Page 4 of Wish You Were Her

People were heading toward the woods, in the direction of the actual lake that the town was named after (Allegra had seen it briefly on their way into town: a large, emerald body of water that the mid-thirty-degree heat called for) and as Allegra watched them in their swimwear, carrying their coolers and deck chairs, she felt suddenly at ease.

Already it was everything she had imagined.

“This is exactly what I need,” she said quietly.

An elderly couple on the other side of the street looked over at them. “Roxy!” the woman called. “You’re back. Good to see you.”

Allegra stifled a laugh as her mother grimaced but offered a polite wave back. “Good to see you, Ginger. Doug.”

“How’s the city job?”

“Good. Fine.”

“I didn’t like that crime author you published. Too gruesome.”

The woman was yelling from the other side of the street, with no self-consciousness.

Allegra watched as her mother turned back into a teenager. “Sorry to hear that, Ginger.”

The couple moved on, either indifferent or oblivious to Allegra.

“Oh my God, Ma.”

“Don’t say a word,” muttered her mother. “You’ll be dragged into this small-town nonsense soon enough.”

Allegra, laughing, moved to the trunk of the car and retrieved her old suitcase. Across the town square, connected to Main Street, was Brooks Books. It was one of the larger shops in town, and she knew her father’s two-bedroom flat was located just above it.

“Well, that’s you for the next four months,” Roxanne said gamely. “Within walking distance of books, beach and cupcakes.”

Allegra closed the trunk and beamed at her mother. “Perfection.”

Jonah felt as though he had been on the phone to this customer for as long as he had been alive.

“It’s kind of an annual tradition,” he said into the phone, and it was the fifth time he had uttered this sentence. “People rent out their spare rooms, the one tiny inn fills up, and everyone else comes in on these shuttle buses. The whole town’s population triples over the summer. It’s… nice.”

He did not exactly care for the sudden influx of people himself, but it was wonderful for business. It set them up until Christmas and so it was his duty to promote it.

“But I’ve called the inn for a booking and they wouldn’t give me one!” barked the man on the other end of the line.

“Yes,” Jonah said, shocked at his own patience. “Most people book really far in advance. We open soon. Most readers have booked accommodation already.”

“Then where the hell am I supposed to stay? You haven’t even announced the program yet!”

“I know, sir,” Jonah said, pinching the bridge of his nose and exhaling slowly. “Our festival-goers are very committed. But as I say, shuttle buses from the city run twice every hour. There are loads of hotels in the city.”

“I don’t want to be stuck on a bus with idiots!”

Jonah almost put the phone down, his wrist straining as he forced himself to stay on the line.

“Okay. But as I say, if the inn is booked up, you may have to rent a room in town from one of the locals, or shuttle in from the city. Our program will be announced in two weeks. Thank you for your interest in the Lake Pristine Book Festival.”

He slammed down the receiver and let his elbows drop onto the cash desk. “Simon?”

“Yup?”

“Can I take my break?

“No way. People are heading this way.”

“You didn’t hear this guy on the phone. My blood pressure is skyrocketing.”

Simon threw him a look of sympathy. “Give me the phone next time. You always say the wrong things to people, Jonah.”

Simon was in the window, finishing the display.

He was making a rainbow out of books, coordinating by color.

His blonde hair was starting to moisten and he was wearing dark glasses to combat the heat.

People waved at him and smiled in appreciation as they passed by outside and he would throw them a salute in greeting.

Jonah swallowed and glanced down at his hands.

He loved Simon but he envied him, too. He made everything look so easy.

“Fine, but you man the desk. I’m dusting those top shelves.”

Jonah was atop his ladder and removing books from the top shelf when the shop door tinkled and opened.

“Don’t let the air conditioning out,” Simon quipped, throwing the visitor a winning smile.

Jonah glanced down at the customer, a well-dressed woman in her forties with a sunny smile. She wore a maxi dress and a sun hat, with sandals and a large tote bag. She was obviously a book lover. Simon would have no trouble with her.

Jonah returned to dusting.

“Sorry to be crouched in the window like a ghoul,” Simon said to the customer, getting to his feet. “Can I help you?”

“Hello,” she said in an airy, cheerful voice. “Is George about?”

“He’s just stepped out to see if he can buy another fan. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No, I’ll wait, it’s fine.”

The door tinkled once more and someone else entered the shop. From his vantage point, Jonah could only make out the top of her head. She was young, tall and wore a baseball cap, sunglasses and a fabric mask.

“You doing okay up there?” the older woman asked, calling to Jonah with a pleasing smile.

“Oh, fine,” he called down. “Just dolling the place up a bit.”

“It’s almost festival time,” Simon added, returning to his window. “And we have a celebrity on their way to town, so we can’t have a mucky shop.”

Jonah continued to clear the shelf. He kept his back to the customers. Simon was always good at keeping people busy so that Jonah could do the cleaning and the organizing.

“What kind of celebrity?” the older woman asked Simon.

“A famous actress. It’s the talk of the town.”

“Surely there are better things to talk about.”

“Well, that’s exactly what I think,” Jonah said matter-of-factly, wiping clean the now empty top shelf with ferocious speed. “She’s probably going to take one look at this place and bail.”

“You think?” asked the younger woman, taking off the cloth mask covering the lower half of her face.

“Yes, I mean, this place makes the town in Footloose look like Sodom and Gomorrah,” Jonah went on, still focused on the bookshelf.

“Oh, really?”

He threw her a cursory look. She was taking off her shiny, purple baseball cap and had started to unpin her hair.

“She’s probably stuck-up too, that’s how she looks in her pictures. Spoiled and snooty,” Jonah said, more to himself than to the customer. “Hollywood type. She’ll hate it here.”

“I can’t imagine why, you’re all so welcoming.”

Something in her tone made Jonah glance down and his expression went from curious to horrified. The young woman fluffed out her long, wavy hair and removed her oversized sunglasses to look up at him with amused sea-green eyes.

“Oh, God,” Jonah croaked.

“Nice to meet you,” the beautiful young woman said. “I’m Allegra. Do you need help up there? I think the dust may have affected your manners.”