Leaps and landings

53

The week flew by - both Jess and Celeste spening a lot of time at the office, both for having a ton to do but also simply wanting to be around each other. Celeste had another launch party to host that particular evening and needed to accept the book delivery between noon and 3 PM for that same event, hence ordering take-out for Jenn, Bilal and herself this time, as Jess had gone over to the HPG for the afternoon.

Bilal had relaxed a bit in the few weeks he'd been there, but he still didn't quite seem at ease around them and usually spent his lunch hour with his headphones plugged in, listening to who knows what, despite his otherwise excellent work ethic. She and Jenn had gotten to know each-other a lot better over these few weeks. Jenn was Brooklyn-born, her facial features reminding Celeste a little of Jessica Biel, but Jenn was nearly 6 ft, and had a strong, curvier, build, the result of her controversial love for sweets and body-pump. She usually wore all black, borderline gothic, matching very well to Truncheon's slightly alternative 'underdog' image. Once Celeste had found out Jenn had married to her long time girlfriend Vera last summer, Celeste could push aside even the slighted remainder of jealousy she'd carried without any grounds. While she didn't quite feel that connection a real friendship would require with her, they had an understanding - they talked casually over lunch every once in a while and Celeste had notable professional respect for her, having seen her handle even some of the more difficult authors beautifully.

They'd both just finished their lunches, throwing the poke-bowl boxes into the trash. Jenn was just about to go get some coffee, but Celeste held her up.

"Listen, I was actually wondering if maybe you could have a look at something for me. I want to know if this is something worth forming into a book," Celeste said, handing her a series of copy-sheets of her scribbling notebook. It wasn't all that she had, but these were the ones she'd picked out forming a children's story about a girl trying to adjust to life in a new city. The only tangible component of 'her' was the first page explaining her background with the Eiffel tower in the background, followed by a series of adventures, struggles and a happy ending of acceptance and friendship. It wasn't for little kids, the tonality being black and white, and the drawings a little edgy, and in parts not all sunshine and rainbows.

"Is it yours?" Jenn asked, flipping through the pages.

"Yeah, it is. I don't need Truncheon to publish it or anything like that. I could fund a small batch myself, I just wonder if there's point... I know Jess likes anything I draw, but I just wanted to get an unbiased opinion if it was worth considering even," Celeste explained. She hadn't mentioned to Jess she was thinking about this, not wanting to go to him with it yet - his opinion mattered too much to her. She didn't want to put him in that position where he'd have to consider whether to lie to her in order to protect her feelings or not.

"Well... Honestly...," she began, hesitating a little. She was really quite the upfront and honest kind of type, the main reason why Celeste wanted her opinion in particular. "I quite like the style, and the story is okayish. But that type of story has been done before and with the content and the style not quite matching, I would be a little difficult to find that right audience. Of course if you're paying out of pocket, then you can publish whatever you like," Jenn said, continuing to read a couple of bits of the story.

She was grateful for her honesty, having guessed as much. But she was glad she had asked. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted the book to tell a story to Evie in the future, how she had taken a leap herself, finding her own happiness, telling her story without the nasty details.

"I guess," she sighed, adding, "thanks," smilingly. She was not terribly disappointed...or perhaps just a little. But she wasn't a professional writer or an artist, it was just a try - her first try. She knew better than to be discouraged by that.