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Chapter Thirteen
Thankfully, in government, everyone locked up their offices and vacated the building at exactly five o’clock. So Sophie was able to stop by Maddie’s by 5:15 for a first day recap.
She sat down at the table and smiled at Maddie’s happy, devious baby. “Hey, Lily, what kind of trouble did you get into today?”
Lily picked up a toy on her high chair and screamed, “Ba!” then chucked it across the room.
Very seriously, Sophie nodded. “I see. That is crazy, girl.”
Lily gave her a big gap-tooth, droolly smile. “Ba, ba, ba!”
“You don’t have to tell me.” Sophie patted the little baby’s hand. “You’re preaching to the choir.”
Maddie laughed, putting a couple of Cheerios on Lily’s tray before she sat down. “So, how was your first day?”
“Good.” It surprised her. It hadn’t been nearly as dreadful as she’d feared. She’d actually found herself having fun. She’d always loved meeting new people and taking on new challenges, and she’d assumed she’d be bored. But that wasn’t the case. Instead she wanted to dig in, get her hands dirty, and start tackling obstacles.
The festivals she could do in her sleep, but it was the tourism project that really got her juices flowing. She’d known Griffin had it in his objectives, so she’d prepared properly, but she hadn’t realized how high it was on his wish list for the small town until they’d started talking. To organize something of that magnitude, to build and sell the story, come up with creative solutions would be a huge accomplishment.
It would take a lot of work and far more time than she had in Revival, but the prospect of getting it going on the right foot excited her.
Maddie picked up a slice of apple and bit, chewing before she swallowed. “Was everyone nice to you?”
“Yes. They were great.” Everyone had been warm and gracious and excited to have her. Which was a nice change of pace from the cold shoulder she had been getting back home. “It was more fun than I thought.”
Maddie beamed. “See, I told you! I’m not going to lie and say moving here wasn’t an adjustment at first, even though it was what I wanted, but I love it now.”
Sophie took a sip of iced tea and grabbed her own apple slice from the bowl between them. “How could you not want to move back to Chicago?”
Maddie laughed, waving a hand. “What’s so great about Chicago?”
Sophie frowned. “What do you do for shopping?”
“Well, there’s plenty of stores, and there’s an outlet mall not too far from here.” Maddie’s eyes went wide. “And I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s this new thing called the Internet where you can buy practically anything you want and have it delivered to your door.”
Sophie laughed.
Maddie continued. “Besides, I get back to the city enough to keep my palate sophisticated and my shoes current.”
It might not be Sophie’s dream, but she couldn’t be happier for her friend. “I’m glad you finally found your place.”
“Me too.” Lily gurgled and threw a toy on the floor. Maddie dutifully picked it up and handed it back to her daughter, her face practically glowing with love for the little girl. “And what did you think of Griffin? Think you can work for him?”
Sophie fanned herself. “Good God, you have one hot mayor.”
Maddie chuckled. “Yeah, he’s been awesome for the town too.”
“I can see why. He’s got a laundry list of ideas, and I think if he could, he’d implement them all at the same time.”
“So you think you can be happy here for a while?”
“Yeah, I think I can. It’s a good challenge and the time will fly by with so much to do.”
Maddie nodded. “Good. I really think if you give it a chance, it might be good for you.”
Sophie frowned. Both Maddie and Penelope had said that several times now, and she didn’t understand it. “Why do you guys keep saying that?”
Maddie shrugged. “Because I know you.”
