Page 6 of Autumn on My Mind

Ari

!!!

How did it go?

Me

I had a pimple patch on my face and didn’t realize it.

Liv

Oh boy.

Ari

If it makes you feel better, a lot of my students wear them!

During the day, out in public and everything.

Me

Is that something people do now? Guys, are we OLD?

Well, it does not make me feel better.

But thank you for trying.

Only a few people in this world aside from me and Dom actually know we once dated: Liv, Ari, Dominic’s sister Rosie, and maybe a friend or two of his. I didn’t tell anyone else because frankly, who would I tell? Not Alvina, definitely. She was going through her divorce from Post-Dad Husband One at the time. She would have sniffed, teared up, and then said something dramatic and passive-aggressive like “I’m sorry my love isn’t enough for you.” I wasn’t super close to my roommates, either.

It was easier to keep it to myself. I’m glad I have Liv and Ari to talk to now, though.

When my phone buzzes with a text from Alvina asking what’s taking me so long, I say goodbye to my friends and then tuck my phone back in my pocket, standing slowly and stretching my legs. I take a few more deep breaths, looking at the world around me.

And even though my day feels topsy turvy, even though Dominic Harper is right inside and my mother is trying to date the entire state of Vermont…it’s only a few moments before I start feeling better. Because if there’s one thing I can count on, it’s that this place will always soothe my soul. Even when I’m buckling under stress, or when I’m panicking and anxious.

I can see the white steeple of the church over the tops of yellow trees, leaves rustling faintly in the perfect autumn breeze. They’ll be turning brilliant orange and red any day now, and we’ll get floods of leaf-peepers coming to see the change. It’s already begun. The late afternoon air is heavy with the humidity, and it smells like the rain we’re supposed to get this evening.

Fall has arrived. This year I’m even helping run the pumpkin patch, which opens on Saturday. A month of shrieking children and giant slides and hay bales, of pumpkin launching and candy throwing and a mini hayride in the back of a tractor.

I went every year as a kid and then as a teen. I’m beyond excited to spend time there.

When I’ve finally collected myself enough to put on a brave face and a smile, I return to the bar. Alvina is still there, of course, taking dainty sips of her drink. When she sees me, she waves at me with one bony, pink-nailed hand.

“Come here,” she says, even though I’m already approaching. “I want your thoughts on something.”

Alvina rarely wants my thoughts. She wants someone else to echo her own thoughts.

“About what?” I say as I resume my seat. This time I make sure I’m not slouching, partly because I know she’ll say something about it but also because slouching hurts my back.

“About fall in Autumn Ridge,” she says. “It’s such a magical time of year, don’t you think?”

That, at least, is one thing we agree on. “It is,” I say.

She gives a brisk nod, and not one hair on her head shifts with the motion. It remains perfectly coiffed, perfectly in place, as only Alvina’s hair could.

“What I need from you is ideas about amusing things to do around here,” she says. She takes another sip of her drink and sets it down on the bar with a clink. Then she turns to face me more fully. “Romantic places to go, sights to see, enjoyable outings.”

So…date ideas. She wants date ideas for her and her new boyfriend.