The Lighthouse Part Three

Here is part three of The Lighthouse. Here is the first part, and then the second in case you missed them or need a refresher on what’s happening.

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“It’s ok,” Barty began. “If I were you I would have acted the same way.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. They looked at the grove of trees and the clouds in the sky. The sun was trying to shine, but the clouds were just too big and fluffy to let it shine too brightly.

“What changed your mind?” He finally asked. “Why did you want to meet?”

She hesitated before she answered. “I wanted to ask a favor of you,” she began. “And I don’t want you to think that I’m just trying to use your talents.”

“What’s the favor?”

“I’m writing a book,” she said. “It’s almost done, and ready to be published. But I don’t have a cover. That’s not my area of expertise.”

“And you want me to make you one?” He finished.

“Could you?”

“Why don’t we go to the coffee shop and discuss the details more.” Barty stood up and waited for her to move.

She stood up too. “Ok.”

They left the park and headed for the coffee shop that was nearby. They didn’t say much on their walk there. Thankfully, it was only a few blocks away. While they were on their way, it started to snow. It was the huge snowflake snow, that would look fake, if it hadn’t been coming down. 

They ordered their coffee and found a quiet corner to sit down and discuss their collaboration.

“Why do you want me to make your cover?” He asked.

“When you told me about the lighthouse sale being up on the city council’s website, I went there to look at it,” Kiki began. “And I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I searched for your website and I scrolled through your other work, and I really liked what you’ve done. And I thought that maybe you could maybe help me out with my book.”

Before he could answer, the barista brought their cups of coffee to them. He took a sip from his cup while he thought about what she had said.

“I realize that I should have been nicer to you the past couple of times that we’ve met. And if you don’t want to do this, I totally understand.”

“It’s not that,” Barty finally said. “I’ve never made a book cover for someone. What would that all entail?”

“I’m not exactly sure either,” Kiki said. I can get you that information when I get home though.

“What do you want the image to be?” He asked.

“Well,” she began. “I can email you my book so you can read it, and then you can decide what you can do for an image.” 

“I would love to read it,” he answered. 

Kiki took out her phone and opened the notes app. She created a new note and started typing the things she needed to do for him. 

“How much do you charge?” She asked when she had her notes jotted down. She picked up her coffee cup and took a drink. 

“That depends on what’s all involved,” he began. “I will let you know before we both commit to the project.”

“That’s fair.”

They continued to work out the details while they drank their coffee. And by the time their cups were empty, they had started to become friends.

When she got home later that evening, she looked up the information that she needed to find for him. She copied the link and attached a copy of her mostly finished book to him. They spent the rest of the night emailing each other back and forth.

~~~

I hope you enjoyed The Lighthouse part three. I’m hoping to wrap this story up next month.