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"You have grown!" Mom exclaims, holding my arms.
"Mom, I'm literally thirty."
“Come join us. You remember, Jessie, right?"
Yes. Motorcycle. Eggs. Rings a bell.
She's clearly not a fan of mine with the daggers she’s shooting my way. I get it. It's not like I ever apologized to her for what I did.
"Jessie here, is now our beloved Mayor. Just got elected two weeks ago. We invited her to dinner to celebrate."
I steal a glance her way. "Clearly, the voters never learned of your egging incident."
"Thankfully, they're not like you, Dylan," she lashes back, "still living in the past."
"The people here love me."
"A lot changes in ten years.”
Mom does her best to steer the conversation in another direction. “Everyone in town is so excited to see what Jessie’s able to do around here."
In high school, she was always running for president of some club but it’s hard to believe she’s now the mayor. Even crazier still that she’d be bold enough to put “MAYOR” on her license plate. That doesn’t seem like the Jessie I remember. Maybe she’s right, things do change.
It's hard to focus on the conversation as Mom continues about the election and Jessie’s big win. I don't know how to tell everyone the real reason I'm home.
I definitely don’t want Jessie to be one of the first people to find out so now is not the moment. But they will know soon. Word travels fast in these small towns, even faster when it’s a scandal. It's only a matter of time.
I’ll break it to them tomorrow.
"Jessie, tell Dylan of your plans for the baseball stadium," Mom urges.
Those words send shivers down my spine, tossing me into a pool of memories. I reminisce on the times I played baseball there, everyone chanting my name. The good old days.
I quickly snap back to reality.
"What plans?” I’m annoyed to think she’d have anything to do with my stadium, my history.
A smile creeps onto Jessie’s face. "Well, I plan on turning it into a large garden for the community."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"What is it, Dylan? Not good enough for you?"
"It's ridiculous!" I shout, eyes wide. "Why would it be a good idea to turn a legendary baseball stadium into a garden?"
“Legendary? Are you speaking about the stadium or what you think of yourself?”
“I’m just speaking the truth. This town knows it’s baseball that put it on the map. Without it, no one would even know Maple Grove exists!”
"Dylan, you're being rude," Mom interjects.
"It's fine, Mrs. Sky. Dylan is probably just jet-lagged."
"I am not jet-lagged."
My fists ball as I watch her. She will not destroy my high school memories when that’s all I have left. This feels likepayback for ruining her prom. I take a deep breath. I’ve known Jessie since childhood, she doesn’t respond well when provoked.
I soften my voice. "Why are you doing this? Can't you just take your garden somewhere else?"
