Chapter 13
BUGS
Jesse was all smiles as he drove them into town for the fall festival Saturday morning, singing along to Golden at the girls’ demand—though, Eliana acknowledged, the K-Pop soundtrack was certainly a step up from their recent obsession with the Backstreet Boys.
Eliana wasn’t about to pretend that she wasn’t a diehard BSB fan, with an eternal soft spot for AJ, but after Zoey had excitedly turned on I Want it That Way, and told her mom that she just had to listen to this old classic from the nineteen hundreds—Eliana simply couldn’t enjoy the music any longer without becoming annoyingly conscious of the chronic ache in her right knee.
And yet, she’d caught herself humming Soda Pop while washing dishes just that morning. It was catchy.
Giggles filled the car while Jesse attempted to hit the high notes. Eliana plastered on a forced smile, shaking her head ruefully at the girls’ hilarity as they begged him to stop. His caterwauling did bear a remarkable resemblance to a dying cat.
“Fine. Not a single one of you appreciates true talent.” Jesse laughed, turning the volume down with a pout as he parked. “We’re here anyway.”
“Thank God!” Zoey cried, leaping out of the car, Abby close on her heels. Eliana didn’t hang around for discussion, leaving Jesse looking around in confusion at the suddenly vacant vehicle.
He caught up with them at the fairground entrance, muttering as they handed over their tickets for admittance.
The line was long, but moving efficiently.
Beyond the entrance, there were three separate paths, diverging at ninety-degree angles from one another, before curving into the distance with booth after booth lining the sides.
There were clothing, jewelry, and craft vendors.
Soaps and flowers and farm stands with fresh vegetables and baked goods.
The pavilions at the back were surrounded by food trucks, and beyond the noise of the crowd, Eliana could just make out the sound of an ice cream truck singing the song of its people.
It would’ve been a perfect day if Eliana weren’t conscious of the fact that somewhere within the crowd, Bea was stationed with a selection of her most popular honey products. Last year, she’d set up shop towards the south end of the field.
They’d need to cross paths at some point if Milo’s plan was going to work, but when Eliana stepped out onto the path, she turned north. There was no rush.
Once they joined the flow of the crowd, Jesse moved to walk beside Eliana, extending an arm to wrap around her shoulders, but she skirted the touch. She jogged forward to stand between Abby and Zoey and ask what they wanted to do first.
The girls made a beeline for the mechanical bull at the center of the grounds, then they strolled around for hours, perusing booths and snacking on treats.
For the most part, Eliana was able to avoid Jesse, putting all of her focus into the girls; that is, until her phone dinged and she pulled it out of her pocket, smiling when she saw it was Milo.
Milo
Are you still coming by? Almost out of honeycomb.
Abby was the only one interested in honeycomb—but Eliana could read between the lines. A warning that once their booth ran out, they’d be packing up and clearing out.
“Elly, why are you smiling? Who’s texting you?” Jesse asked, bending his head sideways to see over her shoulder.
The message was innocent enough—they’d agreed to keep any of their . . . side project references out of their phones. And yet, her fingers were quick to turn the screen off before she slipped the phone back into her pocket with a shrug of utter nonchalance.
“Milo.”
“Milo?” Jesse repeated, his nose wrinkling like he’d smelled something sour. “Our neighbor, Milo?”
“That’s the one,” she said before turning to Abby. “Hey, the Busy Bea shop is almost out of honeycomb. We need to get moving if you want some.”
“Ah!” Abby gasped, grabbing Zoey’s hand and dragging her down the path.
“Wait, why would Milo be messaging you?” Jesse continued, his voice tight with frustration. “Where’s Bea?”
“I’m sure Bea is busy running the booth.” Eliana shrugged, fighting the urge to snort, knowing that Bea would surely be socializing while Milo did all the actual work.
“It just seems odd.”
Eliana sighed loudly. “Our neighbor texting me about their booth almost running out of product seems odd?”
“Well . . .” Jesse huffed. “When you put it that way–”
“Bugs!” Milo’s voice rang out, cutting through their hushed conversation as he waved them in towards the Busy Bea booth.
Zoey and Abby ran forward to consider the options, but Eliana approached at a slower pace, her warm smile stretching further when Jesse stepped forward into her line of sight, his expression furious.
Even Bea broke her conversation with a customer to take in the scene, her eyes narrowed.
“Bugs?” Jesse repeated, his tone flat.
Milo laughed, stepping around the booth.
“Did you not tell him the story already?” Milo asked in a faux whisper before dropping a hand on Jesse’s shoulder.
“I was out doing maintenance with the bees Monday when Eliana discovered the bedbug situation.” He lowered his voice as he continued, “Don’t be embarrassed, it’s super common to pick up parasites in hotels.
But you certainly don’t want to keep the bloodsuckers around once you discover them.
I helped Bugs here drag out the mattress to burn. ”
“Oh, yeah?” Jesse said, staring down at the hand on his shoulder. Eliana bit back a smile, suddenly unsure why she’d ever wanted to put this off.
“Oh yeah.” Milo nodded. “It was a great time. We never really had the chance to chat before. Turns out we have a lot in common.”
“Like what?” Bea asked, incredulous, abandoning her customer entirely.
“Oh, you know . . . a shared distaste for vermin in our bed.” He winked at Eliana. “And similar career interests.”
“Career . . . interests?” Jesse repeated, his gaze jumping between the two of them. “Elly doesn’t work.”
“Well, I do now.” Eliana smiled. “Thanks to Milo. We got to talking about jobs, and I was telling him how much I’d always wanted to work and, lo and behold, he had a position available as a personal assistant.
I’m starting Tuesday,” she said, turning her grin to Jesse, letting her genuine excitement bleed through into her expression. “Isn’t that awesome?”
“I— That’s— Well, are you qualified to be a personal assistant?” Jesse asked.
“Bugs is perfect for the role,” Milo answered, an edge to his voice. “We already talked through her resume. I would’ve thought a husband would be more supportive.”
“Of course I am,” Jesse frowned, his gaze returning to Milo. “A nickname is not very professional, though, is it? I would’ve thought a businessman would know better.”
“Well, given how close our families are, I think we’ll be okay.”
“Not sure it’s appropriate, man,” Jesse responded, quickly losing any pretense of civility.
“You call my wife by a nickname,” Milo answered, one eyebrow high on his forehead. “Should I be worried?”
“Bea isn’t a nickname.” Jesse glanced at the woman in question. “Is it?”
“Obviously.” Milo rolled his eyes. “Her name is Beatrice. Would you rather I call Eliana, Elly?”
“Th— That’s different.”
“In what way? It’s exactly the same thing.”
Abby chose that moment to interrupt, running up in front of Eliana with all the remaining honeycomb bars stacked in her hands. “Mooooom, can I please get them all? There’s only six packs left, please. I’ll pay you back, I swear.”
Milo laughed, waving Jesse off when he pulled out his wallet.
“No worries, we were about to close up shop anyway. Consider it a signing bonus.” Then he turned back toward the booth as Abby squealed, bypassing a befuddled Bea to lift a giant stack of crates.
“Always great to see you guys!” Milo tossed over his shoulder, a moment before he rounded the back of the booth towards the parking lot. “Catch you Tuesday, Bugs.”