“Oh, goodness, don’t scare me like that. I’m on nitro, but let’s not push the limits of pharmacology!”
“So sorry, here, come in.”
“Well, now don’t you look smooth as a baby’s backside!” Aunt Emma said, and the two embraced.
“You know it’s all fake, all of it.”
Aunt Emma whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, I won’t blow your cover.”
“Thanks.”
“But I want you to know I’ve seen every single one of your movies. Oh, exceptObsessed Attraction.You’re naked a lot in that one, I heard, so I just didn’t think my lady’s group would appreciate that. Talk about massive heart attacks left and right.”
“Aunt Emma, you look beautiful. I have missed you.” Goldie remembered Aunt Emma as kind of glamorous for Irish Hills. She still seemed fancy, lake fancy, if that was a thing.
“I’m glad you finally came home. It’s been too long.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Oh, and I heard you were the only one who had their head on straight about that Bubba situation during the tornado.”
“Oh, yeah, not a concern.”
“Exactly.”
The man with Aunt Emma cleared his throat, and she turned and introduced him.
“This is uh, Tate, Tate Patrick. He’s interested in buying the hotel. He’s only in town for a short while, and I promised him I’d show him around.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“I meant to tell Libby to give you a heads up. Hmm, I must have forgotten. Happens, I’m four thousand years old.”
Though she claimed to be ancient, and Goldie knew Aunt Emma was in her nineties, Aunt Emma did not seem to be over sixty in dexterity or when it came to her rapier wit.
“It’s your place. I totally understand.”
The man, Tate Patrick, looked at Goldie, and she knew he was figuring things out. Oh no, this could blow her cover.
“You look a lot like Goldie Hayes,” the man said as he looked at her with a bit of confusion.
She lowered her sunglasses from her head to her eyes to try to throw him off track. “I get that a lot.”
“You’re clearly way younger,” the man said.
Great, so she looked old on film. That’s the takeaway. Fans also liked to say she looked skinnier in person. What did that mean? Ugh.
Aunt Emma guided the prospective buyer away from Goldie. They walked into the lobby. Joe nodded but continued to prep the space for paint.
Goldie found herself listening to Aunt Emma’s sales pitch. Income potential, historic architecture, emerging area, lake access, and on and on.
“You know, Stirling Stone wants it too, but I think we need a more discerning owner here, don’t you think, Mr. Patrick?”
“I do, quite right.”
Aunt Emma walked out onto the back veranda, and Mr. Patrick followed. Goldie continued to hover just outside of the tour. But she was inching closer and closer to the discussion.
“I’m thinking we can turn this space into additional rentals,” said the older man.
