Chapter 51
Morning sunlight flooded Nate’s bedroom as he stared at the notebook lying next to him on the bed.
The one he’d fallen asleep writing in last night.
A notebook no longer empty and blank. A notebook now boasting lots of blue ink.
Line after line, page after page. Everything everywhere humming the words to one single tune.
McKenna.
Free verse. Haiku. Sonnet. Right now he was in the middle of an acrostic poem using the first letter of each line to spell out her name, so lost in thought about how to start another line with the letter n that it took him a minute to realize someone was shouting.
And getting closer. And growing very winded.
“Nate . . . Nate!”
Georgie? Nate hid the notebook beneath his pillow, then stepped over to the window. It was Georgie. But what on earth was she doing? Running? He’d never seen her run like that before. He’d never seen anyone run like that before except maybe Woody from Toy Story.
Georgie, wearing lime-colored pants and an even brighter top, continued flailing her arms and arching her spine in the type of running stride that contained all sorts of motion, very little progress. “Nate!”
He lifted the window. “I’m coming right down.”
Nate hustled down the stairs. If McKenna had been running and screaming, he’d just assume another fox got to the chickens. He couldn’t even begin to guess what had Georgie huffing and puffing like a neon-green locomotive.
“What happened?” Nate met her at the top of the driveway.
Georgie held up a finger, then propped both hands on her hips as she blew in and out with pursed lips. “Need a second.”
One second turned into a minute while she braced her hands on her knees, saying things like, “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” and “Never realized that driveway was so long.”
After another minute, once she’d caught a little bit of her breath, she straightened and waved an arm behind her.
“Barb missed the turn for the driveway and there was a truck behind us . . . so when she stopped, so did he . . . then he was blocking your driveway . . . and instead of going around us like we were waving at him to do . . . he just sat there . . . so we just sat there . . . That’s when I climbed out and started running .
. . because I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you the news. Oh my goodness.”
She dropped her hands back to her knees. “I haven’t run like that since the Black Friday I raced Geraldine to get the last Tickle Me Elmo in Walmart.”
“What news?” Nate had to wait another minute and a half before she had enough air to tell him.
“Harry’s coming on Thursday.”
“I thought the concert was on Saturday.”
“It is on Saturday. But apparently at some point I told him our town had so much charm that he’d need a day or two just to soak it all in.”
“So he’s coming two days early to soak in Bugle’s charm?”
“Well, his coming early might also have a little to do with the fact that I’ve never thrown out my calendars, so I originally gave him the date for two years ago which I thought was this year’s date because I thought I was looking at the calendar for this year, but turns out it was the two years ago calendar, so now he’s coming on the date for that year this year and staying a few days for our charm even though this year isn’t that year. ”
Nate liked it better when she was out of breath. “Are you sure you know when Harry is coming?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m incompetent. Harry is coming on Saturday.”
“I thought you just said Thursday.”
She batted a hand. “That’s what I meant. Thursday.”
“Are you sure you know when Harry is coming?” Nate asked again.
“Where’s McKenna? She wouldn’t be grilling me like this. She’d just be excited.”
“Maybe you should’ve screamed for her instead of me,” said Nate.
“Your name has less syllables. You think I had enough breath to shout McKenna once I made it past the mailbox?”
“Address me as Nathaniel from this point on.”
Barb had finally made it up the driveway and was parking next to them with her window rolled down.
“Would’ve been here sooner, but I had to make a three-point turn after that truck finally drove past me, and let’s just say I lost count at point eight.
So?” she said, bustling out of the car and slamming the door shut. “Did she tell you the news?”
Nate nodded. “Not sure I’m convinced though.”
“Oh, just give her a chance. I think you’re really going to like her,” said Barb.
“Not that news,” Georgie murmured to Barb. “That news is a surprise.”
“And that news better have nothing to do with trying to set me up with one of the Golly girls again,” added Nate. He’d overheard them talking about it after one of their meetings.
“It wouldn’t if you’d just find yourself a date for the Dominoes Dance already.”
“The Harry news,” said Barb with a nervous giggle. “Let’s talk about the Harry news. He’s coming on Thursday.”
“So I keep hearing.”
Georgie huffed. “If you don’t believe me, talk to my granddaughter or the young lady who’s been cleaning out my house.
All three of us have been in contact with him, and all three of us can tell you for sure and for certain that Harry Connick Junior is coming to Bugle on Thursday, June twenty-seventh. ”
“June twenty-seventh is a Saturday,” Barb whispered.
“I meant the twenty-fifth,” Georgie snapped. “He’s arriving on the twenty-fifth. The concert is the twenty-seventh. I think.” She looked at Barb. Barb nodded.
“Right,” Georgie said with more confidence as Gus stepped out onto the front porch with McKenna right behind him.
“What’s all this wailing I hear?” said Gus.
“Are we having a meeting?” said McKenna, holding a basket and wearing the red handkerchief she got from Gus to wear around her head whenever she went out to pick eggs from the coop because he said it made her look like a more bona fide egg-picker.
“Tell them the good news,” said Barb.
“Harry’s coming early,” said Georgie.
When Nate waved his hand in a maybe–maybe not gesture, Georgie elbowed him in the gut.
“How early?” asked McKenna, rushing down the porch steps to join them.
“Two days early,” said Georgie. “Will the place be ready in time?”
“Everything will be ready,” McKenna assured her.
“Great. Perfect,” said Georgie. “Oh-ho-ho, I can’t wait to see Lottie’s face at the dance on Saturday.
She doesn’t think I’ll have anything to announce.
Well, you better believe I’ll be spreading the word all day tomorrow that I’ve got something big to announce.
So you better dust off your dancing shoes, Nate.
I already promised everyone you’d be there ready and willing to dance.
You know what? We should probably turn this into an official Harry meeting, since it’s been one of our most productive meetings yet, don’t you think? We’ll fill Evie in later.”
Everyone nodded, including McKenna. “I’ll get started on the minutes right away.”
“Since when did you promise people that I’d be going to the Dominoes Dance?” Nate said as everyone scattered in different directions. “And what do you mean I have to dance?”