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We were left alone, and I continued chowing down until I finished my sandwich.

As quickly as the brainstorming session started, it ended.

I almost laughed at the absurdity. The residents of Firefly would make their voices heard, whether or not Evie wanted it.

This is how they showed love, and all eyes were firmly on her.

Meanwhile, I still needed to figure out a solution for the carnival.

If they were going to help Evie, I wanted to return the favor.

Before we left, I paused at Dorothy’s station, reaching into my bag and pulling out a page from the sketchbook.

I admired the image of Simon in his apron at home, focused on the pots and pans on his stove.

I flipped it upside down, setting it on the podium before heading out.

It was the least I could do for his support.

Now, to find solutions to my dilemma.

Simon: It’s beautiful.

Bobby: I’m getting jealous.

Jason: You? I’ve known him thirty years!

Simon: Have you thought of showing off your art?

Chris: They’re popping up all over town.

Jason: I need me some radical loving.

Simon: Oh… you’ll get plenty tonight.

Bobby:…

Chris:…

Jason:…

Simon: Shut up. You were all thinking it!

Silence.

Silence meant bad. I don’t think in all the years I knew them, they didn't have something to say. Why, of all nights, did Amanda and Jason stare at me as if I had grown another head? Amanda, with her head in Jason’s lap, stared at the ceiling, raising a hand as if she had an idea.

Her hand dropped as she shook her head.

“You don’t have any ideas? You’re killing me.”

I paced back and forth in the living room, the same one where we came up with the idea for the calendar. Raising money to save a library, no problem. Finding manpower to run the carnival only a week away? That was the situation we couldn’t solve?

“It can’t be town people,” Jason said. “What if we got people to work in shifts? I bet they’d be willing to pitch in if that’s what it took to make it happen.”

Amanda shook her head. “I don’t think we have enough people.” She scoffed. “Or the organizational skills. I could call Tessa? I bet she has some carnies in her contacts.”

Jason gave a half-laugh. “You burned your favor with the calendar.”

“I’ll need to blackmail some new favors,” she said.

I stopped to look at the shelves. Evie had gone through the books we pulled from the shelves and started curating the ones she put back.

It was the first of many steps to turn Mimi’s house into a bed-and-breakfast. There’d be months of construction in her future, but seeing the book hiding Mimi’s flask made me smile.

“What if I call Merryville? They must have a community service?—”

“I wouldn’t,” Jason said.

Amanda shook her head. “A bunch of us showed up at their Flannel Festival dressed as deer and terrorized their residents.”

I stopped, blinking in disbelief. “You what?”

They both chuckled. Jason gave a slight shrug. “They started it when they showed up at the carnival in sad clown outfits. I’m pretty sure it’s the saddest rivalry in the world. I don’t think they’d help.”

The grandfather clocked chimed eight. I waited for it to finish before I pointed at the end of the couch. Amanda lifted her legs, and I plopped down. She draped her legs across my lap. The three musketeers could save a building, but we could solve the one thing Firefly lacked: manpower.

“I think I know the answer,” Jason said, “but why does this matter so much to you? It’s just a carnival.”

In my complicated rekindling with Tyler, I had never shared our origin story. I couldn’t help but smile. Without fail, whenever I thought of that first kiss, I couldn’t help seeing our adult selves reliving the moment.

“I know that look,” Amanda said.

“Definitely about a boy,” Jason added.

“Do you guys remember the last summer I visited?”

“You mean the summer you ditched us half the time?” Amanda shot me a dirty look. “I still write about it in my journal.” I didn’t doubt her words. Amanda knew how to hold a grudge.

“I met a boy.”

“Knew it,” Jason said.

“Jason, I always envied how easily you came out of the closet.” As I confessed, Amanda reached for my hand, gripping it tightly. “I knew for years, but I wasn’t ready to tell anybody. That last summer, I was sitting at a picnic table reading Great Expectations , and a boy sat down at the table.”

When I closed my eyes, I could see a younger version of Tyler over the top of my book.

I thought my interest in him came from wanting to procrastinate reading that darned book.

In all my time in Firefly, I don’t think I had ever seen him.

