"Mal!"
"But sure, get all bent out of shape about a stupid black eye,Mom."She shakes her head, huffing."You know, I actually had a pretty good day today?Until now."She stomps up the stairs and slams her door; moments later, the thudding beats of some K-pop band or other concuss the house.
Lovely.
God forbid a mother show any concern for her child or try to exert any influence over the direction of her life.
I shoot her a text: [dinner is ready]
Mal: [not hungry thx]
I can almost taste the attitude from the three words.And I'm eating alone.Sweet.
I wrap her plate in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge, take mine to the breakfast nook where Mal and I typically eat all of our meals.Since Mal isn't here, I ignore my own rule of no scrolling while eating and allow myself to scroll through my IG feed.
Funny dog videos.Funny cat videos.
Six signs you may be experiencing ADHD symptoms due to perimenopause.
Iliana Dobrev cleared 24" vertically while nailing this impossible triple axel in competition…see the video here!
Seattle Skyhawks sign 17-year-old Canadian phenom Conor Mackie to a 3-year, $10M deal.Some hail him as the next Noel Austin, hear the rookie's response to the comparison!
Scroll, scroll, scroll.I almost pass it, initially; Tomlin Falls' official IG account—run by Mayor Alaina Frey's 21-year-old son, an influencer of middling regional fame:This year's third annual Taylor Austin Memorial Hockey Fundraiser is shaping up to be the best event of the year for Tomlin Falls!With the addition of Joel Brighton to the cops' roster and Adam Juarez to the firefighters’ bench, both Frozen Four champions, the game should be a real barn-burner.Show up early to get your seats and be treated to a short program featuring figure skating instructor Morgan Wheeler's students before the game.Family free skate after, and as always, all proceeds go to the Taylor Austin Memorial Cancer Fund.
Um…that hasn't been confirmed yet.Ugh.
Guess I'm committed, now.
I call Alaina's cell, and it rings four times before she picks up."Morgan, hi.I'm meeting Kath and Olivia at B-and-I for drinks in a bit.You want to join?I was about to call you, as a matter of fact."
B-and-I is local shorthand for Barry and Ingrid's Local Lounge, one of the town's four late-night drinking establishments.Lonergan's is where the bikers, truckers, hunters, and snowmobilers go—it's a rough place that's been around under one name or another since 1884, and honestly, the structure itself hasn't changed much, only owners.Clapper's Cabin is a tourist spot, complete with a functioning, historic general store in front—sort of like Cracker Barrel but 100% authentic—featuring jars of candy, racoon skin hats, gold panning kits, and tchotchkes like that, along with soda, snacks, beer, wine, liquor, and hardware/home goods sorts of things; the bar is in the rear and serves meals until 10 pm.Delgado's on Main is a wine bar, the ambitious brainchild of Della Delgado, who felt the more discerning clientele of Tomlin Falls deserved an upscale establishment where they could listen to jazz, host open mic nights, eat fancy finger food, and drink fancy wine imported from the Lower Forty-Eight.Turns out Della was right, as it's a popping place most nights.
Funny how even in adulthood, we tend to stay in our cliques: in high school, there were the kids who smoked cigarettes and pot behind the hockey rink, the jocks, the popular kids, the loners and losers, and those who, like me, didn't fit into any one group but who weren’t loners or losers—which was in effect its own distinct group.
B-and-I is home to the no-clique kids who grew up to be no-clique adults.Like Alaina, Kath, and me.
"Yeah, that sounds good, to be honest.I could use a stiff drink."
"Not the only stiff thing you could use," Alaina says.
I splutter a laugh."Alaina, good lord.Get your mind out of the gutter, woman."
"When was the last time you even went on a date?"
I don't answer because I can't remember right away."Shut up," I say eventually."And the real reason I was calling was I just saw Luke's post on Instagram."
"His what-now?”
"So you didn't approve the post, then."
"What post, Morgan?I didn't approve any post."
"Take a look at the Tomlin Falls feed.”
Silence."Goddammit, Luke," she mutters under her breath."LUKE ROBERT FREY!"she shouts, loudly enough that I wince and hold the phone away."I'll call you back after I shout at my kid."
A few minutes later, my phone burbles as she calls me back."Sorry, Morgan.We got our wires crossed.I gave him the deets so he could make the post, but he wasn't supposed to post it until I verified everything.He misunderstood and just posted it."
