Jon: Everybody in this town bakes!
Jon: I saved you a slice.
Evie: …
Evie: I’ll think about it.
The lifeline had been cast. Evie only had to grab hold.
Last night, I lay in bed, staring at the hideous wallpaper in Mimi’s house. The faded floral print reminded me of a dress Evie wore to her first dance in middle school. As I tried falling asleep, I could hear Mom telling me to stand with my sister. Me in overalls and her in a dress—the photo hung on the stairs of their house until we sold it.
I stopped on the sidewalk, letting out a deep sigh. Evie’scomment about me wandering through life hadn’t been wrong, and that stung. I loved my job… sometimes. Designing book covers scratched my artistic itch, but it wasn’t as fulfilling as I first thought. Now, I thought of it as a way to afford food and stream the Romance Channel.
I paused in front of Twice-Told Tales, studying Firefly’s downtown. Along the side, they had converted a mill into storefronts. Jason’s comic shop occupied the first spot, and somewhere inside, Amanda gave him grief about who knows what. Almost directly across the green stood Simon’s bistro. It seemed oddly fitting that they could almost see each other from their windows. The green down the middle of the town had every component to make it the perfect setting for a movie. That might be why Chris petitioned to use Firefly for the adaptation of Amanda’s comic.
“Quaint,” I said. Not good, nor bad—just quaint. Everybody talked about the magic of Firefly. Once the town got its hooks into them, they couldn’t imagine leaving. I could see its charm, but calling it home? I just didn’t understand the allure. The city had options, people, and things to do when sitting inside turned tedious. Firefly? It didn’t have much of anything.
The bell rang as I pushed my way inside the vintage store; much like Tyler’s library, the space smelled old. Going through the boxes was taking me forever, and I decided I needed to enlist help.
“Gladys, I know you’re hiding,” I called.
“Jonny!” From this angle, it almost looked as if she stepped out of an armoire. I wouldn’t be surprised if one ofher oversized wardrobes led to Narnia. It’d fit right into the quirks of Firefly.
She rushed across the room, the floorboards creaking as her arms spread wide. I prepared for the impending hug in 3… 2… “Oomph.” Her vise-like grip and the frizz of her white hair tickled my nose.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Hazel.” It always took a moment for me to connect the dots. To us, she’d always be Mimi, but my grandmother had a life outside of her grandkids.
“Remind me to send over a casserole.”
No point in arguing or explaining; I already had three. At this rate, I wouldn’t need to stop at the grocery store for weeks. Gladys leaned back, studying my face. I might not know the folks in Firefly, but because of the stories Mimi told, they knew me.
“You have her cheeks.” She pinched them to emphasize her point. Boundaries? What were those? Gladys’s lips thinned as she smiled. I had to remind myself I served as a conduit to a woman she once called a friend.
“I wondered if you could give me some help.”
Her eyebrow arched. She drifted around the counter, pulling her cardigan tight before resting on her elbows. “I’m listening.” The sweet little old lady transitioned into a coy businesswoman without effort.
“Mimi’s house is filled with ju?—”
“Watch it!”
I searched for the right word. “Treasures.”
“Better.”
“I was going to get them ready to sell, but I thought it might be easier if somebody with your discerning eye?—”
“Keep sweet talking,” she said with a smirk.
“Would you like first dibs? Tell me what you want, and I can get Bobby to help me bring it over.”
She tried to maintain a poker face, but the gleam in her eye said she was already picking through my grandmother’s house. The thought of cleaning it out didn’t bother me, but throwing it away? I hoped Mimi’s belongings could have a second life, even better if it went to somebody in Firefly.
“Does she still have the grandfather clock she bought in London?”
“London?” The beast of a clock stood in her hallway, the chimes making enough noise to raise the dead. I think she bought it between my freshman and sophomore years. One visit, it was an empty space, and on the next, a massive clock that woke me every morning.
“She insisted on seeing the Crown Jewels. Her obsession started after the royal wedding.”
