Chapter 30 Clara
J ACK’S PHONE HAS WOKEN ME up four times this morning and I’m ready to launch it at the wall.
How can one community have so many problems? I’m beginning to think they just like Jack visiting. I can’t be frustrated about it to him because he sees it as a badge of honor to be needed and relied upon.
He hasn’t even dragged himself out of bed yet and he already has a full schedule of problems to solve. Seriously, he’s working harder than I am and problem solving is my actual job.
It felt like the calls calmed down a little, but now I think I’ve just been missing them.
When he finally ends his call with Wilhelmina, who thinks there’s a bird stuck in the roof of the school, he puts it on silent. Couldn’t have done that three calls ago? Men.
“Sorry,” he murmurs sleepily.
I try to slip out from his grip to start my own day now that there’s no possible chance I’m going to go back to sleep this time, but it’s like those finger lock magic tricks, where the harder you pull, the worse it gets. The more I try to escape, the tighter Jack hugs me.
I try a different tactic: twisting in his arms so I’m facing him and attempting to roll him onto his back. I get a face full of chest hair when I roll with him, but the angle makes it slightly easier to slip out of his hold.
“No,” he grumbles, arms reaching out toward me, his eyes closed again.
“I need to get up and flush your phone down the toilet,” I respond, dodging his hand grabbing near my biceps. Talking was clearly an error, because he finds a forearm and a thigh, using them to tug me back toward him. “God, you’re so clingy.”
“No,” he grumbles again, eyes fluttering open.
He kisses my collarbone, pulling me on top of him.
My thighs are sore from being in this exact position last night for way longer than I’d normally be.
I don’t have the knees or stamina to go on top, but I put on the performance of my life last night. “Don’t get up yet.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’ll get you breakfast. There’s hardly anything in the refrigerator, I need to go grocery shopping,” he says, voice raspy. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hands. “What do you want to eat?”
“What do you want to eat?” I’m buying myself time, because the answer is I don’t know. I was planning to let the kitchen inspire me.
“Your pu—” My hand slaps against his mouth.
“For breakfast!”
Jack pulls my hand away so he can talk. “I think you know the answer.”
You’d think it wouldn’t be possible to feel shy in front of a man you’re literally naked with, but it definitely is.
I push myself into a sitting position, duvet clutched to my chest. His deep groan makes my stomach flood with butterflies.
“I want a pain au chocolat and a festive coffee of some description, please.”
Jack squeezes the front of my thighs. “You got it. But you gotta stay right here, completely naked, until I get back. Deal?”
“I think I can manage that.” I climb off, taking the duvet with me, and lie back down. He swings his legs over the edge of the bed, pulling up a pair of basketball shorts and heading into the bathroom.
It’s easier if he goes, that way I don’t need to explain to eagle-eyed Flo why I’m emerging from Jack’s store with a glow that tells her I’ve been thoroughly fucked.
I’ve spent a lot of the past few days in here hanging out with Jack, which means I’ve mostly avoided the intrusive questions Dove warned me to prepare for. I didn’t ask how people would know, but I assumed it’s because she knows she can’t be trusted to keep it to herself.
I do need to stop fooling around with Jack all the time and get back to my plan. The success of Small Business Saturday and the report on the Santa run have given me the false impression that I can slow down, but I can’t.
Flo still has the videos up and my promotion is still being dangled in front of me like a carrot. I’m not even sure I like carrots anymore.
T HE CELL PHONE VIbrATING ON the bedside table wakes me up from the micro-nap I was having and I’m filled with rage until I realize it’s mine. Jack’s name is in bold at the top of my screen. “Hey.”
“Hey.” His voice is low and quiet. “Do you know anything about reporting malicious reviews?”
I sit against the headboard, the duvet tucked under my arms. “Like getting them taken down?”
“Exactly that.”
“Kind of. I know people that know about it though. Why? What’s wrong?”
I can hear a commotion in the background, the faint sound of a crying woman. “I think I need your help, Clara. Can you get dressed and come over to the bakery?”
“I’ll be two minutes.”
I try not to flush with embarrassment as I pass Nancy behind the cash register of the store after I walk through the workshop. Tucking my coat tighter around me, I check before crossing the road to Flo’s Fancies.
Flo is sitting at one of the tables, a small pile of tissues in front of her. Jack’s elbows are against his knees as he whispers something to her. The small queue of customers look on, likely feeling as confused as I do.
I stop beside them; Flo takes one look at me and bursts into tears.
“Oh God, what did I do?” I ask, crouching beside the pair of them.
She blows her nose on a tissue. “It’s not you, it’s her .”
There’s a small moment where I consider that this is the moment where Jack’s evil ex shows up, not that I know he has an evil ex, but the level of theatrics would make more sense. Then Jack mouths the doll and all delusions of fighting over Jack Kelly disappear.
It produces new questions about if I’d fight for him, but I push them to the back of my head to focus on the disaster at hand. “I’m sure I can help fix whatever has happened, but I need to know where to start.”
I look between them helplessly. Jack stands and offers me his seat, pulling another from a nearby table and sitting between Flo and me. He unlocks his phone and gives it to me.
My eyes almost bulge out of my head as I read one of the most vicious reviews of Flo’s Fancies I’ve ever seen.
