Page 28 of Flying

Ava Marie purrs with a mix of faux sweetness and indifference, her entire demeanor reminds me of Meryl Streep in the Devil Wears Prada down to the oversized sunglasses she keeps on indoors. Despite the polite words, she’s bitter and indifferent.

“Sugar, we’re going to need to reserve The Featherweight for an upcoming town meeting.”

“Of course, your standing weekly reservation and the setup are well documented and Delia can add in any supplemental meetings you need upstairs for the committee. She’ll be here tomorrow, I’m sorry you came all this way when Carmine and the boys could have handled the lifting for Bella.” Smiling, I hope to warm her a bit. Bella’s blood red nails are such sharp points I think they could actually stab someone.

I watch Ava Marie’s Cheshire Cat grin, happy on the surface but sinister behind the eyes, hoping they head out. The women share a soft chuckle.

She continues, “This can’t be handled by someone other than the owner due to the nature of the town business. It appears that the proposal party indicates Lily Long is back, and she’ll need to be held accountable, pending a vote on this old business of course. It’s not up to only the council, we’ll need to gather the Town Elders and a few others. We’ll need the whole space and to ensure she isn’t tipped off. She’s not invited. We’re concerned Delia is compromised there.”

Bella’s gum cracks loudly, then she snarls, “Unless I’m mistaken, you wouldn’t want to do something as silly as tip her off when youneed Nonna and the Mayor to sign off on your upcoming renovations.”

Fuck, she’s correct so I pull out the book from under the counter and flip pages. I’m petrified of the rumors that Carmine is in the mob, although if we’re being honest Ava Marie is far scarier than he is.

“With the holidays starting this week, I’m booked solid for weeks out. If you want that much privacy, we’ll probably need to look at next year.” I gesture to prove this is truthful.

“Plus,” I try to build on my case, “Lily was here in September and it’s now December, why are you just tackling the issue? If it was able to wait then, can it wait a little longer? She won’t be home for Christmas if that was the concern.”

She gives a slight hum and the room is silent except for the occasional smacking of Bella’s chewing gum. Filling the discomfort with oversharing is a rookie move. “Listen, I am the best man with her as maid of honor.”

Bella scoffs “dishonor” under her breath, and I feel my lips twitch into a grin since I used the same nickname.

“Anyhow, I have it on good authority she won’t be back until February at the earliest.” I point to February’s penciled-in events. “Susan has put a hold on the weekends near Valentine’s Day for a formal engagement party, but it’s not confirmed. Should we touch base when she locks it in with a deposit? Since there’s no need to rush, I’d rather you get to focus on the holidays with your family.” I pray this stalling tactic will work so I can formulate a way to intervene.

Bella has looked completely indifferent if not bored throughout this fifteen minute ordeal, but she gives a small wink as they turn to leave. Pausing, she calls over her shoulder popping a large bubble, “Don’t go tipping off your girlfriend, you’ll just hurt her more.”

Shit. Shit. Shit!I don’t want to keep another secret from Lily. I want to break down barriers between us, not add new layers. It’s been ten years too many and this addition is moving things in the wrong direction.

Before I can decidewhat to do next, Seth slides onto a barstool and orders a beer. He doesn’t care that we’re technically closed, so I pop the top off my attempt at a Thanksgiving red ale.

“Season for the fall beers is almost up, so help clear this inventory if you’re here.” I slide the beer his way. He takes a long look at the bottle and winces before his sip.

“Actually, not the worst. Pumpkin Spice?”

“Jersey Cranberry Thanksgiving Red Ale,” I correct him. Nodding, Seth continues to drink cautiously.

He slams the book in his hands on the bar. “Dude, what is happening with you lately? Is this still about Lily?”

“Ava Marie made Carmine’s delivery with Bella. So I got to unload the truck myself, and Nonna Ava wanted to discuss Lily with me.” I wince as I sip from the beer I opened for myself. It was such a better concept than execution, the overdo on the nutmeg is why he thought pumpkin and the cranberry is too tart. Thankfully it’s a test batch.

“This is after-Christmas River’s problem. I pushed it back until at least February for now. Today, my biggest issues are clearing out these beers, so thanks.” We clink the glass necks and sip again.

“The other one is that Scout’s talking about moving back here and he wants the apartment upstairs, so I guess I need to.”

“Hell yes you do, Gemma will be so excited. She’s been trying to scrounge up a project during the slow season. Please. She keeps trying to redecorate the store, her place, and mine over and over. I need her out of my hair.” Seth owns the town bookstore, Pages, along with his sisters Pippa and Gemma.

Gemma and her wife Alice worked together on the renovation projects for both businesses, but from there it’s been hard to grow her portfolio with so many people wanting to keep things the same.

“Your sister isn’t that bad, and she did a great job with both our businesses.”

“Okay, but evenAliceis saying she’s tired of the constant changes.” He stresses his sister-in-law’s name using both syllables.

“That bad?” I confirm.

Nodding around his beer, I get the picture from his quiet movements.

Behind The Featherweight sits a cottage against the banks of theDelaware that my parents lived in for a little while before we were three rowdy boys in a 2.5-bedroom place. They needed more space, and for all his talk about financial savvy Dad just let it fall into disrepair instead of renting it out. Over the last few years I’ve made the bigger updates to structure and important things like electricity and plumbing.

“So then did Alice put you up to this or did you volunteer?”

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