The Alchemy of Forever

again. I didn’t feel like going back in for an umbrella.”
    I take his sweatshirt from him and hang it on a worn oak coatrack. “You should stay here and keep me company,” I say, standing close to him. I’m overwhelmed again by how tall he feels when I’m next to him, and feel a blush begin to bloom on my face. I look away, embarrassed.
    Noah takes in the store. It’s a jumbled, cozy place, warm with an orange glow from the many Tiffany-style stained-glass lamps. There are rows of leather-bound books, racks of clothes, worn velvet sofas, out-of-tune guitars, and piles of old photographs. I show him the daguerreotypes, and he lights up.
    “Today any old jackass can take a picture with their cell phone, but back then it was like having your portrait painted.” I like the passion in his voice.
    At the back of the store he stops in front of a display of old hats—elaborate women’s felt hats, their feathers slightly dusty, and men’s top hats and fedoras. He picks up a 1920s cloche with white silk flowers on one side and sets it on my head. I regard myself in the filmy mirror and giggle—I think I actually owned a hat like this back when they were in fashion.
    Noah aims his camera and snaps my photo, but frowns. “I think you need to stop smiling,” he tells me. “All those old-fashioned people are always so serious.” I try to oblige, but a grin keeps working its way onto my lips.
    “Nope,” he says, looking at the photo on the LED display. “You’d never make it in the olden days. You’re way too modern and smiley.” This just makes me giggle more.
    “Here, let me take a photo of you.” I pick up a top hat and set it on his head. He hands me the camera, and I take a few shots. I inspect my work. His expression is far off, soulful. “Pretty good,” I tell him. “But I think the T-shirt ruins it.”
    “Right,” he says. “I think a hat like this needs a tuxedo.”
    The jangle of bells from the front door startles me, and I bump into a dresser covered with perfume bottles. One of them falls to the floor before I can catch it, and shatters.
    “Damnit, Sera!” I sigh under my breath.
    “Who?” asks Noah.
    Panic grips me. “What?”
    “You just said a name—Who was that?” He kneels over and starts picking up the glass.
    “Um. Nobody. Be right back.” I race to the front of the store to help the customer. There are two girls bent over one of the jewelry cases. “Can I help—?” I begin, but my voice catches in my throat when I see Nicole. The look on her face tells me she hadn’t expected to see me either. I don’t recognize the other girl.
    “Hey, Nicole,” I say, trying to sound friendly.
    “Hey.” Her voice is flat. Her eyes widen, and I look behind me to see Noah approaching. The smile fades from his face when he sees Nicole.
    “Anyway, Kailey, I gotta go. Thanks for showing me around. Good to see you, Nicole.” He grabs his sweatshirt and is out the door.
    The bells are still ringing when Nicole sucks in a deep breath. “I can’t believe you, Kailey,” she hisses. “You are so manipulative.”
    I’m taken aback. “Excuse me?”
    “You know perfectly well what I’m talking about!” A flush rises beneath her freckles, and she tosses her hair back angrily. “First you tell me to stay the hell away from your brother—you tell me you couldn’t stand it if one of your friends went out with him, and then you practically shove him toward Leyla.”
    “Um—” I don’t know what to say, but she keeps going.
    “And now you’re toying with Noah, just because you know I like him! You’ve known him for years and you’ve barely given him the time of day—you wouldn’t even talk to him at school. And now that he likes me you can’t stand it! You always have to be the center of attention, don’t you? But you only want what you can’t have. It’s completely obvious you’re just stringing him along to hurt me.”
    I’m stung. I feel like she slapped me in the face. Does Noah really like Nicole?
    “You don’t need to say anything, Kailey,” she continues, moving closer to me. “We’re not even friends anymore, if we ever really were. So I don’t care what you have to say. But—” Her eyes flash. “Stay the hell away from Noah. Or else.”
    Before I can respond, she turns on her heel and leaves, the bells swinging wildly as the door slams shut.

twenty-one
     
    “Ow, Kailey, careful!” Bryan cries.
    “Sorry!” I exclaim, realizing I was driving the