“ What if I don’t want to go and make small talk? What if I have myself scheduled to do actual work on Friday night?”
Pete shrugs. “There are always jobs around town available.”
“I could use a dishwasher,” says Bonnie, the owner of the Magpie, the new fine dining establishment up on the mountain.
“And I’m in desperate need of a pharmacy tech. There’s a training program for that down at the community college in Asheville…” someone else says.
Pete smiles at me. “My real estate business is exploding; I could really use some help.”
Seems like I don’t have a choice. Help the town raise money for the guild, or start earning a living without a base salary.
I think fast.
To do this, I’ll need a buffer.
I’ll need someone there who can gas me up and make me seem social, even though I’m not.
I need someone outgoing, who everybody likes, and can talk to strangers like their best friend.
Either that or learn social skills and some of that sweet Southern charm that drew my brother Pete to my sister-in-law Becky.
“I guess my hands are tied,” I sigh.
After the meeting, Pete sidles up next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder in another familiar, but less comforting, side hug.
“ I don’t suppose there’s any way out of this?” I ask.
Pete laughs.
“As the president of the downtown association, and with you as guild president? In a word? No.”
Chapter
Four
Rowdy
The Bluejay Café is still lit up with white lights and decorated with greenery left over from the holidays.
I comment on it as Bianca delivers my second bowl of chicken noodle soup.
“Here you are, sir,” she chirps proudly.
“That’s the stuff that takes off the winter chill,” I tell her.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Bianca beams at me.
“Speaking of which, why do you guys still have Christmas decorations up? It’s the middle of January,” I tease.
Bianca shrugs. “Angela likes to leave the green boughs up because it’s, you know, wintry. And before you know it, I’ll just have to take the pre-tree back out to decorate for Valentine’s Day, so she said to leave it up and just take the festive ornaments down.”
“Whoever heard of a Valentine tree?” I say with a good-natured smile.
She laughs, “I don’t know. I think it’s kind of cute. Angela says this whole town could use a nudge in the right direction, romance-wise. Maybe she’s right.”
“Next thing you know, we’re gonna have a Founder’s Day Tree, an Earth Day Tree…”
“That one makes sense, though,” laughs Bianca. “How would we decorate an Earth Day tree?”
