Fuck Chap, I wasn’t going to let him ruin my time with Edison. “What about you? Give me your sappy love story.”
“There isn’t much to tell.”
“Don’t lie.”
Edison cracked his knuckles. “I was kind of seeing Willa for a bit.”
My eyes grew wide. “How did you pull Willa? She was the prettiest girl in school.”
“She wasn’t … you were. But she and I just kept bumping into each other.”
“And one day the bumping turned to grinding.” I gasped. “How was it?”
“I’m not telling you that. But I’m not complaining.”
“So what happened?”
“Hmm … you walked into Figs and Twine with your rumpled up shirt and ashy elbows.”
My face, neck and ears grew hot. “You noticed the elbows?”
“Yes, I did.”
Growing up I always felt loved and appreciated. My father wasn’t perfect, but he set the bar for how I should be treated. Chap lowered the bar to the floor and casually walked across, expecting a six-gun salute for doing the bare minimum. Why was I settling when I was the prize and the talent? Chap was a people person, but he didn’t have a musical bone in his body.
In my conversations with Edison, he actively listened and cared, something Chap never did. Talking to Chap was always a competition in which I’d speak, and he’d be chomping at the bit to interject, refute, or call me out right dense. The past few days were intense, but the fog was lifting. Searching Edison’s familiar face, I knew what I had to do. I pulled my phone from my purse, typed out a text message, and pressed send with no hesitation. Handing Edison my phone, I let him read my final message to Chap.
Fancy: IT’S OVER.
After dinner,the tour of Hume continued with a stop at the post office. Not your typical first date destination but …Wait was this a first date? Fancy literally dumped her boyfriend in front of me and I still wasn’t sure.We all know what happens with assumptions. You end up going in for a kiss at the end of the night and someone laughs in your face.
When we jumped out of my truck, Fancy scanned the building. The office was closed, so I’m sure she was wondering why I brought her here. “It’s the post office. Looks exactly the same,” she said.
“Yes, it hasn’t changed much.”
Fancy shimmied the skirt of her dress in place. This may not be a date, but Fancy had taken her time on the finer details. Her nails were red with cherries on them, which meant she hit up Arnelle shop for this occasion. Francesca’s curly hair was fluffy and made her look like a true rockstar. The body was tea with her dress hugging curves I’d long admired.
“So what are you about to show me, the new mailboxes?”
“No.” I held my hand out to her and my heart jerked against its reins in anticipation. Fancy’s eyes flickered from my faceto my outstretched arm, sizing me up. When she slipped her hand in mine, my stomach fluttered like someone was inside, unspooling ribbon. We walked to the back of the building, and I pointed to an adjacent wall.
Fancy slowed in her tracks, dropping my hand, which I didn’t like, but it was worth it to see the look on her face. “Is this for real?”
“Yes.”
She spun around, shock etched across her face. “Edison, that’s a mural of Darla and me on the back of the hardware store.”
“I see it.” The lot behind the hardware store was home to a community garden. Figs and Twine partnered with the elementary and junior high schools, donating seeds and tools for the students to use to grow their own vegetables and plants. Dial and I took turns leading the classes. I had nothing to do with the mural, but I did think it was cool Fancy and Darla were kind of overseeing the garden and inspiring the kids who volunteered.
The mural was colorful and captured the vibrant spirit of Whiskey Wild. The two women were painted with guitars in hand. Fancy’s hair looked like it was in motion and her torso was bent back as her fingers played a riff. Underneath Fancy and Darla the name of the group was emblazoned in bold font.
“How long has that been here?”
“A few years.”
“Years? My mother has all the tea on what’s going on in Hume, but she forgot to mention this mural.” She pulled out her phone to snap some quick pictures. “This is unreal. Who made this?
“Some kids from the high school.”
