“The lost art of flirtation,” Memaw muses. “It’s good for the goose and the gander.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I tell her.
“Not as glad as I am that you are. When Lexi told me you had taken the position … well, I did a little jig.”
“Actually?”
She stands up and raises her hands in the air, the sagging, wrinkled skin under her upper arms wiggles with her movements as she waves her arms around and shimmies her hips.
“Woo hoo!” she shouts and I nearly break into tears for some unknown reason.
Memaw steps closer, leans down and gives me a hug. She smells like cold cream and coffee and I hold on to her for a few seconds before letting go. She’s claiming me—just like she did at the salon. And here in this kitchen, I’m getting a glimpse of what it’s like to be folded into the story of this town.
When she steps back, her face is warm and serious. “Thank you for trusting me with your secrets.”
“Thank you for helping me sort through all of this.”
“I’m always just a few blocks away,” she reminds me. “And I’ve got very little taking up my time, so you’re always welcome.”
I leave Memaw’s feeling lighter. I don’t feel like heading back home and I need to pick up some groceries, so I drive to the Kroger on the edge of town. Maybe keeping busy will keep myheart from spinning romantic fantasies about a man I’m only just getting to know. I grab a cart and start in the produce section, grabbing a bag of cranberries and tossing them into my cart.
“Someone stole four elf statues from the square!” a woman says a few bins down from where I’m grabbing oranges.
“I heard that. Just this morning,” another woman answers her.
Their eyes meet mine. I haven’t met them yet, but they obviously know who I am.
“Had you heard?” the first woman asks me.
“No. I’m on my day off. But I’ll look into it right away.”
“I think it’s those boys who were messing with the nativity the other day,” the second woman says.
“Could be,” the first agrees.
“We don’t want to make assumptions,” I tell them, thinking back to the boys and their reactions to getting caught that night.
They were pretty compliant and contrite. Plus, Jesse had them do some community service that definitely would make them think twice before stepping things up to theft. It’s one thing to throw snowballs at a nativity out of normal teen boredom and restlessness. It’s an entirely different thing to steal from the town square.
“Well, we’ll keep an ear to the ground,” woman number one says. “And we’ll let you know what we hear.”
They’d probably hear of anything long before Jesse and I do. The rumor mill here runs at full speed and with a force that’s both impressive and intimidating.
I get the rest of my groceries and as soon as I’m in the parking lot with my car loaded, I call the station to check in. Jeanie answers the station phone.
“Hey, Jeanie. It’s Alex.”
“Good morning, Alex,” she answers as if she’s almost expecting my call. “Elizabeth said you might be calling.”
“Elizabeth?”
“You ran into her and Nicole at Kroger’s.”
“Ah, yes. We didn’t exchange names.”
“You want to know about the elves?”
“Yes.”
