“The Doom Statues” — Chapter 20

“Have you invited your parents out here?” Emily asks Kay, as they crunch their way through this burnt orange colored carpet of needles, “like, for one of these upcoming tours, maybe?”

Harry hasn’t explicitly stated who is and isn’t permitted upon the grounds of Otherwise. And Emily appreciates this, that he has left it up to them to sort out their own informal bylaws. For the most part, it seems that the artists have specifically chosen this opportunity so that they might withdraw from society a little bit, get inside their heads again and tune out the world beyond. Therefore, while the occasional significant other, like Clay, has made an appearance, nobody’s turned this into a giant party or anything by inviting a bunch of friends, or family members. Still, homesickness has already begun to creep in, and it’s inevitable that some will reach out to their close ones, if they haven’t already.

“No,” Kay admits, followed by a sigh. While the three of them move vaguely uphill, mostly side by side as they weave around these well-spaced trees, she’s not only weighing what Emily said, and her response, but considering how much she wants to reveal to Tony. “I know I need to call them. We’ve texted a few times, me and Pamela. Mostly just me asking about Noah. But…the way we left it was kinda shitty, I know, so I’m kinda dreading…”