I have an idea,” Max said, once they were all in the back of his town car together, cruising through the streets of Nashville. Almost every corner was decked out with a lit-up tree, and most of the building exteriors were strung with lights and hung with wreaths. The sidewalks were still bustling with holiday shoppers and seasonal visitors.
Max leaned forward and tapped on the glass divider. “Hey,Debra, can you take us to Party City?” Debra, who had apparently been working for Max’s family for years, was wearing sequined reindeer antlers that shook and sparkled as she nodded her head and said, “Sure thing!”
It was a weekday evening nowhere near Halloween, so the costume store was fairly empty. The cashier did a double take when they walked in and took out her phone to snap a quick photo when she thought they were unaware—but that was about it. No one else was around to witness Saxie at a costume shop.
“What’s your plan here, Max?” Gran asked, puzzled.
“We’re going to go out,” Max explained. “But in disguise. Wigs, glasses, the whole bit. No one will know who we are!”
He picked up a deep brown wig that was styled into thick victory rolls at the nape. When he put it on Gran’s head she hooted with laughter and shooed him away. “But it looks perfect on you,” Max drawled. “Very LaVerne Andrews, just your style.”
“I’m not the one who needs to go incognito,” Gran replied.
“No reason you can’t join in the fun, though.” He grabbed an opera-length string of pearls and handed them to Gran, then turned to Sadie. “What about you? I’m thinking... Chewbacca mask?”
She swatted at him. “Do you really think this is going to work?”
“Why wouldn’t it? Nashville is full of eccentrics. We’ll blend right in.”
He grabbed a cowboy hat with bright red curls attached and stuck it on his head, then added some dark-rimmed nerd glasses. “What do you think?”
Sadie couldn’t help but laugh as he waggled his eyebrows at her in the absurd getup.
In the end, Gran agreed to the wig and the pearls, while Sadie decided on a blunt, black Cleopatra-esque bob paired with thick-rimmed cat’s-eye tortoiseshell glasses. She hardly recognized herself when she looked in the mirror. Meanwhile, Max bought an ash-blond mullet and a pair of blue-tinted John Lennon–style glasses that concealed his deep brown eyes.
“You two truly do look ridiculous,” Gran said with a chuckle as they headed back to the waiting car. “And, I’ll admit—this isfun.”
The disguises worked. At the restaurant, they got a few odd looks as they waited for their table, but no one recognized them. They were left in peace at a table laden with hot chicken dip, crab cakes, chicken and biscuits, crispy Brussels sprouts—and the restaurant’s signature goat cheese board.
Sadie was ravenous but couldn’t help but notice her gran didn’t eat much. She just picked at the food on her plate and asked for hot water with lemon a few times. She also took a pill halfway through the meal and brushed Sadie off when she tried to ask what the pill was for. “I’m in my eighties, not my twenties. I could not possibly eat the way you two are without a little pill for my digestion—but that doesn’t mean I’m not having a ball! Quit your worrying, Sadie.”
Once their leftovers were packaged up and the bill was paid—Sadie had insisted they go Dutch—Max turned to Sadie and Elsie, his eyes lit up with another idea. “Want me to get us a table at the Song Sparrow?”
At the mention of the Song Sparrow, Sadie’s heart skipped a beat. She looked down at the table, then back up at Max. Theyhad met there years before—and Max hadn’t been all that nice to her. But the guy she had been getting to know these past few days—and especially tonight—seemed like a different person. Was it really possible he’d changed? How could she know for sure?
“Watching live music at the Song Sparrow would be a delight—everyone has played there, from Cash to Cline,” Gran said, her expression turning dreamy for a moment. But then she came back down to Earth. “I know my limits, though. I must call it a night. However, Iinsistyou two go on without me, especially when you’re both dressed to kill. I’m a grown woman and can get myself back to Sadie’s place if she gives me the key or code or what have you. I have my cell phone here if I get into any trouble.”
No matter how much they protested, Gran wouldn’t hear of Max and Sadie accompanying her back to the apartment—but she did allow Max to send her back with his driver, while they went on to the Song Sparrow in a taxi.
Soon, the curlicued Song Sparrow sign came into view, even more noticeable than usual because it was strung with bright red Christmas lights and a giant wreath was pegged to the “o.” The taxi drew to a halt and Max paid before Sadie could, then opened the door for her. “I will say one thing,” he drawled. “That gran of yours is right that we can’t let these getups go to waste.” He adjusted his mullet and Sadie laughed. He looked truly absurd. She had laughed more tonight than she had in ages—and felt grateful to Max for that
It was crowded and loud inside the Song Sparrow, even at the out-of-the-way table Max was able to secure for them by talking to the manager. The band on the stage was an upbeatbluegrass trio. While Max went up to the bar, Sadie’s phone lit up. She quickly answered, thinking it might be her gran calling to say she was having trouble getting into her apartment.
“Sadie? Hey, this is Cruz calling. Cruz McNeil.”
As if there could be any other. “Hey, Cruz,” she said with a surprised smile just as Max returned to the table with their drinks. She stood and walked further into the bar so she could hear him better.
“I was just calling to see how you’re doing. How’s your ankle? Sounds like you’re out and about?”
“Max and I are at the Song Sparrow. I’m getting around just fine. It’s nice of you to check in, though.” She felt elated. Maybe Cruz wasn’t entirely focused on Johnny after all and was interested in mentoring her, too.
“Well, that’s good to hear, Sadie. I was feeling awfully guilty, after you had to come to us producers and ask for a wardrobe concept change. And you were absolutely right—high heels are a hazard. I’m just glad to hear one of the top contenders is back on her feet, though.”
One of the top contenders.Sadie’s smile grew a few sizes as she thanked Cruz for checking in and he told her to go have a good time; he’d see her tomorrow.
Back at their table, Max had a sour expression on his face. “Cruz McNeil is calling you personally?” he said, his voice tight. He was jealous, Sadie realized. He wanted that kind of attention from Cruz for himself—but Cruz was one of the rare people in Nashville who didn’t fall all over himself around Max.
“He was checking to see how my ankle was,” she said.
