A Rival in Velvet

I found my replacement beside a pot of glue.

He had red hair like mine and a crimson coat made of velvet. The little guy even had three tiny metal hoops in his ears.

Selenka held him carefully between her fingers while painting his collar.

“You’ve acquired another man, Selkie!”

“This one knows how to hold still.” She grinned.

“How am I supposed to compete?”

Her shoulders shook. She steadied her brush against the edge of the table, waiting for the laughter to pass.

I pulled up a chair.

On closer inspection, the paper-and-cloth bastard was handsome.

One paper hand rested on his hip.

“Do I really stand like that?”

“You’re standing like that now!”

I lowered my hand and muttered a curse.

She finished the collar with a brush so fine I could barely see its tip. There were several practice hands on a scrap beside her, each smaller than my fingernail. I bent closer, careful of the table this time.

“Is he in your next film?”

“Nah.”

“Has he secured an endorsement? I should warn him about those.”

“He’s for me! Plus, I think he might steal the entire show if I cast him.”

Selenka set the brush down and inspected a silver mark on her finger.

“The real reason is that I was thinking about you yesterday, and I happened to have the paper out.”

“SELKIE, STOP IT. Before I…”

She glanced up again, smiling now.

“Before you what? Have I offended you?”

She laid him on a clean scrap to dry. I watched her trim his coat with her smallest pair of scissors.

Then she reached across the table and brushed my hair away from my eyes.

“Your hair’s gone a bit unruly,” she said softly. “Now I can see you.”

I caught her hand before she withdrew it and kissed the silver paint on her finger.

“That’s it. Now I want to sit here while you make the next one.”

“I never said you couldn’t.”

I moved my chair closer.

Between us, the miniature Maxie lay gazing up at the ceiling.