“He’s been bugging me to go around and fix it since I got here,” Charlie told Red. “Apparently I look ‘tech savvy.’ ”
“It’s the fringe,” Red said.
“Right? I cut it in myself, you know.”
This was an excellent excuse to stare at her, under the guise of examining her hair. Though, now that I was actually looking at it more closely, I noticed that her roots were peeking through—I hadn’t realized she wasn’t naturally brunette, but the hair at her parting was pale.
“No way! Do you have a before and after?”
Charlie paused at that. “Maybe somewhere,” she said. “Next on the agenda: donkeys.”
Charlie was definitely avoiding my eye. Unlike Toby, I actually saw this as an excellent sign. You don’t avoid somebody’s eye ifyou still see them as a friend. You avoid someone’s eye ifnot right nowmeansmaybe soon.
“Don’t be daft,” said Galoshes. “You’ll never catch ’em.”
“I was talking to Baptiste about it, and he said those donkeys aren’t actually wild—they’re domesticated but broke out of someone’s garden one day and never came back.”
“Are you suggesting we offer donkey rides?” I said, with horror. “On semi-feral donkeys?”
“No, no! I just want them in the field behind the sheep barn where the dance is happening, for the photo opportunities. Tourists love an animal, and the pigs are already occupying West Hilly Field—we just need a good shot in the other direction.”
“Dance?” Galoshes said, with suspicion. “What dance?”
“The barn dance,” Charlie said. “And before you tell me you hate the idea—”
Galoshes promptly confirmed that she did indeed hate the idea.
“I have the perfect job for you,” Charlie told her.
“I refuse to do it.”
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“I’m not doing it, whatever it is.”
Charlie’s eyes flicked to me. I watched her take a deep breath, and then return her gaze to Galoshes.
“Galoshes, until October the 6th, I am your boss,” she said.
“Half of my boss,” Galoshes said. “The smaller half.”
“In what—” Charlie gathered herself. “That means that until Monday, I have the power to fire you.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Galoshes said immediately.
“When I first came here, no, I wouldn’t have dared. But I’ve come a long way, and learned a lot about myself, and frankly,I’ve tried everything. I’ve cajoled you, included you, placated you, and you still won’t treat me with even a gram of respect.”
“I said yes to your biscuits, didn’t I?” Galoshes said.
“That was a start,” Charlie acknowledged. “But doesn’t actually make up for the constant insubordination.”
“You’ve tried the carrot, now for the stick, eh? I don’t buy it. You wouldn’t fire me.”
“Please. Give me a final straw. Give me one last reason.” Charlie’s voice dropped deeper. “And see if I’ll do it.”
There was a long, tense moment. I was having to fight extremely hard not to smile. Charlie looked magnificent—chin lifted, shoulders back as she stared Galoshes down. The little tremor in her bottom lip was only mine to see, and I wanted to kiss it slowly and tell her how proud I was.
“What exactly is the job?” Galoshes said at last.