My curiosity piqued as to why he had taken a seat across from me.

“I had no idea what was happening. Part of me wanted to get to know him?—”

“But the other half worried he knew your secret.”

Jason’s expression had softened. Everybody on this couch had walked through this process in their own way. They were my friends by choice, but we shared a bond that went even deeper than blood. I didn’t have to explain the excitement clashing with fear. They had lived it.

I nodded. “He’d hunt me down whenever I was in the town center. We’d walk around town talking about school. The first time we went to the quarry, I swore he made excuses to touch me.”

“Wait…” Amanda’s head shot up. “Was it… no…”

“Tyler kissed me at the carnival.”

Her hand threatened to break my knuckles. She gasped, fanning herself with her free hand. Amanda might appear a hard-ass at times, but she was the first person to sit down and watch the Romance Channel with me. At her core, she loved love almost as much as me.

“I was sitting at the same table where we first met. It was my last night in Firefly. I got brave.” My eyes were watering. “I put my hand on his knee and left it there.” That’s when it happened. I could almost feel his lips as he slobbered all over me. “It was the worst kiss ever.”

“That makes it even cuter,” she said.

“I never said anything because?—”

“You don’t have to explain,” Jason said. “I kissed Tony.”

All eyes turned to Jason. He couldn’t possibly mean the Tony from the calendar? The married man with the adorable kid? I thought Jason had been brave coming out of the closet, but that? I guess we all had little moments we kept secret.

“He politely said he was straight.” Jason cracked a smile. The memory held a spot in his heart. “Then he hugged me.”

“You two are sickeningly cute.”

“Just because we’re not on the prowl?” Jason said.

“Amanda? She’s not on the prowl anymore.”

“What?” Jason gasped. “Say it ain’t so.”

“You can stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

“I witnessed it myself. Our little Amanda is smitten.”

Amanda pointed at me, her lip curled in a snarl. She might think of herself as this cat ready to pounce, but based on what I saw at the photo shoot, she had a secret. If she wasn’t going to share during our revelation, I’d gladly fill in the blanks.

“She might think she’s being coy, hitting on Tessa.” My eyes narrowed at her. “But I caught the casual touching. That wasn’t a move to add her to a list of conquests.”

“I hate you both.”

Jason put a hand over her mouth. “Which one of us will be the best man?”

I laughed. “Forget best man. Which one of us will be the ring bear?”

Her arms crossed over her chest as she pouted. If I wasn’t sure before, her determination to keep it a secret told us everything. They were the first to say that there were no secrets in Firefly. If I were being mean, I’d grab my cell phone and alert the masses.

“So.” Jason turned to me. “The carnival?”

“The carnival,” I repeated. We were no closer to a solution.

If we couldn’t tap into the community aspect of Firefly, I wasn’t sure how this was going to work.

Yes, I wanted it to happen to relive a big moment with Tyler, but I’m sure there were others who experienced a first kiss under those fireworks.

Families brought their kids, and memories were made.

I could pretend I wanted to make it happen for selfish reasons, but I wanted to pay back Firefly for all it had done for my family.

“I can still call Tessa,” Amanda said.

“Give me the night. I don’t want to abuse your relationship.”

“What happens between us is anything but abuse.”

Jason snickered as I shot her a dirty look. She shrugged before spinning her legs around and sitting upright. I appreciated the offer. Them , I appreciated them and all they did to support me. The people under this roof were my family.

“Anybody up for a drink at Spectrum?”

Jason shook his head. “Simon’s expecting me. I’m on dad detail tonight while he takes Lucy to the airport.”

“Amanda?”

“Sorry, I have some lingerie and a video call scheduled for tonight.”

I couldn’t blame her.

“I’ll keep brainstorming,” Jason said as he got up. “If anything comes up, I’ll text you.”

Amanda gave me a hug, and a moment later, they were out the door. I let out a long sigh. Being the hero of my own story wasn’t going according to plan. I need to get out of my head, out of this house, and see the problem from a different perspective. A cocktail or two wouldn’t hurt either.

Jon: Evie, gone out. Will be back tonight.