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“I should have you drive us both to the beach tomorrow,” said the older woman, a redhead with short hair. With her sandals and a sunhat worn even inside, she looked about ready to head to the beachnow.
“I want to practice the route to Tildy World first,” said the other woman—and at those familiar two words, Nolan snapped to attention just as she happened to look around and catch his gaze. It was Lilac, the pretty new assistant manager at theresort.
“Oh, it’s you! Hi!” Lilac positively beamed and Nolan looked over his shoulder for the person she must haverecognized.
Laughing, Lilac grazed her fingers against his upper arm to get his attention. “You! Nolan,right?”
Nolan stared blankly for a second.How did she remember me? We only met the one time out of costume.“Yeah,” he croaked out eventually. “Hi. Lilac.” He nodded as if confirming her own name toher.
Stupid,stupid…
Cocking her head, Lilac chuckled. “You almost made me think I’d just acted like an idiot with a complete stranger,” she said. “But I guess it’s hard to forget a face after you nearly slam into it.” She pointed to the woman beside her. “This is my aunt,Frankie.”
“Hi,” said Nolan, taking hold of both of his backpack straps. Then he thought better and extended his hand toward the woman—she didn’t really look old enough to be this beautiful young woman’s aunt, but she had a funky “eccentric aunt” vibe about her regardless. “NolanGregosky.”
“He works at Tildy World, too,” said Lilac. She chewed her bottom lip and Nolan had to drop her aunt’s hand like a hot potato to stare down at his feet. It seemed necessary to stifle the unexpected raging fire that shot up from his groin at the sight of Lilac looking contemplative. “You’re Silly Sandgrouse, right? I never did ask for sure. Well, I don’t think I saw you again after that disaster in thehallway—”
“Disaster in the hallway?” asked Frankie. “Intriguing. The mysteries of the corporate world, I tellyou…”
Nolan snapped his eyes back up to find Lilac’s aunt sizing him up and down, almost like she knew what was going on in his mind right then and there and she found it amusing. Or even… attractive. She was plenty attractive herself and could make a good cougar—he had always been drawn to women just a bit older than himself, but just abitolder than himself. He hated to imagine what people would think if he started dating someone the age his mom would have been. Like he had mother issues buried deep down insidehim.
He shuddered. No, he liked sophisticated and slightly more world-wearyyoungwomen like… Like the gorgeous blonde in front of him. Just standing there, doing nothing in particular, she left his high school girlfriends in thedust.
Lilac’s face seemed puzzled. “Sorry, is that some secret the Tildy Scouts are sworn not to tell? Oh my god, I just realized I might have been asking you to break a cardinal Tildy Worldrule.”
Nolan laughed as he snapped back to the present. “No, sorry, I just… I didn’t get much sleep.” He yawned and stretched, as if to prove his point. Really, he was trying to still his rapidly-beating heart. “I’m usually Tent Tildy Silly, yeah. At least during the day Sundays through Thursdays.” He scratched the back of his neck as they all moved forward a couple of steps and a few more people got in line behind him. This was him trying to remain casual, trying to remind his treacherous organ that he had no time for dating and little chance with a girl as hot as her. Maybe pre-accident Nolan would have been up to the challenge. Pre-accident Nolan had had game, if he did say sohimself.
“I thought my kid brother and sister already spilled the beans on that one anyway,” he said, shrugging. “You’re not supposed to talk while in character, you’re not supposed to go on social media telling the world there are actually people inside of those fluffy mascot suits, as if no one on Earth could have figured that out for themselves, but no, there are no Queen Animaliao’s guards who sweep in at malls miles from the park to arrest me for leaking that info. Although if anyone asks, my official position is that I’m Silly Sandgrouse’s ‘friend.’” He winked, rubbing both hands up and down his backpackstraps.
The aunt laughed and nudged Lilac, who’d gone scarlet and stared down at her feet, clutching her hands in front of her. “Lilac believed they were real long after she got the memo about Santa Claus beingfictitious.”
Nolan guffawed, loud enough that the people in front of Lilac and Frankie turned to look athim.
When Lilac’s face darkened even more, he realized Frankie hadn’t beenkidding.
“I-I knew,” said Lilac, suddenly more childlike than he ever imagined her being. Even on her day off in casual clothes, she looked like a curvy fashion model made flesh. “I just… loved Tildy and I didn’t want to believe thetruth.”
Nolan laughed, more gently this time. “Who can blame youthere?”
That brought Lilac’s head up from studying the decorative pattern on the linoleum tiles on the floor. She smiled and Nolan actually stumbled a little, leading him to turn around to apologize to the guy he’d banged with hisbackpack.
“Thank you,” said Lilac quietly. “Most people tease me endlessly for that.” She glowered at Frankie, wholaughed.
Nolan suddenly wanted to be different than everyone else. He made a note to never tease her about Tildy. “Is that why you got a job at the resort?” asked Nolan, trying so hard to keep things casual. Even the presence of her aunt and the endless crowd around him wasn’t doing much to quell his aching heart.No, he told himself.Bad heart. Stopit.
Lilac beamed. “Yup.” She exchanged a knowing look with Frankie, who shook her head and then turned around as the barista called her up. Lilac studied Nolan then, staring him up and down. He could feel himself shrink under her eyes, but she wasn’t looking at him hungrily, he was sure of it. More like… deciding what to make ofhim.
“Li,” said her aunt over her shoulder, and she rushed over to add herorder.
Nolan ordered after them and felt like an utter idiot when it came time to pay. Ever the smooth operator, he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and coins went everywhere, some rolling under the lip of the counter, others scattering to a stop at people’s feet. Both Lilac and Frankie joined in the crowd of people who helped him gather it all, and he thanked them as his heart beat wildly and he rushed to pay the barista to put the whole stupid stunt behindhim.
He shuffled over to the pick-up counter beside Lilac and Frankie and clutched his backpack straps tightly, willing the eyes around him to stop staring at him. Eventually, they did—exceptLilac’s.
Nolan cleared his throat. “So, tourist ornative?”
“Huh?” askedLilac.
He exchanged a nod with Frankie then, like she got it.Native?he wondered about the aunt. “You loved Tildy World as a kid, right? Were you a tourist or did you grow up aroundhere?”
