"There is a petition going around to have Cora removed from office."
"I saw," Tilly said as she served the steaming macaroni into floral-patterned bowls. "Not enough people in our town will sign that."
Jen's arching eyebrow disagreed.
"You think they will?"
A moment slipped by as Jen rearranged a bright green stemmed flower before she answered.
"I think that when people are told to be scared and pointed in a direction, they more often than not follow." She kissed Tilly's cheek and reminded her she'd swing by so they could walk to Lost Souls together later.
Tilly thought about that for the remainder of the afternoon as she tried and failed to fix her sister's doorknob and the showerin room fourteen that randomly turned on and off. After calling Judy, and receiving a look from Judy when she saw the state Tilly had left the shower in, she smiled and also pointed her to the toilet in room eighteen that started producing bubbles with promises she hadn't tried any fixes.
And by seven thirty that evening, she was exhausted. Freida came at her expected time, silently and without returning the smile Tilly gave to her. She had with her a short, thick murder mystery and her water bottle with the lipstick-stained straw as she settled in behind the desk.
"Odd issues have been springing up around the place, so if anything is reported that can wait, just write it down and I will take care of it tomorrow," Tilly said.
Freida merely nodded once.
Tilly watched her, opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and then sighed as she left for the evening, sitting on the front porch step to wait for Jen.
She saw a yard sign that said, "Reclaim Salem," and she wondered at the meaning, wondered again at Jen's words about fear. Cora was a good mayor. She had been good for their town, inviting different ideas and ways of solving town issues to create the town they loved. The familiar sound of her bird friend drew her eyes up to the old maple tree.
"So, how was your day?" she peered up at the bird with a calculating look, waiting for her to answer her. Sadly, she didn't, but someone else did.
"You know, talking to birds is probably one of my new favorite things about you."
The voice made Tilly's head turn, hand to chest, and when she saw Ronnie smiling lazily as he stepped from the sidewalk to the inn's brick path, she had the sudden urge to go back inside and take her chances with Fae or Freida.
"Not even an acknowledgment or a hello? You wound me."
She frowned as he placed a hand over his chest, his faux look of pain on his face grating her nerves. Because this was him, faux. Was there anything truly authentic about him?
"What do you want, Ronnie?"
"Hey, look, I know missing our dinner date was an ass move."
"Wasn't a date," she corrected. She looked at her phone. Jen was only a couple of minutes late, but she texted that she was going to start walking so that she didn't have to confront whatever mess was happening inside of her because of him.
"Okay, well, I missed it regardless, and I was an ass," he amended, jumping in front of her and forcing her to stop. "And you're kind of acting like it was a date with how mad you are," he added in a teasing tone.
The annoyance was immediate. The need to flee followed. She didn't want to confront this right now.
She wasn't sure she knew how, even if she had the energy.
"Ronnie, truly, I'm good. I don't have time for this."
"I'm sorry. I ran into an old friend, we got caught talking, and I lost track of time." He rubbed a nervous hand along the thick lip of his navy beanie, the movement sliding it up slightly. It might have been her hopeful imagination, but his usually thick, unruly hair was not unruly or thick. "You know me and time," he said with a shrug.
And there it was. That cute smile on a cute face with a shrug that begged people to forgive his shortcomings, which were no big deal. Because they weren't to him. He might make others feel small, unimportant, even worthless and easily replaceable, but flash a dimpled smile, shrug, and ask for the favor of forgiveness, and all was right.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. Had a situation."
Twice now today Jen had saved Tilly from continuing a conversation she both didn't want or know how to have.
Ronnie's tight smile showed the slip of his ease as her friend sent a questioning look to where Tilly stood on the brick walkway. "You good?"
"Yeah, just ready to get home."
