They laugh and Seth says, “Thanks for making this awkward.”
But I’m still trying to digest what she said.
Drew and Seth get ready to leave, and Olivia walks Drew to the door. I pull Seth to the side.
“So I have a favor to ask,” I say. “Is there any chance I can talk you into buying one of those garden gnomes?”
I point at the creepy little statues against the wall, and he looks stricken with fear at the sight of them.
“They look possessed.”
“They’re harmless. But Olivia and I have this bet going. Don’t let her see you with it until you’re out the door, or she’ll make Drew buy two of them.”
A few minutes later, Seth and Drew are headed to their car while Olivia and I watch them from the front porch.
Seth gets into the passenger seat of Drew’s car. Just before they pull away, he rolls down the window and holds up the gnome.
“What? No fair!” Olivia yells at him.
“Looks like I’m up by one!” I do a victory dance.
We head back inside—me at the counter, Olivia arranging the remaining gnomes—and within seconds my phone chirps.
“Oh no,” I say.
“What’s wrong?” Olivia asks. “Is it Margot?”
“No. I’ve been tagged in a post and I’m terrified to look at it.”
Olivia rolls her eyes. “Oh. That was me.”
My eyes get big. “I’m sitting right here. You didn’t want to show it to me first? Or, God forbid, ask me if I wanted you to post it?” My voice has gone to that awful screeching level.
“You would’ve said no,” she says with a huge smile on her face. “And I felt like we needed a distraction.”
“What did you do?”
Olivia shrugs and then squeals, “Oh! Here comes Mrs. Townsend! She’ll buy anything.” And then she’s gone, chasing after a little old lady who is wandering down the front walk.
I take a deep breath and swipe open my phone so I can see what kind of damage she did.
And there it is.
It’s a picture of the giant screen from the hockey game yesterday with the caption:Hot enough to melt ice! Hope @mudbugshockey can skate on water!And then there’s like ten flame emojis. Wyatt only kissed the edge of my mouth for point-two seconds, but the photo makes it look like we’re lip-locked for eternity. We’re framed by a big red heart on the giant screen, with lots of tiny little hearts all around the edges. If Wes didn’t see it in real time, he’ll for sure see it now.
Ugh.
And just like every other post, Griffin has been tagged in the comments more than once.
“Olivia!” I scream across the store. She gives me a quick wave before dragging poor Mrs. Townsend to the greenhouse out back.
I wait for a text from Griffin, but nothing comes.
Just as Olivia and I are leaving, my phone vibrates in my hand. I almost ignore it until I catch a glimpse of Mom’s name on the screen.
“Mom?”
“Hey, Sophie.” Her voice sounds wobbly.
