ava and Lilith have worked longer together and it's not that they don't like each other. They just never really got past the colleagues stage. Camilla, on the other hand, succeeded in less than a day. Three of the button pins on Camilla's backpack are gifts from Lilith.
Lilith puts down the shot glasses she was drying. “It's quite well and far better than the suffocating presence of my parents.” Lilith lets a humorless laugh. “But yeah, things already seem better now. The apartment feels a little empty though. I think it needs some more personal belongings to feel like me.” Camilla nods in understanding as she reaches behind the counter. Lilith shrugs as she stores the glasses back into their place. “I was thinking of buying something after work. Either some books or some vinyl records?”
At the mention of the last word, Ava’s ears perk up and she goes over to them in a flash. “Vinyl records? You want to buy vinyl records? I know a place!”
Lilith's hand jumps to her chest, placed in front of her heart in exaggerated fright. “Jesus, Ava. You startled me!”
But Ava feels too excited to care. This is it. The perfect opportunity to go back and see Beatrice.
“I know the perfect place to buy them, Lilith! I can take you there after work!” Ava grins at her.
“Umm…okay.” Lilith looks hesitant and she glances at Camilla as if to confirm she isn't hallucinating this. Well, Ava can't entirely blame her. They aren't exactly friends and they have only spent time outside of work when Camilla was present among them.
“So, what do you say?” Ava still sounds too enthusiastic for someone who is going to take her colleague to a records store but she doesn't care. If Lilith agrees, she can go see Beatrice with a good reason.
Lilith was still giving Ava a strange look like she might take Lilith to an abandoned warehouse and murders her. Again, she turns to glance at Camilla who looks equally confused and amused. Eventually, Camilla shrugs slowly and her eyes seem to say “why not?” to the skeptical friend. “Okay, we can go get some vinyl records. Thank you?”
“You're welcome!” Ava exclaims. Just then, two men walk in and take their seats in front of the counter. “Well, duty calls! Vinyl shopping you and me after work, Lilith!”
Lilith just ended up nodding in mild confusion.
__
After a few hours of bartending, cleaning glasses and turning down guys, Ava could finally unlock the chain on her bicycle to head out to Meraki. She taps on the carrier. “Hop on.”
Lilith raises an eyebrow. “You want me to ride with you?”
“Yeah, unless you got another idea.”
“I just assumed we would walk or take the bus. There's this store that sells albums, including vinyl. It's only five minutes away from here. I think it's call Harmony-”
“No!” Ava clears her throat when she realizes that was too forceful. “It's just the store I am taking you to has really good records and many to choose from. And it's not even that far. As a music lover and a growing artist, I can totally vouch for Meraki.”
“Meraki?”
“The store we are going to. Now, hop on, Lilith!”
__
“Ava, Ava-” Lilith lets out a surprised yelp when Ava makes a hard left turn. “You said the store wasn't too far.”
“It isn't,” Ava says, being fine with the cycling while Lilith grips the edge of the carrier like her life depends on it.
“We have been cycling for,” she starts to say, holding out her arm with the watch before hastily gripping the edge again, “fifteen minutes now! Your vinyl store is like all the way across town or something!”
“Huh, I was pretty sure it was nearer but oh well,” she wonders out loud with faux innocence.
__
Ava’s excitement buzzes away when she takes a look around the store and there's no Beatrice. There's just Keith. Ava decides to not feel like a kicked puppy though. Beatrice might come in soon or later. She wasn't here immediately last time Ava visited, right? Right. Ava will just wait around.
She switches back to the excited persona she was a few minutes ago. “So, Lilith! Shop your heart out! I told you this place is great.” She gives a friendly bump to Lilith's shoulder with her own shoulder.
Lilith starts looking around with interest. “Yes, there are a lot of records available here.”
Ava nods. “Uh huh. Take your time. Don't feel the need to rush. I will take you back to your place afterwards.”
“It's okay, I can walk or take the bus.”
“It won't be any trouble. Umm, unless you are scared of going on my bike?”
Faint traces of a smile come forward to Lilith's face. “Scared isn't the right word. More like, I prefer not to be flung off a speeding bicycle. But thank you for the offer. I mean it.”
Ava shrugs and nods. “Alright.”
Lilith keeps looking around and Ava looks too. But she also keeps turning her head to the glass doors. Waiting, expecting, hoping for Beatrice to come in. The smart thing to do would have been to ask Keith. He would have had better knowledge of Beatrice's schedule related to this store. But again, Ava chickens out. It would be weird, right? Keith could report back to Beatrice that a stranger wanted to know when she would come. Ava feels frustrated with herself and every little thing she is doing and not doing with this.
“Hey, I am done. Are you getting anything too?” Lilith asks.
