Page 52 of Last First Love
"Listen Lily. You're a photographer and you're in a city with some of the best street performers and artists around. I have a very important job that I need you to take care of for me. A mission of sorts."
I pause, sifting through the various possibilities. But my curiosity is definitely getting the better of me this time. "Okay, let me hear it."
Aunt Opal cackles. "Have you ever done a live streaming video?"
I look at the phone again. "What? Um, no."
Aunt Opal makes an impatient noise. "This won't do. Listen, are you on Instagram?"
And what in the name of Grandmother Moses is our town's resident dirty old lady doing asking me about my social media usage? I feel like this is some kind of trap, but I go ahead and tell her I am.
"Well did you know you can do live videos on the 'gram?"
I suck in a startled breath. This is definitely not going to end well for either one of us, but I answer in the affirmative. Mostly because I think I might actually physically die of curiosity if I don't find out what kind of mischief Aunt Opal is cooking up on the phone with me from little teeny tiny Valentine, Indiana.
"Are you near the part of Times Square where the performers are?"
I look around. "Well, they're a couple of blocks away. I mean, this is a little area with food stands. Then there's the photography people, and after that come all the street performers."
She makes a humming noise to indicate that she's listening presumably. "Okay Lily, I want you to stand up right now and go to the street performer section."
"But I'm having a snack."
"Bullshit."
I cough out a startled laugh. "Excuse me?"
Aunt Opal wastes no time. "I'm calling bullshit. You said you were having hot churros with spicy chocolate sauce, but I haven't heard any sort of eating or food noises during this entire call, which can only mean you already finished them and you're sitting there people watching."
I glance around, but she's definitely not in the crowd around me, is she? That would be way too weird. "Okay Aunt Opal. Quit spying on me because that's creepy."
She makes an impatient noise this time, an angry grunt-snarl. "Quit accusing me of spying on you and head toward the street performers. I have a very important job for you."
I sigh, but eventually drag to my feet and head in the direction she's ordered me to go.
"Listen, Delilah's going to figure out that I have her phone before too much longer, so I need to give you your assignment now, in case she shows up and threatens my health and safety."
I snort, and she clears her throat meaningfully. "I mean, yes. Of course. Do go on."
I'm confident she could hear me rolling my eyes all the way in Indiana, but so be it.
"Lily, I need you to find a very specific street performer and take some video footage for me. It's important."
I nod, even as I want to ask approximately one hundred follow up questions. "Okay, what do you want me to videotape? Or who?"
Aunt Opal clears her throat, then primly says, "I don't suppose you've heard of the Naked Cowboy have you?"
Ken
With only a couple of weeks remaining until the soon-to-be epic wedding of Abernathy and Darcy, I finally hear it through the small town grapevine that Lily has come back from New York. Of course the only reasonable response to this news is for me to call in sick and show up at her front door, so that's what I do.
I'm pretty sure Darcy knows exactly what I'm doing when I call in and fake a bad cough and tell her that I'm going to miss my shift today, but she's kind enough not to say anything about it other than I need to bring in a doctor's note.
"And not from a gynecologist this time, you waste of space." Then she hangs up on me, which is basically how she shows people that she cares. At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself.
Whatever it is, she can't possibly be as mad at me as I am right now. I can't believe that my amazing plan to fix everything with Lily backfired in the most spectacular manner possible, but she's obviously blocking my calls and then she left the state to get away from me. That might be some sort of record.
Despite what her brother said, it's not because she's stubborn either. It's because I made the wrong call. But I think I can get her to listen to me and see that I didn't do it out of meanness, but stupidity. And Lily's a nice girl. She seems like she might take some pity on me for being stupid crazy in love with her.
