“Oh wow, boss lady, you got it bad, huh? Well, I don’t blame you, that’s a good-looking guy. Gonna ask him to stick around for—”
“We were talking about a marriage license,” Macy said faintly, and Devon’s eyes widened.
“I mean, he’s really, really good looking, I sort of get it.”
Macy laughed helplessly.
“I’m not even sure I do. But let’s start with what I know is going on. The school board’s going to be here in a while, and they’re going to be mad there’s a big snake where they want to hold their meeting. Let’s get things set up.”
In the end, it worked out. The school board grumbled a bit about the outdoor seating, but Mrs. Laudermilk, the president, ‘fancied a nice sit outside anyway,’ and they settled, grumbling, back into line. She winked at Macy as she went past, squeezing her hand.
“Heard about the snake from my grand-nephew,” she said quietly. “Some days, it never rains, but pours, doesn’t it?”
Macy gave her a grateful smile, but if rainstorms (or an errant incredibly endangered cryptid) brought her Luca, she would live under umbrellas.
Luca checked in after the school board got settled, but they only had time for a quick kiss before Devon had some grant proposals for her to look over, and he disappeared into City Hall to do some more snake stalking.
“How in the world does anyone who works here manage to date?” she asked mournfully, staring after Luca as he went back inside.
Devon gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder and passed her a granola bar.
“Well, I just date co-workers. Me and Tim over in Permits have a great time when no one’s looking.”
“Devon!”
“Haha, just kidding. Oram I?”
Macy left it at that, because one thing she had learned during her tenure as mayor was that you didn’t go looking for trouble until you knew it was looking for you, and she didn’t think that there was actually an issue with city employees fraternizing.
She and Devon set up a sort-of temporary office out on the green in front of City Hall after the school board finished up, a banquet table under the shade of the old oak tree with a large box of paperwork between them. Their laptops and phones gave them all the support they needed, and they companionably worked through the morning.
Macy jumped a little when Devon stood up suddenly, closing the file folder in front of her.
“All right, it’s lunchtime,” she said. “I’m getting something good to eat. You should too.”
“Right. Proper lunch and everything.”
“And I’m not coming back after, remember. I have the rest of the day off.”
“Right, I remember that,” Macy lied. “Have a good whatever it is you’re doing.”
“Tim and I are going to catch the premier of that new movie about the cannibal chefs over in Hoopston. Have a good weekend, boss.”
Devon got her share of the paperwork packed up, and Macy condensed hers down to her laptop so she wouldn’t have to haul secure files around on her own. After the papers had been safely stowed and Devon had trotted off to her car, Macy hesitated on the steps of City Hall. On her own, she’d have brought something from home, or maybe stop over at the grocery store down the road. In a pinch, there were vending machines inside. However, limp grocery salad and vending machine chocolate didn’t sound terribly appetizing.
On impulse, she ended up walking to the little Italian deli down the street, placing an order to go. By the time she entered the cool atrium, she was starving, but she couldn’t be happier with her choices.
She thought briefly she should give Luca a call, but then she got distracted by some of the poster boards that had toppled to the ground.
Oh, no, they worked so hard, I don’t want them to get smushed, especially if they haven’t been judged yet—
She went to go putThe Awesome Power of Solar Power!andWhy We Owe Everything to Snailsback up. The snails at least, were only pictures on the poster boards as opposed to being living snails, so that was fine, but then Macy got the strangest feeling as she stepped back from the now upright displays.
A soft thrill ran up her spine, and her heart skipped a beat. She could feel her pulse in her own veins, and slowly, she turned around.
Under the archway that lead to the offices, there was a shadow, deeper and blacker than any others in the space of the atrium. It went on four padded feet with eyes of the purest green, and when Macy saw it, she sunk slowly to her knees. She couldn’t look away from it, from him, and mutely, she reached out her hand.
There was no better word thanflowedfor how Luca moved towards her, one moment under the shelter of the archway, the next by her side.
