I’m at my booth that hasn’t had much traffic. Everybody here wants to play games, ride the rides, and eat junk food. No one wants to stop by the mayoral candidate’s booth and chat about zone regulations and budgets.
“Yeah.” Erwin leans back in his folding chair, fiddling with his Rubik’s Cube. He told me that it’s his new obsession since he can’t play video games when he’s with me. I think maybe I’m way too lenient of a boss.
“And it happens every year?” I ask.
I feel pulled to go out with the masses and laugh and have fun, but my goal is to win this election. What kind of mayoral candidate plays games and gets his picture taken with powdered sugar all over his face from the funnel cake? Definitely not Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Ethel comes up to the booth. Her sidekick, Dori, is with her, as well as a brunette I don’t know.
“You think you’re going to get elected like this? You need to go out there and mingle.” Ethel looks beyond me. “Surely Erwin can handle handing out pins. Right, Erwin?”
He straightens up in his chair as though he’s a student and Ethel is the nun holding the ruler at a Catholic school. The Rubik’s Cube slips out of his grasp and the dark-haired woman picks it up.
“Give Erwin back his toy, Midge,” Dori says, taking it out of her hands and placing it on the table.
“I’m not sure,” I say. “This way, I’ll be sure to see everyone.”
Ethel looks up and down the booths. “Hmm… strange that I don’t see my daughter-in-law’s tent. Do you think she’s hunkered away from all the fun?”
Sure as shit, the woman is right.
Her gray eyebrows raise to her matching hairline.
“Let’s go have fun,” I say, stepping away from the table. “I’ll bring you back some cotton candy, Erwin.”
He’s so busy fiddling with the Rubik’s Cube he probably doesn’t know I left.
The minute we’re away from all the tents, Ethel stops and looks around. “Oh, look. There are my grandchildren.” She hooks her arm with mine. “Would you mind walking me over? It’s a little muddy and you wouldn’t want to be responsible for me breaking a hip, right?”
Logan totally underplayed this whole Ethel and Dori fix up thing, but since I’m actually into a Greene—Posey Greene, to be exact—I’ll gladly play along.
“Of course.”
She pats my hand. “I knew you were a good man.”
“Don’t worry about us, not like I’m older than you or anything,” Dori says.
Ethel looks over her shoulder. “Hold on to each other.”
The ground isn’t even muddy. Just a little soft from the evening rain yesterday.
“What is this festival for?” I ask Ethel on the way over to the Greenes, who have positioned themselves in a little circle, eating and dancing with one another. Now here’s a family that should have their own reality TV show.
“It signals the beginning of tourist season in Sunrise Bay. Gets them into town to spend their money. Get the townsfolk together before all the working folk are running off their feet until the season ends. The new mayor should know what’s so special about it.”
I smile at the elderly woman. “Do you think I could have coffee with you someday?”
“Coffee?” She looks unimpressed. “How about a nightcap?” Now she’s smiling.
“That will work too. I’ve done a lot of research, but I’d like to talk to someone who’s lived here longer. But I understand if you feel as though you’re not being loyal to Marla.”
She waves me off. “Honestly, Marla could win this race in her sleep. Everyone loves her. And me giving you information on Sunrise Bay back in the day isn’t going to change that. I like the effort you’re putting in. It’s an admirable quality, but between me and you, you’re going to lose.”
I’m taken aback for a moment. “Not if I can help it.”
She pats my hand. “And that’s exactly the perseverance I want when it comes to winning over my granddaughter.”
“What?” I say through a laugh.
“You don’t fool me. I see it. I’ve seen it for a long time now, but we’ve chosen to wait and give you the opportunity to get your vices under control. Make sure you’re in a good spot.”
I stop and Dori curses, almost running right into my back. “You know?”
“Darling, everyone knows. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Especially with the environment you were brought up in. It’s like an infestation, of course you were going to get bitten. Look at you now. All healthy.” Ethel pinches my cheek as though I’m that little kid on The Carters again. It aggravated me then, but now, not so much. “And believe me, not just anyone is good enough for my granddaughter.”
“Thank you. I promise—”
“Promise me nothing. Just follow that heart of yours and you’ll be fine.”
We start walking again, and by the time we reach the group, Dori and Midge are already there. Midge is dancing in the middle of everyone. That woman seems like a bit of a loose cannon.
“Look who I found, everyone!” Ethel announces. For some reason, I thought I’d just slide in through the group and maybe corner Posey and ask her to join me on the Ferris wheel.
But now the whole group of Greenes turns to face me. Some of the women smile and wave, some of the guys nod. Posey turns back around to her niece, Emilia.
The band playing says their time is up and that another band will be coming up in fifteen minutes.
“Hey.” Logan comes over and grips my shoulder.
“Hi.”
He laughs at my lack of enthusiasm. “What’s up?”
“I’m supposed to be campaigning and here I am with a group of people who aren’t going to vote for me. And the one person I was hoping to talk to by coming over here won’t even look at me, so…”
“Just have fun. The Greenes know everyone. Let them introduce you.”
I feel as though I’d be slighting Marla. “Where are Marla and Hank?”
“Hank wasn’t feeling well, so Marla stayed home with him. Which reminds me.” He looks out into the crowd of people. “We’re in charge of Rylan. Give the kid room to breathe but not too much, you know? So if you see anything offside, let me know.”
“It’s a crazy age.”
Logan and I talk for a while. Some of the brothers come over and shake my hand, being pretty cordial, what with their mom running against me.
“You’re Gavin, right?” Presley’s look-alike says to me. She puts out her hand, and I shake it. “Clara Harrison. Presley’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you.”
She sips her beer. “You too. I kept meaning to approach you, but it just wasn’t ever the right time.”
“I remembered you as a brunette?” At least in the school picture with Xavier, she was. Now that she’s a blonde, I see how much she and her sister really do look alike.
“Yeah, it felt like time for a change. I’m gonna find out if blondes really do have more fun.”
She laughs before I can say anything to refute it. I swear seventy-five percent of the women in Los Angeles are blonde. Posey’s red hair was such a refreshing change that it was a turn-on.