Everywhere: Book 3 of the Nowhere Trilogy

59. American Baby

I'm afraid we've lost the way - Dave Matthews Band

8:19 PM, Sunday, July 3, 2022

Harry removes the phone from Phee's hand while she stumbles to the trash can clutching her stomach. Chele follows Phoenix, rubbing her niece's back while signaling for Liz to get some water for the girl. The photo is about what he expected when he spotted the paparazzi in Tokyo. Par for the course. The headline is a bit over the top, but not surprising.

"Phoenix?" he wanders over to her, handing the phone to Chele. "It's okay."

"OKAY?" she chokes out, grasping the rim of the trash can while she glares at him. "HOW IS THAT OKAY?"

He shakes his head. "Not what I mean, Phee. It's part of my life, and there are many who have no boundaries. What I meant is that no one knows who Patrick is, and soon the memory of him even being photographed with me will fade."

"But Harry!" Her dramatic side makes him smile inwardly. "What they said..."

"Is false, yes. And it's speculation. But if I freaked out over everything that is ever said about me, I would be in danger of doing nothing else with my time." Steering her into a hug, he tightens his arms around her while she buries her nose in his neck. "I'm sorry you saw it, Phee."

"But not sorry it exists?" her tiny voice is muted by his shirt.

"Actually," Harry grins, "I don't think I have any photos of Patrick and me, so it's kind of cool to have our trip to Tokyo commemorated like this."

"HARRY!" she wails, swatting him, but now she's laughing too. "Patrick looks so good, and I bet all of the girls are drooling over him! Oh, and the gay guys too. In fact, everyone is probably dying to know how you got so lucky."

Relieved that she's seeing the humor in the situation, Harry releases her from the hug. "Be sure you lead with that when you show it to Patrick. He'll be absolutely thrilled."

Taking her phone back from Chele, the teenager grabs Aly's hand and drags her towards Patrick.

"Well, this will be interesting," he says from the side of his mouth to Chele.

As she wraps her hand in his larger one, Chele leans on his shoulder. "I hope not."

==========

8:58 PM, Sunday, July 3, 2022

"I am exhausted," Chele whines, shuffling her feet as they approach the All Booked Up. "Jet lag sucks."

"Haha! It's actually a good thing the people of Nowhere kept us awake this long. It will help you get accustomed to this time zone much faster." Holding open the door to the bookstore and inn, Harry gestures for her to enter. Immediately, Sophie winds her way between the two of them before sniffing and walking away, her tail high in the air as she clearly signals her simultaneous joy and disgust at their return.

"Aunt Chele! Harry!" Patrick chases them into the store, slightly out of breath.

"Chill, big guy!" Harry laughs. "We're not leaving town. Just going upstairs to bed. That is, if Alison has our room ready."

"Are you really not worried about that picture, H?" The oldest P is clearly concerned.

"Nah. Not in the least. But if you want us to clear it up, Chele can just write a little article about how you visited us in Tokyo. No big deal."

Say what? Chele is shaken at the idea of outing her nephew to her followers. She's seen what the periphery of fame is like, and putting Patrick in the midst of that storm seems unnecessary.