Page 21 of Someone to Tempt
“Pretty sure Gloria agrees with you.” I think of the former senator’s line about leaving the past in the past.
"I knew it." Sloane points a finger at me. "Youdohave an ulterior motive."
I take her hand and squeeze. “Getting to know Gloria better is a potential bonus outcome.” My voice cracks slightly. “Or an extra layer of humiliation if she has a front-row seat to my failure.” I huff out a laugh, trying not to show how much admitting this affects me. “Every time somebody tells me to relax, or loosen up, or live a little, I think about my mom saying those things as justifications for being a neglectful parent. I think about where Nick would be if she hadn't been."
“He made choices,” Sloane repeats. “Just like you. Look at how great you turned out."
I laugh softly. “You're the only person who thinks that.”
“Not for long,” she assures me. “I love this challenge for you. For both of us.”
Her enthusiasm is the reminder I need that I’m not giving up. If struggling to have fun doing something I love because I hate being bad at anything makes my friend smile, I'll make a fool of myself in front of the whole town. The whole world. Whatever it takes.
"I've got to go," I say when the chime on the clock tower above the town hall marks the top of the hour. "I'm meeting with Marla and George to talk about Fun Fest."
I give Sloane one final hug as we stand. "And I need to stop by the hardware store and pick up a bubble blaster on my way back to the office."
She flashes another wide grin. “Bubbles are hella fun.”
10
IRIS
As the twocommittee members leave my office an hour later, bubble blasters in hand, a sense of accomplishment fills me, chasing away some of my earlier doubts.
Sloane's comment was meant as a joke, but my idea for including bubble artists as part of the festival lineup is a hit.
"It's going to be sofun.” I give Jodi, who is seated at her desk, a pointed look.
"That's what it's all about.” George chuckles as he points the blaster at Jodi and fires a stream of bubbles. "Your uncle would be proud of some of Iris’s new ideas for adding more fun to Fun Fest."
“Who's going to pay for it?” Jodi asks sweetly, "since Iris has allocated so much of the approved budget to the library." She steeples her fingers. "Which is a worthy cause, of course. But if we try to do everything, she's going to put Skylark in terrible financial shape."
George and Marla frown as the bubbles succumb to gravity and silently pop, vanishing along with my fleeting happiness.
“I thought you said the budget was worked out,” George says darkly.
"I said it's getting worked out, and it is.” Look at me matching Jodi’s syrupy sweetness and trying not to notice the bitter aftertaste. “I’m exploring new avenues for funding and sponsorship so we can expand the event and still support the literacy program."
“You suggested selling tickets for Fun Fest.” Jodi tilts her head and shrugs, cloaking the malice hidden in her words.
Marla gasps. "Oh no, this is our gift to the town. We can't charge them. That takes away the fun. This needs to be free fun."
I nod and will away the heat I feel rising to my face. "I understand that."
“There’s always your idea of defunding the fire department," Jodi offers like she’s sharing a weather report.
“The fire department,” George bellows. "What are you thinking, Iris?"
“We’re not defunding the fire department," I assure him and place my blaster on the corner of Jodi’s desk. The urge to use it as an actual weapon is just too strong at the moment. “No essential services they provide will be impacted by this event.”
"Youdidmention it," Jodi insists, her deceptively honeyed tone making my teeth ache.
I sarcastically suggested both options in the midst of racking my brain to come up with ideas of how to make everyone happy. I wasn’t serious, and Jodi damn well knows it. I should have had my guard up after she ambushed me at the start of the week, but she insisted sabotage wasn’t her intention.
And, like a fool, I believed her.
"It's going to be great,” I promise the two committee members. “So fun. The most fun this town has ever seen.”
