'Til Sun Beams Find You [COMPLETE]

Nineteen (Part 1)

Opening day was a success in Carter's eyes.

Though it was mostly his friends and family and old coworkers that stopped by to show support throughout the day, he did have a few customers stop by and book appointments with him as early as tomorrow, as he wasn't working on anything today.

His dad came by with his grandmother to check in, and even Nico stopped by in the middle of her work day and dropped off a card as a gift.

He'd been waiting until closing to open it, but he figured ten minutes before was no harm.

Baby's latest album played on his speaker and he absently nodded to the song.

"Waterfall flow cause I just keep flowin.. she told me she comin so I keep goin.."

Nala, his cat that he finally named and brought with him to work to keep him company throughout the day, jumped up into his lap as he tore open the envelope.

"You wanna read Nico's card with me?" He asked as he looked into her green eyes.

Nala purred softly in his lap.

"Why am I doing this shit by myself?" Jalen wondered as he stopped sweeping the floor.

Carter chuckled as he looked at his friend who had stopped by thirty minutes ago and offered to help him close up shop. He knew the kindness wasn't lasting past today, so he got all the use out of his friend while he could.

"I appreciate you, Jay."

"I'm gone get you a vacuum cause you can't be doing this shit every night," he shook his head, as he continued sweeping the dirt and dust into the standing dustpan.

And to think this was only one day's worth of traffic...

Carter read the congratulations on the front and smirked before he opened the card to see her pretty cursive writing fill up the blankness on the left.

So, so proud of you! I hope this new endeavor brings you all the success in the world. You're an inspiration and I love you.

Nicolette Marie Waters

He glanced down into his lap to show Nala the card. "What do you think?"

She reached her small paw for the card and pulled it into her mouth.

"No, girl. It's mine," he took the card back. "You believe she loves me Nala? Or she just saying that?"

His fingers ran over the jet black fur, and he got no answer from the small animal.

Carter tossed the card back on the counter and went back to working on the Lego set he'd picked up the other day. All the free time he had in the day had him damn near completing in one day the project he thought would take him to the end of the work week.

But shit, he wasn't complaining as it kept him busy.

Carter flipped the page to the instructions.

Jalen had grabbed his Mac from where it was in the back room and was scrolling through Carter's calendar app. "Oh shit, you already got a session for 10 in the morning tomorrow?"

"Ye.. it's that same leg piece ol dude been asking for for a minute.."

"I don't fuck with this new album," Jalen said as he changed the music playing on the speakers through Carter's Spotify app open on his laptop. He switched it to playing the My Turn album on shuffle. "Shit disappointed me."

"It was alright," Carter shrugged as Get Money started playing. "Shit all sounds the same."

Jalen hopped onto the counter. "Wait you doing the Medusa tomorrow? That bitch gone be crazy," he said in an excited tone. He'd been raving about it since Carter showed him the outline, and he hadn't even seen it fully colored. "How long that gone take?"