The review isn’t even about the bakery, it’s about the doll being out of stock.
Jack takes back his phone and swipes to a different tab, one for Bliss Café, equally malicious and equally not about the café at all.
I’ve known since I arrived how important reviews are to Flo. It’s something she takes great pride in. This is devastating for her.
“It’s going to bring my average rating down,” she says between heart-wrenching sobs. “People won’t want to come here.”
Jack doesn’t say anything, he just looks at me with a kind of pleading I’ve never seen before. “They will, Ms. Flo. We can fix this. Excuse me, I’ll make some calls.”
Moving to the corner of the room, I watch Jack rub Flo’s shoulder to comfort her while the phone rings in my ear.
“I’ve forgotten what you sound like. I heard a rumor you’d run away and joined a traveling circus,” Sahara says, the sound of what I expect is a Poppi lid cracking in the background.
“Hello to you too.”
“What can I do for you, my little clown?” she says affectionately.
“Do you have any friends at Google? Someone’s left fake, malicious reviews on businesses in Fraser Falls that have nothing to do with the actual businesses. I’m going to flag them but I want someone to actually address them. I haven’t checked everywhere, but it’s definitely two places here.”
“Malicious? About what?”
“The Holly doll being out of stock. But these are reviews for the bakery and café. I need to check the florist, bookstore, and art school.”
I hear Sahara’s nails tapping against her keyboard. “Yeah, the florist got it. Why would people do that?”
“Because Florence Girard talked about the doll as a community project on the news, and Jack doesn’t have the stock.”
“Sucks,” she says, sounding uninterested.
I guess she’s been dealing with the backlash of Flo’s posts for weeks, so it makes sense she doesn’t feel sorry for anyone.
She’s a good person, though, so it won’t stop her helping me.
“I have a contact at Google. Just flag them the normal way and I’ll get them taken down. ”
Thank God. “You’re the best, thank you.”
“I know. When are you coming back to me? The office is quiet without you stomping around it.”
“I don’t stomp. I don’t know when I’m leaving for good, but I’ll be back for the charity gala.” My chest tightens. “Miss you.”
“Miss you too, see ya.”
I feel like I’ve achieved something walking—not stomping—back over to Jack and Flo.
Sitting in my chair, I tuck my phone into my pocket.
“My friend knows someone at Google; she’s going to contact them and get any fake reviews taken down.
I’m sorry this happened. They won’t be on there for long.
She’s very efficient and determined; you’d like her a lot. ”
I’ve become used to Flo’s long, elaborate tales whenever I talk to her in the mornings while grabbing a coffee and a treat. She’s a woman of many, many words yet she only gives me three. “Thank you, Clara.”
She collects up her tissues and stands, nodding at both Jack and me before heading behind the counter and into a private area. “Will she be okay?”
“You’re great,” he says, his voice calm and matter-of-fact.
“I didn’t do anything. Sahara is the one with the contact.”
“You helped, Clara. Like you said you would. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I don’t know what I’d have done today without you. I wouldn’t have been able to help her.” I sit in silence, unsure exactly how I’m supposed to respond. “I’ll go up and order breakfast.”
There’s only one girl behind the counter today and Flo has disappeared, so I don’t think we’re getting table service. “You stay here and let your cortisol levels come back down, I’ll go up for us.”
Jack takes my hand and kisses the back of it as I pass him. I don’t know what’s hurting him more, the stress that the reviews are because of the doll or that there’s a scenario where he wouldn’t be able to help someone.
The internet has offered so much and yet there’s so much to despise about it.
I wait in the line patiently, lost in my head about how people love to be negative online.
I get being frustrated about a sold-out product, but to intentionally seek out the community of people involved to leave malicious reviews is astounding to me.
I’d like to think it’s one person on multiple accounts being shady, but in reality someone probably posted a screenshot of their review online and it got likes. So then someone else thought, I want likes and attention from strangers , so they did it too.
I’m next in line, admiring the garland decorating the front of the counter. There’s a wreath decorated with berries and pine cones in the center and a string of fairy lights running along the top of the structure.
Holiday spirit is really starting to come to life here in Fraser Falls. If it’s possible, the Main Street lights look even more festive with the addition of holly wreaths on the lampposts and a six-foot inflatable snowman outside of the Frozen Spoon.
Flo appears from the private employee area looking nothing like the woman who was sobbing not that long ago. I admire her ability to get her shit together quickly. It’s something I can’t relate to, sadly. “Feeling better?” I say hopefully as she emerges from behind the counter.
“I always feel wonderful, Clara,” she says confidently.
“Well, that’s great then,” I respond.
Flo pauses and looks around. The café is quiet with the exception of two couples sitting by the window. The line was full of people wanting takeout. “Did you watch the news?”
I smile. “I did. You were a natural in front of the camera. You did a great job, Ms. Flo. Are you happy with how it went? Fraser Falls looked magical.”
“I am happy with how it went. I know that they wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for you, Clara. A lot of things have been happening around here that wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you. The town appreciates your effort.”
I’m stunned speechless. Something that has possibly never happened before. She doesn’t wait for me to say anything in response. Flo rubs my shoulder as she passes and walks through the archway into Flo’s Fancies.
It’s a step closer to truly winning her over.
It’s also a step closer to going home.