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I hope our agreement to open up will help him find someone. He deserves good things. He deserves to be happy.
At the elevator, Daniel presses the button then loosens his tie. He’s in a suit as usual. He grins over at me.
“It’s going to be a gorgeous watch, Fi.”
I nod, thinking about the swirl of the enamel. “Thank you for getting carried away with me. I know you could have told me to slow down or asked for market forecasts, been the voice of reason, or?—”
“It looks like the first watch Dad had made.” He lifts a shoulder. “The pearl bracelet, the yellow gold. It’s similar. I like it. It’s almost an homage. You know me. I’m a sucker for pointless displays of sentimentality.”
I let out a huff of air and smile at him. He’s right. It’s a bit like the watch Dad gave me for my sixteenth birthday. But it’s also unique. There are three rows of opalescent pearls interspersed with bright green emeralds for the bracelet. The round case is reminiscent of the island. A ring of yellow gold, with the textures of waves rippling over sand brushed into the metal. The gold case surrounds the sea-green and wave-blue dial. Hand-set diamonds set the time, with yellow gold marking the seconds and the hour. The components will be our best, the timekeeping precise, and we’ll sell it as a limited edition.
The elevator dings and the metal doors sweep open.
I step on and Daniel follows, the door shutting after us. As the elevator descends I’m buoyant, happier than I can remember being in a long time.
“What are you going to call it?” Daniel asks, nodding at my notebook and my sketch of the watch.
“McCormick,” I say, smiling.
“Odd name for a watch.”
“Isn’t it?”
Daniel lets out a laugh as the doors slide open.
Outside the lobby the sun hangs in the sky, descending toward the blue-green mountains. A field of yellow flax, just beyond the parking lot, ripples in the wind.
It’s a beautiful day. A perfect day to relax.
“Come have dinner with us tonight,” I say, turning to Daniel.
He sends a hand through his hair and lets out a sigh. “Can’t. I’ve got a date tonight.”
“Really?” I raise my eyebrows as we make our way to the glass doors. I lift a hand to the guard stationed at the tall, semicircle desk. “Good night, Frederic.”
“Madame. Monsieur.” Frederic nods as we cross the lobby and push free of the production facility.
The early-evening air hits us, scented with freshly cut grass and the hot pavement of the parking lot. I pause on the sidewalk and Daniel stops with me.
I’m in a long-sleeve navy dress and a blazer. There’s a white silk scarf around my neck. Even so, with the sun setting, the air is shading toward cool.
“Is it hard to believe I have a date?” Daniel asks, putting his hands in his pockets and giving me a wry look.
“No. You have plenty of dates. I was only thinking, are you trying to open up? Like we said we would?”
His eyes crinkle at the edges. “Not tonight.”
I laugh and shove at him. “Then what’s the point?”
He glances at the Chronomachen, our bestseller, on his wrist. “The point is, my date was just in a Hollywood Blockbuster, and we’re going to the theater, where we’ll be photographed. And, of course, I’ll be conspicuously checking my watch every time a camera flashes. She’ll get a publicity boost and so will we.”
He drops his hand then and his jacket sleeve falls over his wrist. I frown at him, worried at the tightness around his mouth.
“You know, you don’t have to do that anymore.”
He lifts his eyebrows. “I didn’t have to do it in the first place. I did it because I wanted to save us.”
I clench my hand. We both did a lot of things in the first years to make sure our heritage wouldn’t die with us. But I never thought my brother would suffer because of it. I think he has, though, even if he won’t admit it.
