Page 65 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Logan had already broken up one almost fist fight between two moms decked out in athleisure, each claiming their little zombie was the most terrifying. The pocket on his flannel hung limply from his chest from where one woman had clawed at him as he removed her from the stage. That little incident was followed by a debate over which version of Batman was the ‘real one’ and then a riot had nearly broken out when Nancy and Jacob took to the stage dressed as their favorite romance-novel cover. Their costumes were deemed ‘too sexy’ for a family event, which led to a rather keyed-up chant about First Amendment rights and a speech from Nancy about raising well-informed, sex-positive kids.
It had been quite the day.
But they’d made it to the end. On the makeshift stage in front of them stood the finalists. A toddler-sized bumblebee who looked to be about five seconds away from wetting their custom; a very convincing Wednesday Addams, made all the more impressive by the fact that Andy was actually a forty-five-year-old Black man; and Jeanie’s personal favorite, Mindy Walsh, deputy mayor, dressed as a perfect Mayor Kelly, right down to the hideous tie and a dream bubble made of posterboard hovering above her head.
A gaggle of witches, Star Wars characters, a baby pumpkin or two, some adorably dressed-up dogs, and the full cast ofThe Wizard of Ozstood off to the side in the grass, having not made the cut. Jeanie could feel the vengeful looks being sent her way by several sore losers. At this point in the day, she was actually worried about what they might be plotting.
Tammy sat on her other side, acting as the third judge. Apparently, she did this every year and took her job very seriously.
‘A bee won three years ago,’ she whispered now, leaning in toward her fellow judges.
Logan blew out a long sigh on her other side.
‘Does that matter?’ Jeanie asked.
‘It sure does, honey!’ Tammy sounded utterly shocked at her ignorance. ‘People wouldn’t like it if the winner was always a bee.’ Tammy was a transplant, born and raised in Louisiana. It was evident in everything she said.
‘Uh ... right. Of course.’
Tammy scanned the stage again, like maybe she’d pick up on some detail that would make the winner suddenly obvious.
‘Well, I think Andy put in a lot of effort,’ Jeanie said.
Tammy scoffed. ‘It’s not about effort. It’s about the best costume. Objectively speaking.’
Objectively speaking. Sure.
Jeanie could have sworn Logan groaned beside her. He seemed to be slumping further and further down in his chair like the thing was swallowing him alive.
‘So, the winner should obviously be’ Jeanie hesitated, hoping Tammy would fill in the answer for her. And Tammy was more than willing to oblige.
‘Mindy as Mayor Kelly. Gotta be.’
Jeanie grinned. ‘Yes. Gotta be. Agreed.’
‘Logan, do you want to weigh in here?’ Tammy leaned forward to see past Jeanie.
He shook his head so hard that Jeanie worried it would snap from his body and roll away. ‘Nope. You nailed it again, Tammy. Mindy it is.’
Tammy smiled. ‘Great. I will relay the results to Pete.’
‘I hope she hurries,’ Jeanie whispered to Logan. ‘I think the bee is gonna lose it.’
Logan glanced at the stage, where the little bee now had her legs crossed, and then over to where Tammy and Pete were discussing the results. Pete seemed to be shaking his head as though he disagreed with the winner. Tammy glanced back at the judging table gesturing toward Jeanie and Logan.
‘Oh, no, are we going to have to deliberate again? Is there some rule about not dressing up as a real person?’ Jeanie asked. She officially never wanted to see another costumed town resident ever again.
‘Hell, no,’ Logan growled. He stood up from his seat at the judges’ table and cupped his hands around his mouth. ‘Mindy wins, little bee second place, Andy third. Collect your free donut coupon from Pete and clear the stage.’
Groans of dismay mingled with cheers of excitement and if Jeanie wasn’t mistaken, some rather loud ‘boos’ from the back of the crowd. Mindy pumped a fist in the air in a silent gesture of victory and the little bee ran off to the bathroom.
‘Geez, you weren’t kidding,’ Jeanie said with a sigh. ‘That was intense.’ She was actually sweating.
Logan gave her a rueful smile. ‘I told you; this town can be a lot.’
Jeanie twined her fingers with his and Logan’s smile hitched higher. ‘I like it.’
‘How do you feel about haunted houses?’ he asked, mischief glinting in his eyes as the sun sank below the trees. A pleasant thrill raced up Jeanie’s spine.
