Page 148 of Fire and Icing

I barely have time to process the framed photo before Mayor Briggs strolls in.

“What can we get for you, Mayor?” Syd asks.

“Nothing. I’m here to talk to Emberleigh.”

I step over next to Syd. “What’s up?”

“Well, we’re celebrating you and Dustin and your win. We’ve decided to host a little ceremony in the town square tomorrow. Nothing fancy. We’ll have a band on the bandstand. You can say a few words. I’ll hand you a key to the city.”

“A key to the city?”

“It doesn’t open anything. I don’t know exactly why we have them. But you’re getting one. It’s an honor.”

“Of course it is,” Syd says. “She’ll be there.”

“Dustin won’t,” I say to no one in particular.

“What’s that?” Mayor Briggs asks.

“Dustin will be Nashville recording a demo, sir,” Syd says.

“Oh, I had heard rumor of that. Good for him. Well, the event’s all arranged. You’ll simply have to accept for the both of you.”

“She’ll be glad to,” Syd says for me.

I nod.

The next day, Dustin texts me early in the morning. It’s a photo of him outside the recording studio. The caption he writes is, “Here goes nothing.”

I send him back a photo of me in the bakery kitchen. I’m holding up a warm donut and I caption it, “The donuts miss you.”

He types back, “I miss them too. Save some for me.”

I type, “I am. Your order will be waiting for you.”

I don’t hear anything else from him all day.

We close the shop mid-afternoon for the ceremony honoring me and Dustin.

The gazebo in town square is flanked with rows of white folding chairs. There’s a band, one typical of Waterford. Up on the gazebo platform, a group of older men are all gathered with their fiddles, a bass, and of course, a washboard. They’re playing bluegrass.

The mayor steps up to the microphone and addresses the small crowd gathered for the occasion. After he says a few words, he calls me up and presents me with a key to the city. I paste on a smile for the cameraman of the local paper, but when I glance to the empty spot beside me, I can’t keep up the facade.

The crowd is dismissed. The bluegrass band continues to play. Kids run here and there on the grassy lawn. The adults grab cups of lemonade and snacks off of folding tables.

I’m about to attempt to make my exit when Vanessa approaches me. Most of us are wearing shorts or sundresses. She looks like Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in her pressed suit and heels.

“Congratulations, Emberleigh,” she says. “You deserve it.”

“Thanks,” I answer her. I force a smile.

“I heard there’s trouble in paradise,” her voice drips with superiority.

“It wouldn’t be paradise if there were trouble, so I doubt you heard correctly.”

I turn and look for Sydney.

Syd’s talking to Cass and Winona. I join them.

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