Chapter Twenty-Two #2
Hallie made a disgusted, throaty sound. “Yeah, right. He told me to hire a moving company to pack, and when I didn’t want to, he told me not to expect him to help me when he’d offered to pay to have it done.”
“How sweet.”
The knocking came again, faster and more fervent, bringing Tessa to her feet.
She checked her phone, suddenly worried something had gone wrong for her dad or brother. Relief washed over her as she hurried along in Hallie’s wake. No missed texts or messages from her family.
“Coming, jeez!” Hallie said, swinging the door wide.
A woman with wild brown hair and a large-rimmed black hat shoved her way inside.
“What the hell!” Hallie barked.
The woman slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, already pulling off her hat and—hair?
Kate dropped her disguise onto the floor and pulled Hallie into a hug. “Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t stay home when you’re going through such a huge transition. I’m gutted for even thinking it was okay to miss this.”
Hallie untangled herself, making a ridiculous face as she looked at Kate’s attire. “Is that a muumuu?”
“Yeah,” Kate said. “I borrowed it from my neighbor to avoid being spotted out and about after the whole Barenaked Katie debacle. That’s what they’re calling me online now, by the way. Like the band, Barenaked Ladies.”
“We got it,” Hallie said. “How are you doing?”
“Oh, you know,” Kate said on a long breathy exhale. “I’m down another five thousand followers. No big deal. I’ll have less of a web presence than my Great-Aunt Birdie soon, and she’s been dead since the early two thousands.”
“Aw.” Hallie hugged her again. “I have root beer.”
The microwave dinged in the kitchen, and the friends followed the sound.
Tessa uncapped another soda while Hallie stirred the melted caramels.
“You’ve still got it,” Kate said, admiring the decapping.
Tessa pumped her brows.
The trio took seats at the table, a sliced apple set on a napkin before each of them, courtesy of Hallie, the bowl of melted caramel in the center.
“Is that the Vampire Dinosaur Café book?” Kate asked, tugging a corner of the binder in her direction. “I loved watching you create this.”
Hallie munched on an apple slice, smiling again at the images on the pages. “I still get mad when I think about when I presented this in my entrepreneurship course. That professor pooh-poohed my dream and dismissed all my work. I thought he hated me, but in hindsight I think I scared him a little.”
Kate forced her bottom lip forward. “Unfair. This was incredible. I fully believed you’d open this place after graduation. I had big plans to feature your dirty sodas and Dark Night of the Soul Cheeseboards on my weekly restaurant reviews.”
“I forgot you did those!” Tessa said. She’d loved visiting new establishments with Kate and their friends.
Trying different foods and meeting different people around the UVA campus and town had inspired her to get to know the people of her hometown after graduation.
She didn’t just want to be an extra like in movies, adding to the backdrop or crowd scenes.
She’d wanted to be a part of the community.
A link between other players on set. And for a little while, she had been.
Hallie dug an apple slice into the caramel like a shovel. “I should’ve named the café Dark Night of the Soul and designed the interior like a gothic library. We could’ve catered for book events, had silent book clubs, invited authors to read their work and sign books— That would’ve been amazing.”
“I love that,” Tessa said. She could see the marketing plan coming together in her mind.
But she wasn’t an advertising agent anymore.
She had no idea what she was now, or what she’d do next, because she hadn’t allowed herself to think about it yet.
Opting instead to worry about her friends and her father, which felt more productive and important.
She’d have to think about herself, and the mess she’d caused, later. But today wasn’t that day.
“Too bad some of my haters were right,” Hallie said.
She took a swig from her bottle, then set it down a little hard.
“I got out of town, and I got the degree. But I didn’t do anything great or special.
I didn’t open a popular café or set some new trends in culinary design.
I worked an ordinary job, which I didn’t like very much, and now I’m getting married just like my mama wanted.
” She rocked her head over her shoulders, considering her words.
“I guess the town was wrong about that part too. Most folks assumed I’d become a single mother, reading palms at the county fair.
” She raised her arms in a mock V for victory. “Did not do any of that.”
“I hate everyone in your hometown,” Kate said, not for the first time.
“Me too,” Hallie agreed.
Kate deflated a bit as she stacked apple slices on her napkin. “It’s awful the way our childhood traumas can still ruin our adult days. You’re living the life you want, and that’s what matters. It’s your life. Right? Anyone who has something negative to say about it can go suck a—toe.”
Tessa laughed.
Hallie cringed. “I have it on good authority a whole lot of folks from my town enjoy that.”
Kate’s expression faltered before she burst into laughter.
“I’m not trying to yuck anyone’s yum,” Hallie said. “It’s just facts.”
She rose abruptly and carried the bowl of caramel to the sink. “Can we please go out for food? I packed everything I use for cooking, and I’m starving.”
“Okay,” Kate said, “but we’re taking the book.”
Hallie drove the trio to the river’s edge.
She parked in the brick lot nearest the food trucks, and they walked over the grassy hill from there.
A flood of people filled the streets, enjoying the beautiful fall day.
Hay bales, corn stalks, and the occasional scarecrow had appeared on every corner, and baskets overflowing with every shade of mum hung from light posts.
Scents of spicy barbacoa and fried jalapenos drifted from the Tico’s Tamales truck.
Sweet notes of cinnamon and sugar wafted along the breeze, courtesy of warm elephant ears and churros served by Deep Fried South.
Other mobile vendors lined the brick patio crowded with wrought-iron tables and chairs.
Fork in the Road served fabulous salads.
Burger Betty’s created mouthwatering hamburgers, and Mother Plucker was the go-to stop for chicken. Wings, nuggets, sandwiches, or wraps.
“We hit the jackpot,” Hallie said. “All the good trucks are here right now! I even see Lucinda. She tells me she’s selling her truck every time I see her.” She picked up her pace, inhaling deeply and flinging her arms wide. “This is my Disney World.”
“Which one is Lucinda?” Kate asked Tessa.
“I have no idea. I think she knows everyone here,” Tessa said.
Kate fussed with her giant sunglasses, wig, and hat as they walked.
Combined with the muumuu, she looked a little like Tessa’s great-aunt, Helen.
“I hope no one recognizes me,” she whispered, fear creeping into her tone.
“I will throw myself into the river if I get caught out in this costume, but I’m not ready to walk around as if everyone hasn’t seen my muffin. ”