Tavi’s cheek twitches again, but she aims her smile at her grandmother and reaches up to curl a finger through her hair. “Dylan and I are talking about his social media debut to help Tickled Pink get famous again.”
Estelle looks at me.
She’s a persnickety rich white lady with enough years under her belt of being a terror that she’s still adjusting to the idea of mortality and what will happen to her soul.
And she has a way of peering at a person that would make him feel about three inches tall if he cared about her opinion.
Lucky for me, I spent enough time in principals’ offices growing up and have enough confidence in myself as an adult—most of the time—that she doesn’t bother me much.
She sniffs. “Theplumber.”
“Great-Grandpa Horace made us rich off of a better toilet paper. It seems so fitting.”
“But will it doTickled Pinkany good?” Estelle demands.
“This is a whole-town effort, Gigi. Who better to focus on than a hometown hero who helps basically everyone here? Do you knowanyonewho doesn’t need a plumber on occasion?”
“Does the world at large recognize that?”
“We’re about to make them. Isn’t the world better when we appreciate everyone for their contributions to society instead of thinking that some of us are better than others?”
“Vegan tasteless barf on a plate, with pucker juice on the side.” Zoe bumps in past Estelle and deposits Tavi’s salad on the table.
“Thank you so much, Zoe,” Tavi says brightly. “That wassofast. You’re amazing. Can I ask you a question?”
“Was that your question?”
“No, actually—”
“Too bad. One question per day.”
I suck in a grin.
“Thank God you’re not trying to putheron camera,” Estelle says.
“She’d be great,” I interject. “No one knows more about Tickled Pink history than Zoe. And she tells the fun stories.”
“She’s rather rude.”
“She’s not rude, Gigi. She’s honest,” Tavi says. “We’re not entitled to everyone here liking us. And you yourself told Jane yesterday that her beer tasted bad when we all know you don’t like beer, so it’s not like Jane could make any beer that you like.Thatwas rude.”
Estelle’s eyes narrow.
“I mean, if God has a scorecard, he’d probably call it even,” Tavi adds.
I shove my last bite of burger into my mouth.
“Dylan and I are going to spend the afternoon making plans for his launch on TikTok, and maybe Insta and Snap too. I’ll catch up on the library like tomorrow or something? It’s not like the books are going anywhere, and the feathers are, like, not the worst thing toeverhappen to them. I found a dried pickle stuffed in the middle of a copy ofGreat Expectations. That library hasseenthings, Gigi.”
Estelle frowns. “It has, hasn’t it?”
“So many things.” Tavi’s like a bobblehead doll again. “It can wait a few more days. It might even be better to wait a few more days.”
And I’m wishing I had more things to shove in my mouth.
“That’s settled then,” Estelle declares. “We’ll both ride along with Dylan to make plans for Tickled Pink’s future.”
“Gigi, Dylan doesn’t have room in his truck for—”
