“Want me to let you go?”
“No, not yet. I want to hear about your day. If I start snoring just hang up.”
She giggled and he pictured her in bed. He was tempted to ask her what she was wearing, but he didn’t want to push things. They’d only gone out a couple times, and he didn’t want to scare her off. He wondered though, did she sleep in long T-shirts, or a tank top and undies? Or maybe she didn’t sleep in anything at all? He couldn’t wait to find out.
“So, tell me about your day.”
“It was your basic errands day, not much to talk about until I went over to Zaina’s.”
“Tell me again. Who’s Zaina?”
"She’s my oldest friend in the world. Umm, oh yea, she was with me at trivia night. She’s tiny."
“To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention to anyone but you that night.”
“Aww, every time I think I can’t like you more, you say something like that, and it’s not BS. You’re sincere! I’m not used to this.”
Get used to it darling,he thought, and he said, “When you’re in the room, well I only have eyes for you.” well,
“Thank you,” she said quietly, her voice deep with emotion. “Zania is the one that owns New Age Stones & Witch Crafts. She had on a pink wig.”
“Gotcha. Yes, she looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her. Maybe I’ve seen her at a Chamber of Commerce meeting or something.”
“Probably. She’s pretty involved in the Marley Creek business community, and that segues right into something I need your help with.”
“Whatever it is, I’m happy to help however I can.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I love your can-do spirit and I’m not sure how else to approach this problem,” she said seriously. Then she told Sean all about the problems Devin had shared due to Oktoberfest as well as how much of an impact it had on Zaina’s business and all the other brick-and-mortar stores on Main Street. He listened and asked questions as she spoke. His mind was whirling; Jasper sometimes kept his nose so close to the grindstone that he didn’t realize when he was focused on the wrong things.
“Nicole, I think you and Zaina have a good idea here. I’ll talk to Jasper and I’m sure he’ll want to do whatever he can to keep Oktoberfest going. How much time do you think we have to turn this around?”
"I don’t think there is much time at all, I know the town council has a meeting coming up on Tuesday. Any chance you can talk Jasper into going to the meeting? I know there’s time for public comments. Oh shoot, I know we had plans on Tuesday, but—"
“No, you’re right. This is more important right now. We can go to the movies another time; although, just to be clear, I’d much rather be sharing one of those big movie theater recliners and a bucket of popcorn with you than to be sitting in the town hall listening to people complaining.”
“How about, after the meeting, you come over and we’ll watch a movie here. I don’t have a recliner for two, but I do have a loveseat and microwave popcorn.”
“That sounds even better than our original plan.”
“Maybe I’ll even massage your feet.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” Sean looked down at his sore feet and wondered if he could fit in a pedicure before Tuesday. He was all for a foot massage, but he also wanted to have presentable feet the first time Nicole saw them. He yawned into the phone before he could stop himself.
"You sound exhausted. I’ll let you go, get some sleep."
“Now that I’ve talked to you, I can go to sleep happy.”
“Sweet Dreams, Sean.”
“Right back at you.”
They ended their call. Sean thought about taking the time to text Jasper right away, but his eyes were barely staying open. So, he dragged himself to the bathroom, where he brushed his teeth and cleaned his face. Then he put his phone on the charger and climbed into bed. He’d talk to Jasper tomorrow night.
Chapter Thirteen
NICOLE
As soon as Nicole got home from work on Tuesday, she Facetimed Zaina to check-in. “Are you ready for tonight?” Nicole asked Zaina.
