Chapter 32
PENN
It wasn’twhat I had in mind for our first date—I was thinking something more along the lines of dinner and a movie, but I was quickly realizing that Darcy was full of surprises, and I had to admit, I was curious about what exactly was going to happen with the lawn riff.
“They let outsiders into the town meetings?” I asked, following her to the kitchen table.
She sat down across from me. “In the town book, it states outsiders are allowed to come only when accompanied by an Avelinian.”
My eyes narrowed, and my hands wrapped around my mug. “Town book? Avelinian?”
Darcy got up and pulled open a drawer. She took out a booklet and brought it back to the table. She held it up, and I read the title. THE BOOK OF AVELINE.
There really was a book. And it was exceptionally thick. And hardcover.
“This is the town book. Each new resident gets one, and it has a list of all the celebrations, festivals, a directory, and rules. It also has a rundown of all the shops around here and who owns them.” She handed the book to me, and I began sifting through.
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
A celebration to ring in each new year. This celebration is held in the town square on December 31th at seven p.m. until January 1st at one a.m.
MONTHLY BIRTHDAY CELEbrATIONS
We will celebrate the birthdays of each month with cake and games on the 15th of each month from five p.m. until eight p.m. Come hungry because dinner is always served!
Held in the town square.
I kept skimming, seeing the Jelly Bean Festival, Tree Time, and a Halloween Costume Contest, among others.
“You guys sure do have a lot of celebrations,” I said, still turning pages. “A Founder’s Day reenactment?”
Darcy chuckled, swallowing her drink with a cough, “Yes. Aveline was founded in May of 1864, and every year, some people from town dress up in period pieces and reenact finding the town. Like literally finding it...with their eyeballs.” She placed her hand over her eyebrows. “But the reenactment cannot be mistaken for the Founder’s Day Festival and parade. That is in the fall, and it’s to celebrate the first festival the founders held to celebrate finding Aveline. Does that make sense?”
“Kind of.” I laughed. “So how is the reenactment done? You guys go to the edge of town and peer out into the distance, pretending to discover land?”
Darcy snorted and covered her mouth to keep the coffee from spewing out. “Oh my God. No. We aren’t that weird.” She paused, wiping the corners of her mouth with her fingers. “We have a play...at the town hall.”
I nodded. “Oh, yes. Much less weird,” I teased. “It sounds like Aveline uses anything as an excuse to have a party, if you ask me.”
“Absolutely. We Avelinians know how to party.”
“I can see that.” I continued sifting through The Book of Aveline and discovered the definition of an Avelinian. I read it out loud:
“Avelinian: A person who was born in Aveline. A person may become an Avelinian if they move to Aveline, but they must live in the town for at least one year and pass the test. Persons who have been born in Aveline will remain an Avelinian unless there is a request to relinquish the title, and thus, it will go to the town board, and there will be a meeting held where majority votes will rule.”
This had to be a joke. I looked at Darcy’s face, and it was completely expressionless. Someone could make a movie about this town.
“Have they ever revoked the Avelinian title from anyone?” I asked, shutting the book.
“Oh, yes,” she replied. “My brother had a friend named Jacob Campbell, and Jacob moved to Montana. My brother did, too. I mean, he didn’t move to Montana; he moved to California.” She took a sip and shook her head. “Anyway, long story short, Tandy’s wife, Patty, overheard Peter Penske talking to Alice, who said Jacob said he would never come back to Aveline because it was...his words...‘claustrophobic, invasive, and out of touch with reality.’ You can imagine that didn’t go over well.”
“I imagine not. So, what happened?”
Darcy got up and walked over to a door and opened it. She stepped in and pulled out a package of Oreo cookies and sat back down, pulling up the plastic. “Well, they took it to the town board, which consists of Mr. Fitzgerald, Bonnie Baker, Maurine Templeton, my dad—Poe, and Jimmy Campbell.”
“Wait, Campbell?” I asked, completely invested in the story.
Darcy dunked her Oreo into her coffee, and I watched, one eyebrow posted up as she ate it. “Yep. Jacob’s dad. Oh, sorry, you want one?” She offered an Oreo, and I took it from her, looking from the cookie to my coffee. “Try it; it’s good.”
I dipped the cookie hesitantly into the mug and took a bite.
She was right. It was surprisingly delicious.
“Okay, so, Jacob’s dad is one of the board members, and he tried to fight the motion. He tried to say Jacob would never say such a thing, and Alice got very defensive saying that she was a good woman and would never lie. Anyway, it went to the town, and the majority ruled in favor of revoking Jacob Campbell’s title as an Avelinian.” She paused, watching me finish my cookie with a smile. “He doesn’t even come back for Christmas. His parents go to see him.”
“Huh,” I replied. “I think I would have liked to have been privy to that town meeting.”
“It was a good one,” she said, nodding her head, still eating her cookies.
“And you said you have a brother?”
“Yeah, a twin brother actually.” She clicked on her phone and swiped a couple of times before showing me a picture of her standing next to a guy on the beach. “This is Beau.”
“And he’s still an Avelinian despite living in California?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. Beau still considers Aveline home. I don’t know if he’ll ever come back, but he loves where he’s from.”
I was silent, taking it all in.
“I know. It’s not for everyone. The town, I mean.” She shrugged. “But it’s also really nice to know you are surrounded by people with genuinely good intentions who love you. Some people never find one person to protect them; Avelinians have a whole village.”
I could see how that would be true. In the city, there were few people who even knew you existed, let alone that would take care of you. The city was a very “every man for himself” kind of atmosphere, but in Aveline, it felt like you would always have someone to lean on.
“It sounds nice,” I admitted.
Darcy bit the inside of her cheek, and I watched her chest rise as she inhaled deeply. She exhaled. “Well, I better go get ready. Just make yourself at home. It won’t take me long.”