Page 81 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

“We had a great response to our original article. People really responded to you. They’ve loved getting to know you and Dusty,” Maria said to me. “They loved the stories about the mayor, and they wanted to learn more. It gave me the idea to track down old pictures of you two.”

“Slow news day?” I asked jokingly.

Leo picked up a picture of him squatting and giving two thumbs up in front of the college cafeteria. “What was I doing?”

“You were excited we found the good cafeteria on campus, the one—”

“With the stir-fry station! That was, to this day, the best stir-fry I’ve ever had.” He cleared his throat. “Not including Mr. Chan’s on Maple Street. Their food is in a league of their own.”

“Nice save,” I whispered to him.

“Where did you find these?” Leo stared at his younger self, who had fuller cheeks and shaggier hair but the same wicked grin. How had I never realized how cute he was back then?

“Your friends Mitch and Cal supplied some. And some that weren’t suitable for publication.”

“Of course, they did,” he muttered.

I’d love to see those.

“And then I reached out to people who graduated from college around the same time, found a few who were friends with you. Guys from debate club, from your fraternity.”

“Uh-oh. I’m surprised they gave youanythat were suitable for publication.”

“As you can see, they did.” She waved a hand over the table, proud of her diligent research. I had to tip my hat to her.

“This is impressive shoe-leather work.” I picked up a picture someone took of Leo and me lying out by the water, shirtless and hairless. “Was this the spring you decided to shave your chest?”

Leo looked at Maria, then me. “No comment. I was trying out for the swim team.”

“Right. The swim team.” That was also the summer he declared he was trimming his pubes to make certain things look bigger. I could say with certainty he did not keep that habit up—and those things were still big.

“Is it okay if I record some reactions?” Maria took out her phone. “For quotes and video content for our social media channels.”

“The Sourwood Gazetteis getting on TikTok?” Leo asked.

“Trying to stay relevant. My son set up my account last week.”

“I’ve tried enlisting my kids to help me with my social media stuff. They’re too busy with their own. Did you know Lucy is making a movie, and Ari created his own video game?” Leo seemed blown away and in awe, his pride as a dad shining through. “I wish I was half as creative as them.”

Inspired by Ari’s breakthrough with Leo about his love of designing video games, Lucy also came forward with a confession of her own last night: she didn’t want to be a brainiac doctor. Instead, she wanted to make movies. It was a secret hobby she’d been tinkering around with in between her regular studies—filming short movies on her phone with friends, writing scripts. To everyone’s surprise, including my own, Leo was supportive of his daughter’s dream to be the next Sofia Coppola, but still stressed that she had to keep her grades up.

Maria turned on her phone. The white light let us know we were live.

“It’s amazing,” she said.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m surprised you two didn’t get together in the past. You were always making googly eyes at each other.”

Leo and I traded a confused look. I was confused, while his face turned white.

“Huh? We were friends,” I said. I picked up a picture of young Leo playing his heart out at a concert in one of the dorm common rooms, sweat dipping from his hair and flushing his youthful face. The room was too small. They were fogging up the windows, so we had to open them in the dead of winter. I probably got a cold, but it was worth it. Leo was electrifying.

“You’re doing it now.” She smiled and squeezed her shoulders up to her ears.

“Huh?”

“Googly eyes.”

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