Page 83 of Lovebug
As I stare into his clear blue eyes, I realize something. For the first time since I was seventeen, I’m single. I’m available. I’m… free. The possibilities are wide open again. And if I wanted him to be, he reallycouldbe something to me. Also, did he call me babe?
“Aw, I remember that look,” David says. “Holden’s mom and I used to have that look. A piece of advice, lovebirds? Never. Lose. That. Look.”
“What look?” I sputter. “I wasn’t looking at him with any look!”
“Okay…” Holden’s dad says with a knowing smile on his face.
I make the mistake of turning back to Wally. His lips are twitching, and his eyes are sparkling. “I should get back to work,” he says and slips behind his booth.
“Yeah, you do that!” I yell. “You-you-you go! And actually get some work done for once!”
Then I start stomping back to my own stand, Holden and his family following close behind.
If I’m going to be the kind of person who hurls insults, I’ve really got to up my game. Because that one just now was completely inaccurate. Wally works harder than anyone I’ve ever met. The cool thing I’ve noticed, though, is that nothing ever seems to be a slog for him. Whether he’s digging holes in the ground, fixing fountains, or selling syrup, he seems to put his whole self into the work and really enjoy himself while he does. It’s really admirable.
Dammit, why can’t I stop seeing the best in people when I want to be angry with them? It’s truly maddening.
“Here you go, bud,” I say to Holden as I grab his long-awaited honeycomb and place it in his hand. “Just unwrap it, and you can bite right in.”
“Yeah!!” he cheers and starts ripping at the little logo I made, tearing it into tiny pieces.
“Comb and all?” his dad asks skeptically.
“Comb and all, yeah,” I say with enthusiasm. “Eating honeycomb has bountiful benefits for the body like…”I pause for a second and repeat that phrasing under my breath this time. “Bountiful benefits for the body… Eh.” I shake my head. “I have to rewrite that copy. Not loving that anymore.”
“This is fucking delicious!” Holden squeals as he chews happily.
“Holden!” his father and I scold at the same time.
“What? It is,” he responds with faux innocence.
“Sorry about that.” David pulls me to the side and says softly, “He’s been testing us quite a bit since Carl was born. Looking for attention.”
“Makes sense.” I smile. “That transition to becoming an older sibling can be a tough one. I’ll be sure to give him a little extra love at camp this week.”
“Thanks for that.”
“Sure thing.”
My eyes are suddenly drawn to the booths across from us, where a woman I recognize is chatting with Wally. Naomi Thornton. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Naomi my nemesis—good girls don’t have nemesisses do they? Is that how you pronounce the plural of nemesis? Or is it nemiseez? Let’s just say I’ve always found Naomi to be rather… unpleasant. And for some reason, she’s never seemed to like me either.
Wally, however, seems rather fond of her.
I’m so committed to watching their interaction that I barely hear David when he says, “New business?”
“Hm?”
“New business?” he gestures to the honeycomb display.
“Yes? No? Sort of?” I crane my neck to get a better look. “Is she touching him? Why is she touching him?”
“Why is who touching whom?” David is genuinely confused and whips his head around to get a look of his own.
“No one!” I say a bit too emphatically, my eyes glued to the two of them across the way as Naomi laughs, and he flashes her that smile I have come to love and hate in equal measure. “Thatwhomcan be touched by whateverwhohe likes! Makes no difference to me! I certainly have no say in the matter!”
“What are you …?”He tries to interject, but I’m apparently on a roll.
“And despite what that cockywhommay think, I definitely have no desire to be thewhowho is touching him! So he can shove his… up his…” I stutter. “Shove his … up his… Starting over. He can shove his… up his…”
