My life with you

9. The new book

The next few days seemed to be coated in a shade of pink that was very pleasing to Ohm's eyes. No matter what the problem or the situation was, he felt numb with joy knowing he would see Fluke again soon. Best of all: he had received a VIP invitation from the writer's own hands! Which, at the very least, should be a clear sign that he wanted the youngest's presence on such an important day of his life.

"I think… I mean, at least he doesn't hate me, right?", Ohm questioned the gardenias he was watering and felt frustrated when the little flowers couldn't give him a proper answer. At least not a clear one. However, as fast as the negative thought crossed his mind, he pushed it away. His mind was empty and at the same time it had only room for more joy.

When the day of the event arrived, Ohm searched his wardrobe for the most sober and sophisticated pieces. He had never witnessed a book event or been to a book signing in his life, but he imagined it would be something elegant. After trying out some clothes and asking for his mother and sister's opinion, he ended up opting for a navy blue dress shirt with white stripes and denim pants. He was a bit nervous about what he was about to face that night and that made him feel hot, so he let 2 buttons open. This outfit, combined with the black shoes he got for Christmas from his grandmother, made up a look that he considered adequate enough. Or he really hoped for it.

Arriving at the place indicated on the invitation, however, Ohm felt he was slightly overdressed. Most of the people in line were wearing ordinary clothes, many still with their workplace uniforms. Only then he realized how popular Fluke's books were that he was able to bring together an audience so diverse in backgrounds and ages because all sorts of people were waiting just to get his autograph.

Still, he tried to ignore the nervousness. He went to one of the tables where they were selling copies of the book to people who hadn't purchased it at prerelease and decided to buy one. After all, it was the least he could do. He had spent a lot of time with the writer and was curious to know what he wrote about all along.

To his surprise, the cover was quite mysterious: it showed a red curtain half-open, but the part it didn't cover showed only darkness. The title "Confession" in golden letters looked like something out of a fairy tale book. He was about to start reading the synopsis for the basics in case he managed to talk to Fluke, but ended up getting interrupted before he even finished the first line.

"Nong Ohm! Good to see you here! I miss receiving messages on my phone that you bought bread or a freaking cleaning robot! How are you, darling?", Sammy popped up out of nowhere and hugged the boy, speaking as always in a light tone.

"P'Sammy! It's been a long time, indeed! I'm fine, thank you for asking! You look great too!"

In fact, Sammy was wearing a red dress that could look a little too much if used by other people. But somehow, with her bright personality, she managed to look elegant and even more beautiful.

"Oh, thank you for your kind words, honey! But come here with me! He's going to kill me if I don't let you two talk before this whole mess starts!", the woman said taking Ohm's hand and leading him to a room separated by a curtain similar to the one drawn on the cover of the book. Fluke's book.

"You know he uses a pen name, right? We thought it would be a good marketing strategy to do the book signing without revealing his identity! People are anxious to have as much contact with him as possible. We think it will work out fine! The queue is promising!"

In the center of the room was displayed a confessional. That way, the public would get a short time to talk to Fluke, get his autograph and still don't know much about him, as Sammy explained to Ohm.

"Oh, I see…", Ohm said not knowing what he could say about that. He really didn't quite understand how this sort of thing worked and felt more and more out of orbit.