Chapter 44
JIM
The pumpkin weigh-off was like nothing Jim had ever experienced.
It felt as if the entire population of California had descended upon the poor, unsuspecting farm.
Throngs of people cheered and hollered as pumpkins the size of small cars were hoisted by heavy machinery onto a giant scale designed for semi-trucks.
What was most interesting was the variety of growers.
Each one had a chance to introduce their prized pumpkins before being weighed.
There were professional farmers who owned commercial farms, but there were an equal number of novice growers—people from all walks of life and backgrounds who had taken on the task of trying to produce the world’s largest pumpkin.
From chemical engineers to pilots, schoolteachers, and custodians.
His favorite was a young guy from Marin County who was an artist by day, and a pumpkin grower by night. He named his pumpkin “Big Betty” and told the crowd all about how he sang to Betty under the moonlight, tucking her in under a thin sheet.
“I had no idea the pumpkins would be this big,” Jim shouted to be heard over the cheers and applause. They hadn’t discussed the kiss or why Miranda had bolted last night. Maybe it was better that way—keep things light while he found a way to tell her how he really felt.
Miranda beamed as she pointed to a life-size banner of last year’s winner posing with his pumpkin. “It’s always a marvel how they can even transport these beasts, isn’t it?”
“Have semi, will travel?” Jim made a funny face. “Actually, that’s not a bad hook, is it?”
“Shelby would approve,” Miranda replied with a twinkle in her eye.
Jim had been floored when Shelby suggested he and Miranda cover the contest on their own.
Apparently, Voyager was enthusiastic about the idea of her focusing on Pete’s dating adventures.
He wasn’t convinced Pete was as thrilled with the concept as Shelby.
He’d noticed how Pete had wrung his fingers together and forced a smile when the four of them had met shortly before the start of the weigh-off to go over plans for the remainder of the day.
Shelby had gushed about how well the posts with Pete and Lacy were trending and rattled off several shots she wanted to set up throughout town.
He couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong, but he also sensed a subtle layer of tension between Pete and Miranda during their brief strategy chat.
Miranda had asked Pete twice if he was okay, and Pete had responded curtly, his entire body stiffening.
If Shelby had picked up on his energy, she gave no indication.
“We’ll divide and conquer. I want to get some video of Pete and Lacy down at the beach.
I know it will be crowded, but that’s kind of the idea.
We’ll take the angle of them zooming in on one another, like they only have eyes for each other.
You two go ahead with the pumpkin weigh-off as we discussed, but please stick with the plan and make sure you use the filters and the captions I sent, okay? ”
Jim had to conceal a smile. Shelby was back to business today.
That was fine with him.
He had a new appreciation for where she was coming from. And he was thrilled that he and Miranda would have more time together, just the two of them.
“Why don’t you scoot to your left?” Jim said to her as the next pumpkin was lifted onto the scale. “Talk me through what’s happening.”
“How?” Miranda asked, beaming at him with that bright smile that seemed to make any care or worry vanish in thin air.
“In your own words. Be natural. Think of the camera as me. You’re just talking to me. I’m a good friend, visiting for the weekend, and you’re giving me the rundown on the pumpkins.”
Miranda bobbed her head in agreement. “Now that, I can do.”
They spent the next half hour shooting a variety of clips from different angles.
Miranda was a pro. She took direction easily.
Not that he had much to offer her in feedback.
It was more making sure she was framed well in the shot, or asking her to repeat a phrase if the background noise was too loud.
Multiple times, they burst into fits of giggles trying to get through a few of the “approved” one-liners Shelby had vetoed.
“Jim, come on, I have to say this—‘let’s give ’em pumpkin to talk about’ or ‘oh, my gourd, I sure love fall.’”
“Right? I tried to convince Shelby that sayings like ‘go big or gourd home’ and ‘the gourd, bad, and ugly’ just roll right off your tongue, don’t they?
” He had run his witty one-liners, but Shelby, who had shredded the idea instantly, also agreed that Miranda shone when she didn’t have to worry about the perfect script.
“I do love ‘hello, gourd-geous’ and ‘oh, hey, gourd-looking.’ Both work for you. You are absolutely gourd-geous.”
They had a good laugh and ultimately abandoned most of the clever pumpkin puns.
“We’ll save those for the captions. Don’t sweat it,” Jim had assured her.
She was such a good sport. And so easy to be around. Everything with Miranda felt like he was hanging out with his best friend.
He had a lot of material to work with by the end of the contest. Although none of it was anything that was likely to go viral.
That was fine by him. Last night’s post was already a hit and was still garnering plenty of engagement.
He figured that the behemoth size of the pumpkins would be enough to get eyeballs on Miranda’s content.
As he’d explained to Shelby multiple times, not every post needed to go viral.
There was something to be said for a slow build and creating lasting relationships.
Miranda could do that in her sleep. He had no worries on that front.
Whether or not Shelby would agree remained to be seen.
They wandered over to the food trucks. “You have to try the pumpkin ice cream,” Miranda said, pointing out a pale green cart with a matching awning with a giant fake ice cream cone jutting out of the top. “I dream about this ice cream all year long. They serve it in a cinnamon waffle cone.”
“Cinnamon waffle cone? Yes, please.” Jim ordered a cone for himself and Miranda. She hadn’t oversold the ice cream. It was rich and creamy with a strong pumpkin flavor, and the crispy cinnamon waffle cone was the perfect vessel for the fall treat.
They were about to pack it in when an idea struck. “What if we get a few last shots of you next to the winning pumpkin?” Jim suggested, pointing to the line of people waiting to pose with the three-thousand-pound gourd. “That might be fun for perspective—to show how huge these things really are.”
“Sure.” Miranda looped her arm through his as they headed to join the line, licking her cone, which she held with her other hand.
The winning farmer was like a rock star.
People surrounded him like a pumpkin paparazzi.
Jim captured it all. These were the kinds of clips he loved to capture.
Seeing someone’s five minutes of fame. The Half Moon Bay Fall Harvest Fest was the only place in the world where pumpkins were celebrities and the real stars of the show.
Once it was Miranda’s turn to pose with the pumpkin and its now famous grower, Jim recorded it on his phone and his Nikon.
“That’s great. I think we’ve got what we need,” he said, switching to portrait mode on the video.
“Let’s get you walking past all the entries.
No need to say anything. Just enjoy admiring the pumpkins on our way out.
I’ll use this for B-roll and maybe have you do a voiceover later.
Make sure to lick the ice cream like you’re enjoying it a few times, too. ”
“No problem,” Miranda said, already wandering toward the next pumpkin, this one with a sliver ribbon attached to its stem.
Jim was so focused on her, the way she moved with the grace of a dancer and how green her eyes were on the screen, that he barely registered what was happening behind her. Miranda was equally unaware as she licked a pumpkin ice cream and walked straight through a marriage proposal.
Jim couldn’t stop her—it was too late.
The silver-ribbon-winning farmer had taken a knee and was about to propose to a woman, whom Jim assumed must be his girlfriend.
But Miranda, intent on Jim’s direction, walked directly between them, blocking the man on his knee and the friend hiding next to him to capture the engagement.
“Hey, everyone, Miranda Brown here in my lovely town of Half Moon Bay, giving you pumpkin to talk about.” She swept her hand toward the giant pumpkin looming in the background and shot the camera a playful wink.
She’d done it again.
Completely inadvertently.
Never mind what he’d said about a slow build and consistent engagement. This was meme material. He had to use this.