جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 36

One year later, June again, lavender real purple again, but now Milo knew it would be real purple, not grey-green pretending purple, real purple that smelled like wedding.Milo and Lucien lived two places now — penthouse in New York with fridge that had 100 photos taped, from Tokyo rain to Provence wedding to baby drool to white ruins, fridge that was family fridge, and stone house in Provence with fridge that also had photos, because Milo put photos on every fridge he owned now.Milo was 25 now, freckles still 47 on nose, 12 on cheek, 3 on forehead when nervous, black nails always chipped, lip piercing still shining, blue good luck shirt now faded but still blue, still good luck, now with small patch where baby grabbed with drool at wedding, Milo kept patch, didn't fix, because drool patch was memory.Lucien was 29 now, still CEO but less Tokyo calls, because he hired Lena to do Tokyo calls, and Lena said "finally, you let me do Tokyo, I will make salty soup better than you," and Luc

The email came on Monday morning while Milo was in barn darkroom developing second gallery leftovers, red light, yellow gloves too big, Lucien helping and ruining again, white ruin number four now, because they ruined again in Provence barn.Lucien's phone buzzed. He never checked phone in darkroom because Henri said "if you check phone in barn, I will throw it in lavender," but this email was to Milo's email, not Lucien's, forwarded from Lena, subject: VOGUE — PHOTOGRAPHER MILO CHEN.Milo read it with yellow gloves on, hands shaking, chemical smell, red light making email glow red._Dear Milo Chen, We saw your Provence gallery photos on Instagram, from village lady who posted lavender and blue shirt boy. We love your eye. We want you to shoot for Vogue, Paris, fashion week, 10 days, $20,000, plus cover possibility. You would shoot real models, real clothes, real Paris. Please reply._Milo stared at email. Vogue. Paris. Fashion week. $20,000. Cover possibility. Real models, not babies

Five years and two months later, August, not June, lavender not real purple but cut, harvested, but smell still in house, in clothes, in blue shirt with seven drool patches that now had eight drool patches because Mara drooled again yesterday on purpose because she said "eight is better than seven, like your eight white ruins."Milo was 29 and three months, still 47 freckles on nose, still 12 on cheek, still 3 on forehead when nervous, but now also tiny line when he smiles, from smiling so much, because five years of smiling more than 24 years of cold.Lucien was 33 and three months, CEO still but now half Provence office, half New York, half Taraba office, because he opened Taraba office for Milo's mom, with photos on walls, because Milo said "my mom needs office with photos too, not just rice and beans."They had third fridge now.First fridge New York penthouse with 150 photos, because Milo kept adding after 300 total, now 350 total across two fridges, but now third fridge.Second