When Lucy asked who he was, she already knew.
She knew he was hers, like one of those tall iced green tea soy lattes she ordered at Starbucks. When a frothy Benjamin Moore Paint Huntington Gardens shade drink dotted with ice cubes appeared at a green barista counter, Lucy didn't even hesitate before snatching it up and sipping.
It was uniquely hers.
This boy, too.
And yet, she had no idea who he was to the world. He told them his name was Jay, and it was truth, but it was also lie.
He didn't reveal his last name, his profession, or the fact that in seven hours he'd be dressed in cowboy gear and warbling on a stage.
He didn't want her to judge him.
To him, she looked like Lily Lavender. She was perfect, and sweet, and flowery. She shined. She looked completely separate from everyone here. Even in California she seemed like a lily pad in someone else's ocean, unrivaled on earth or anywhere else.
He wanted to know her name, so he could speak it.
"Who are you?" he asked, while her family stood semi circled behind her, grinning at this brazen boy unabashedly grinning at Lucy under a blazing sun, having already introduced themselves.
Mr. Ballman crossed his arms.
Lucy smiled, looking at a sparkle in Jay's Old Glory eyes, a deeper and more enchanting blue than even Crater Lake's.
"It doesn't matter what you call me," Lucy said. "As long as you smile when you see me."
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