Ava snaps out of her thoughts. She glances down at the two albums Lilith is hugging against her stomach, folklore by Taylor Swift and Melodrama by Lorde, before glancing back up to Lilith's face. “You are done already? Don't you want to choose more?”
“No, I am satisfied with these.” She starts going to the counter so Ava does something first before she actually thinks about it. “Hey, wait. Wait.”
Lilith pauses. “Yes?”
“Umm, why don't you choose another one? I will buy it for you as a gift.”
“Ava. I am just going to ask you this straightforwardly. Why are you suddenly so nice to me?”
“Hey, I am always nice,” Ava protests, even though she knew what Lilith meant.
“You are but not to me. I just mean we aren't exactly friends. We have always been just colleagues.”
Ava rocks on the balls of her feet. “Can't a girl just make a new friend by offering to buy a gift? There's nothing wrong with-”
She does not get to finish because she heard it. A tiny meow. From a kitten. That means…
Ava whips her head to the door. Beatrice is inside the store now. She's wearing her hair down today and Ava completely forgets about Lilith. She finds herself staring at Beatrice, who's busy giving affectionate pecks to the orange kitten.
Ava must have had a look of lovestruck on her face. Because Lilith lets out a knowing “ahhh.”
That brings Ava back from her little bubble and she turns back to Lilith. “What?”
Amusement is written all over Lilith's face. “It makes sense now. Why you were so desperate to come here and tried to delay our stay.”
Ava chooses to act oblivious. “What do you mean? I just think this place is cool and that we should be friends.”
Lilith shakes her head. “You think a certain person is cool and pretty and cute-”
“I don't know what you're talking about, Lilith!” she exclaims.
“Ava?” Beatrice has noticed Ava now.
“Beatrice, hi!” Ava says in a voice that was a little too loud and cheerful. She ignores Lilith shaking her head.
“Hey. It's so nice to see you again,” Beatrice replies.
Ava nods one time…two times. “Yup, likewise. Likewise. So nice to see you again.”
Next to her, Lilith lets out a groan of exasperation. “I can't watch this anymore,” she mutters before marching ahead to Beatrice. Ava could only follow.
“Hey, umm, Lil, what are you do-”
“Hey, Beatrice, is it?”
“Hello, yes, I am,” she answered politely albeit confusedly.
“I am Lilith. But that doesn't matter right now. Are you seeing anyone currently?”
Ava’s jaw drops at the straightforwardness.
Beatrice looks surprised but she manages to answer a negative answer.
“Good, good. Do you date guys or girls or both or does gender not matter to you? Or you just don't want to date? Forgive me for the directness but someone needs it right now. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.”
Ava waits in silent anticipation, even though she should be feeling embarrassed.
“I date girls,” Beatrice answers and Ava’s heart does a little happy flip.
“Great!” Lilith glances at Ava with a smirk. “I basically did the first two questions for you. Now, it's up to you. You're welcome, friend. See you at work.” Lilith goes back to the counter.
“Ava, what does your friend mean?” Beatrice asks. Sunbeam starts to squirm in her arms so she bends down to put the feline down.
“Umm, well, she's.. I wanted to, well, it started with-”
“While we are still young, Silva!” Lilith calls out.
“Okay, okay!” Ava hollers back.
She inhales and looks into Beatrice's eyes. “Beatrice, the moment I saw you, I felt like a cheesy novel character because you have me thinking all poetically and you make me feel like I really did get struck by Cupid’s arrow. I guess what I am trying to say is that you are gorgeous. Oh, that's not what I was trying to say. I mean, you are seriously gorgeous. But what I wanted to ask was, will you be interested in going out with me? On a date.”
Beatrice blinks before her expression goes soft and happy. “Yes, Ava, I would love to.”
“You do?”
Beatrice nods. “Yes.”
Ava's lips splits into a grin and she feels a million shots of serotonin shooting up her brain. She feels a pat on her shoulder. “Well, congratulations on your date, Ava. I will be going now.” Lilith also smiles politely at Beatrice before pulling the door open.
Ava waves at her. “Bye Lilith! My new friend! You, me and Cam! Let's go out for drinks some time!”
Lilith lets out a bemused chuckle before exiting. “Sure, Ava.”
Ava walks up to Beatrice. “Hi. You are going to be my date.”
Beatrice nods, smiling in a way that's similar to the way Ava is smiling giddily. "I am your date. Yes.”
A drum banging sound interrupts their moment and Ava curses as she realizes the alarm to get ready for her other job is already going off. She swipes it off in a hurry.
“I have a gig coming up. But I will see you again. Can I have your number?”
Beatrice nods as she takes the phone from Ava and types out her digits. “I look forward to getting to know you more, Ava.”
Ava smiles at her. “Me too, Beatrice.”
She steps out, but this time her heart is full of bliss. She will come back again.