“I know what Myra can do. I want you to tell Ryder he should participate.”
“Ryder?”
“Yes.”
“Ryder Bailey?”
“Yes.”
“You want Ryder to get up on stage and be a Show Off?”
“Is there something wrong with your hearing?”
“No, it’s just….What do you think Ryder’s going to do?”
“I’ve seen his art. I believe he took piano lessons when he was young.”
“Oh, gods.” I had forgotten that. “You want him to play piano?”
“I want him to be the last person on stage before the judging. What he decides to do doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure he’ll come up with something wonderful. Encourage him to accept my invitation.”
It should have sounded like she wanted me to just give him a friendly nudge.
But I knew this was a threat.
“I don’t know, Bertie. He’s been really busy too.”
“Planning the wedding, yes, I know. The community center is open third Thursday next month, two Fridays the month after, possibly half a Sunday. All the other dates after that are booking up fast.”
“Uh...”
“You have chosen a date, haven’t you? And a venue?”
“Um...”
“I can’t keep the calendar open indefinitely, Delaney. If Ordinary is to remain the queen’s jewel of small-town festival destinations in Oregon, then every date has to be leveraged for optimal impact.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“See that you do. Now, I have an appointment I can’t miss.”
“Wait, before you go. Did you hear about the car falling out of the sky?”
“I saw it when I was coming back from my second walk of the morning.”
“Overachiever.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you know anything about the car? Did you see anything odd?”
“Other than the sky broke open, caught on fire, and time stopped?”
So sassy.
“Other than that, yes.”
“No.”
