Page 96

FOOD. FRIENDS. FAMILY.

Tyler: Dinner tonight with the bears?

Jon: I wish I could, but I promised to help Evie.

Tyler: Bring her.

Jon: I don’t know.

Tyler: Simon’s ex-wife will be there.

Jon: I’ll try to convince her.

Tyler: I’ll see you there. ;)

Jon: You’re insufferable.

Tyler: And yet so damned cute.

“You’re sure I’m not intruding?”

My knuckles hovered in front of the door. “It’s dinner, not an orgy.”

“I was worried dinner meant something else in your world.”

I rolled my eyes. “Would I be wearing a polo to an orgy? What do you take me for? A charlatan? Besides, Lucy’s going to be here.”

“Oh, good. Not a complete sausage fest.”

“These sausages aren’t for you.” I knocked. I gave her the side-eye. She had opted for a fancy dress for this meal. I had to admit, the Olsen siblings cleaned up pretty well. “Wait. Didn’t you have a crush on a gay guy in college?”

“We’re not talking about that.”

“Dylan?” Who she thought just had an affinity for rainbows. “You talked about him non-stop. Whatever happened to him?”

“He’s a big-shot lawyer now.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Not that I’m keeping tabs on him.”

The door opened while I snickered. “You made it! Jon and Evelyn are here,” Simon boomed. He gave me a hug and then turned to Evie. She held out her hand, but he kept his arms hanging in the air. She leaned in while he gave her a quick squeeze.

“I’m in the kitchen trying to show Chris how to cook. Bobby’s in the living room with Lucy and Tyler. I think Jason… Where’d Jason go?”

“He’s putting Lucas to bed.” Lucy squeezed past Simon before he ran back to the kitchen. Lucy showed us in. “Have a seat. We’ve got snacks. You know Simon, he makes enough food for an army.”

“Cause you all eat like starved troops,” he said from the kitchen.

When I informed Evie about Lucy being there, she had questions.

I explained about her living with her ex-husband and his boyfriend between stints abroad, and she just nodded.

When she added, “Sounds like something I’d expect from Firefly,” it made me smile.

It made sense. Everybody here found a way to get along.

She even commented it made sense to have three people raising Lucas.

I appreciated her pragmatic open-mindedness.

“Finally, another woman.” Lucy led us into the living room before taking a seat on the floor, stealing crackers off the charcuterie. “I love the boys. But I’m feeling like Goldilocks.”

“I was thinking you’re one dwarf shy of being Snow White,” Evie said without missing a beat.

Lucy howled. “Sorry, Tyler, she’s my new favorite.”

Bobby sat in a recliner, a plate of finger sandwiches resting on his belly. I walked over and leaned in for a hug when he slid the plate out of the way. He gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m glad you made it.”

“I wasn’t really given a choice in the matter.”

“That checks out.” He nodded, offering me a small sandwich. “They’re delicious.” I snatched one, popping it in my mouth. My eyes went wide. There was egg salad, and then… I swallowed, spoiled for eternity.

“Lucy,” Tyler said, stealing the cracker out of her hand before sitting next to me on the couch. “Evelyn’s been working at a hotel in Salem.”

When I caught a whiff of Tyler’s cologne, a blend of firewood and citrus, I imagined leaning in to give it a smell before kissing him.

We had a date, a successful date, but I didn’t want to make it weird.

Not sure of social protocols, I gave his hand a light squeeze.

“Lucy, didn’t you live in Boston?” I appreciated his determination to bring Evie into the fold.

“I did my residency there. What hotel?”

Evie let out a long sigh. “Hex and Hearth, it’s a?—”

“Across the street from the House of the Seven Gables? I’ve been by there a thousand times.” Lucy shook her head. “I should have stayed. The hotel I always book has the tiniest rooms.”

“You’re glad you didn’t. That place… how it’s still standing is beyond me. They call me the manager, but the staff refer to me as Duct Tape Olsen. I’m the only one who holds it together.”

“Firefly isn’t much different from Salem,” Bobby said. “They have Halloween. We have Leaf Peeper season. Both bring thousands of tourists who don’t know how to drive.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You know what they call us, Evie?”

“Flatlanders.” The word echoed from everywhere in the house.

“When are you guys going to stop calling me a flatlander?” Chris asked from the kitchen.

Tyler held his hands up in surrender. “You’ll have to go before the?—”

Chris frowned. “I’m not drinking Moxie!”

“Flatlander,” everybody said in unison.

Bobby chimed in. “Tyler mentioned you’re thinking about joining the carnival committee?”

“Yeah, I spoke with Gladys. There’s a meeting tomorrow. She squealed a bunch. So I think they’re excited? Be honest. Did I make a huge mistake?”

