Pushing the door open, I climbed out of the car. I couldn’t waste the opportunity with Evie. Perhaps not all adventures were grand. Maybe some were small, intimate moments that required sorting through the pain? I didn’t know how or when, but if I was going to make the life I wanted, I think it started with an apology.
I only needed to muster the courage to speak.
LIFELONG MANFRIENDS
“He has arrived!” Gladys said, getting up off the couch.
“I expected him to be more… naked.” I recognized that voice. Harvey gave a slight wave as I walked into Twice-Told Tales. They had assembled a small cabal of carnival planners. They sat in the center of Gladys’s store on a leather sectional, far too big for any reasonably sized house.
“Jonny,” Laurel patted the seat next to her. “We were just talking about your little project.”
“Let’s try not to use the word little,” Walter said. “We don’t want to wound their pride.”
The ladies rolled their eyes. I gave a slight wave before taking a seat. At least I knew Laurel. Over the years, she had become a permanent fixture in Mimi’s life. I should have gone to her and asked for details of my grandmother’s life. If I only knew my grandmother for brief visits, I bet Laurel could fill in the rest of the year.
“Jon, you know Laurel and Harvey. Walter is here because he and Harvey are inseparable.”
“True,” they both said.
“Sheryl works at the barbershop on the green.” I continued my waving. It was awkward being the only one in the dark. They most likely knew each other’s favorite colors, birthdays, offspring, prescriptions, criminal history, and the first time they tried alcohol. I assumed all that information went into Firefly’s Town Crier.
“Do we have any outstanding business?” asked Gladys. The tone changed the moment she asked the question. Walter and Harvey were cuddled together, looking at a notebook. Laurel had her phone out, skimming through notes. Sheryl put on her thinking face. I felt like I had been given a test I hadn’t studied for.
“All the permits have been approved,” Laurel said. “Are we using the same layout as last year?”
Gladys shook her head. “Do you remember the debacle with Patty’s booth being next to Rita? We can’t have two desserts side-by-side.”
I kept my mouth shut as Sheryl’s head bobbed up and down. Were these the problems of a small town? Two dessert tables within twenty feet? Next, they would issue fines for the hot dogs not being long enough to fill the bun.
“I can switch Patty with Jason.”
“Sticky fingers on comics,” I said. They all froze, staring at me as if I had grown a second head. “Whoopie pies are sticky. Don’t want them to have food and then touch his comics. He’d have a meltdown.”
Gladys pursed her lips. “Good thinking. We’ll move Patty to the green. Carl’s sculptures can take her place. Then we’ll swap Jason and Rita.” She spoke the names as if I should know who she meant. Rita, I knew from the coffee shop, but Carl? I nodded along as if I understood.
“Is that it?”
“That’s it!” Gladys said with a sigh of relief. “I think we have our layout nailed down.” They were excited by the statement. How long had it taken for them to get a vendor layout? What madness had I gotten myself into? “That’s it for old business. What else do we have on the list?”
“Fireworks,” I blurted out. Yes, I had ulterior motives. I wanted to be sure when I left, I walked away with another memorable night.
Gladys gave a slight chuckle. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have plenty of fireworks.”
I wouldn’t have suspected it from her tone, but the way everybody turned to me… they knew. Did I blame Jason or Amanda for this? Amanda. I’m absolutely sure she casually stopped by Gladys’s shop pretending to be interested in a piece of furniture just to spread juicy gossip.
“We wouldn’t let you down,” Walter said.
“After all, we are Firefly’s official wingmen.” Harvey snickered, giving Walter a slight elbow. Jason and Bobby both had talked about the two knuckleheads and their well-meaning efforts. It almost made up for having my personal business on display for the whole town.
“Ignore them,” Laurel said. “This whole carnival is really just an excuse for fireworks.”
Gladys and Sheryl gasped.
“Hush, all of you,” Laurel said. “We have a bigger issue to talk about.”
Gladys crossed her legs, resting her notebook in her lap. She gestured to Laurel. “Quiet everybody, Laurel has the floor.” I’m pretty sure Gladys had a baton hidden away. In private, I bet she referred to herself as the Queen… no, Empress… of the Carnival.
“Half our volunteers come from the baseball team. Is nobody worried?”
