Page 19 of A Fall to Remember

“Yeah, she’s the best. I mean, I guess I’m biased since she’s my mom, but everyone loves her because she has a way of making you feel good, and feel like everything is going to work out okay, even on your worst day.” Pete’s body language softened as he spoke about Miranda.

“Tell me more about that.” Jim made sure to blur the background so that Pete was in focus.

“I didn’t make the cut for the varsity basketball team my sophomore year. All my friends did. I was the only one on JV. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed out. She heard about it from the coach, because he’s a frequent shopper at the store, so when I got home from school that day, she had transformed the dining room into a March Madness-style bracket with the entire schedule for the season posted. She convinced me that I was in a perfect position to be a quiet leader, that’s how she sees me, and help the JV team win districts and state that year. It was such a long shot. The year before, we only won two games. She flipped the script.” Pete paused to wave to a group of twenty-somethings searching for a break in the sidewalk to squeeze in.

“What happened?” Jim prompted, using one hand to gesture, while keeping the camera on Pete.

“We did. I still can’t believe it, but we won every game that season, and we went on to go to state. We lost the state championship, but hey, we were there. Mom came to every game. She brought snacks, and she, Elise, my aunt, and uncle were our personal booster club. They made posters and matching T-shirts. The irony is that the varsity team got crushed that year. They got blown out so many times. I ended up making varsity the next year, but I never had as much fun as I did that JV year. And not just because we won, but because we were a real team, and I felt like I was part of building something. It was a big life lesson. Mom always says, bloom where you’re planted.”

Jim smiled internally. This was exactly what he was hoping for. Yes, the Brown family was the future of social media. This was the kind of content and authenticity that built trust and created connection.

“We’ve never had a ton of money, and it was a lot of work running the store. It still is,” Pete continued, growing even more comfortable as he spoke about his childhood. “But I never lacked. Mom made sure I had everything I needed, and if it was a struggle, she never let it show.”

“It sounds like you think she’s pretty great,” Jim noted softly. “What about your dad?”

“Never knew him.” Pete’s demeanor changed. He stiffened and steered the conversation back to his mom. “She is great, which is why I’m super protective of her. I don’t want this to turn into making fun of her, you know?”

Now it was Jim’s turn to be taken aback. They’d already been over this. Where was it coming from? Was he doing something to make it seem like he didn’t have Miranda’s best intentions at heart? Was it because of the spark that he already felt and was starting to burn hotter, making his throat clam up and his chest tighten whenever he was near her?

Jim had married his college girlfriend in their mid-twenties and thought they would live happily ever after. But it turned out she had fallen out of love with him and fallen in love with someone else a few years into the marriage. Things ended as well as could be when one partner wants out. Jim didn’t fight it. He let her go and poured his energy into work. Voyager had taken him to nearly every corner of the world. He’d had adventures he never imagined—abseiling the Blue Mountains in Australia, helicopter tours in Hawaii, sailing on a catamaran through the Caribbean islands, and cage diving with sharks in South Africa. He had dated on and off but had never found the one.

In fact, he’d set aside the idea that there was one person for him. That was the stuff of fairy tales and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies. Why thinking about Miranda was making him nostalgic was a question for another time.

“Me too, Pete,” Jim replied, dragging his attention back and putting his phone down. He wanted to make sure Pete really heard him this time. “I’m your mom’s biggest fan, and I’ve been in this business for a long time. I know what works and resonates. In this case, it’s your mom. Everything you’ve just shared. Everything I’ve witnessed so far is what I want to highlight. I’m confident that everyone who watches the videos we put together is going to fall in love with your mom.”

Saying the words made him break Pete’s gaze. He didn’t mean it to sound like that—so forward. It was just a figure of speech, but he did believe it. He was convinced Miranda was going to capture hearts and set the internet on fire.

16

SHELBY

Shelby prepped her content layout for the next thirty minutes. The first series of posts would be a “Get to Know Miranda Brown” theme. She would let Jim handle the introduction. They just needed to cover the basics—photos, a couple of short videos of her in her element at the Green Grocer, and then pictures of downtown. She ran everything through a fall filter and then sent Jim captions and questions for engagement. Engagement drove the algorithms. As soon as the posts were live, she would monitor the comments, making sure to respond quickly to boost views.

But before they could begin posting, they still needed to set up Miranda’s social media accounts. Shelby had never had a client who had zero—as in zero—social media pages. They needed profile pics, a bio, and to link to the original video that Pete had shared on his social. She inhaled the soup and sandwich. They were fantastic. The best thing she’d eaten in days. No competition for the stale bagel and banana she’d grabbed at the hotel.

Jim had floated a number of potential options for Miranda’s brand.

Mom-osphere.

Mama-verse.

Momselor.

Mom-ager, which he claimed was like Voyager, but with mom. No one would get that. If you had to explain the name, it was a pass in her book.

Travel Around with Miranda Brown.

No, no, and nope.

Shelby opted for something simple, clean, just like Miranda Brown.

Three text messages, each from a different collection agency, buzzed on her phone. She ignored them all, feeling slightly sick. How long could this continue?

As if losing the house wasn’t enough, there were piles of other unpaid bills—credit cards, the car payment, her student loans, and her sister’s next tuition and housing payment. She felt like she was drowning, and there was no chance of coming up for air.

It’s like her body could feel it, because without even realizing what she was doing, she gulped in a long, deep breath and finished the soup. Pete was lucky. Miranda seemed like the kind of mom who would make him homemade soup and warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies to cheer him up. Not the kind of mom who would let her oldest daughter bear the burden of finding a way out of crushing family debt.

Her entire body shuddered at the reminder of what was waiting for her in Seattle and why the stakes were so high this weekend.