“Nah.” He waved his hand. “You’ll love Walter and Harvey.” Could it be the same Harvey from the cemetery? “They’re a riot. Most of the work is put on by the summer baseball league and their parents. The planning committee just makes sure all the attractions show up.”

“So it’s an honorary title?”

Bobby shook his head. “Don’t say that to them. They’ll have you believe that without their efforts, the entire event would fall apart.”

Small-town politics, big-city drama. It’d give me a reason to get out of the house.

Evie might complain about me not helping lug boxes, but I think having time alone in Mimi’s house gave her a chance to process her emotions.

Unlike before, I always checked in when I walked in the door.

Since she arrived, we both put in effort to rekindle our relationship.

“Unless you want me to stay and help?—”

Evie threw her hands up. “No. I get more accomplished when you’re not there pining over every photo. Consider this your penance.”

“You just want to be alone with the pie.”

Her eyebrows waggled up and down. “That sweet, sweet pie.”

“Speaking of.” Bobby turned his empty plate upside down. “Chris, are you done destroying dinner?”

Bobby’s boyfriend stepped into the living room, his apron covered in food. He pointed to the light brown stain. “Dinner’s served. We’ll be having pot roast.” Then, to the orange streak. “Carrot stuff. Somewhere there are potatoes, but like, fancy potatoes.”

“Cheesy potatoes aren’t fancy,” Simon said.

Everybody’s head shot up. Bobby led the charge to the dining room, nearly tripping as he climbed over Lucy. “Hurry up. They have fancy potatoes!”

Jason came charging down the stairs. “Hi, Jon. Hi, Evie.” He barely gave us a second glance as he chased after Bobby. “I heard right. Fancy potatoes!”

“This is so Maine,” Evie said, getting up and walking with Lucy. “What’s next?”

“Hush,” Lucy said. “Or they’ll break out the deer jerky.”

Yup. Definitely Maine.

“Is everybody ready for the photoshoot?” Chris couldn’t help but smile. I had already heard about his strip tease during a spaghetti dinner. Getting naked for an audience doesn’t seem to faze him. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was using it as an excuse to take off his clothes.

“I need to shave,” Jason said.

“We don’t need that image,” Lucy chimed in.

“I meant my face! I’m not getting in front of a camera until I’ve trimmed, moisturized, oiled, and waxed.”

“You’re serious?” Evie asked. “You’re all going to whip it out for the camera?”

Everybody stared at their empty plates, afraid to answer Evie’s question. It was Lucy who, after her third glass of wine, lacked any inhibition. “They’re avoiding eye contact cause I bet every one of them has done this before.”

Evie looked around the table until her nose scrunched up at me. “Ew.” Alright, I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t want to think of her naked, either.

Jason picked his phone up off the table. “I’m sure if I look on my phone?—”

“Don’t you dare!” Simon said.

The table burst out in laughter. Lucy might have dirt on Simon, but she wasn’t the only one who had a sexy photo of him on their phone. Jason glared at me as if he had read my mind. Okay, don’t tell his boyfriend that Jason shared photos of him in a leather harness and chaps. Note made.

“I think it’s going to be fun.” Bobby shoveled another helping of cheesy potatoes on his plate. “I mean, it’s just a handful of guys being dorks.”

“Showing off your dorks,” Evie said.

“When has that ever stopped us?” he said. “Besides, you’ve already seen me naked.”

All heads turned toward Evie. Her face turned three shades of red. She wasn’t getting out of there until she explained. I’m pretty sure Jason and Chris would block her exit while Simon and Tyler held her down. She had a secret, and we needed the dirt.

“He was thirteen.” She spoke as if that would suffice. It did not. “He was helping Abraham plant in the garden and he went to wash off. Apparently, somebody doesn’t care if the neighbors’ windows look over their backyard.”

“I wasn’t the one taking in all the sexy,” Bobby mumbled while filling his mouth with more potatoes. “Can’t blame you.”

The table erupted in laughter. I hadn’t laughed this much since…

I couldn’t remember. I loved Jason like a brother and now, by extension, Simon.

Growing up with Bobby next door, I couldn’t help but love him and Chris.

As I moved from face to face, I realized these people were the friends I always needed.

When I got to Tyler, I caught him snorting as usual. We locked eyes.

I didn’t know what was going on with him.

My thoughts of him jumbled as I tried to separate the romantic fondness of our first kiss and what that meant when compared to our situation now.

Were the feelings in the pit of my stomach from a memory, or were they rumblings about the future?

It got complicated, and they always ended with us sharing a kiss goodbye.

I didn’t want to deal with complicated worries about the future. Living in the moment mattered.

I smiled at the adorable librarian.