Page 40 of Townshipped
“Yeah. As if our moms would have let that happen. They would have made us take it back and formally apologize to the mayor and city council, and probably slop hogs on some local farms for another week afterward.”
Em chuckles softly. “You three sound like trouble.”
“We really weren’t for the most part, but we had our share of putting our toes over the line. Teen boys in a small town, you know?”
She smiles as if she’s picturing us.
“The night we went to take the sign down, the cop at the time, Jesse’s dad, Herman Heinz, came through and flashed his lights. We hopped a fence into a field, and he must not have felt like chasing us because he took off down the road.”
“Are you three close now?”
“Duke and I still are. Chris is actually serving as a commissioned captain in the Army. He’ll be finishing his commitment this year. He can either continue on, or call it quits and be discharged. I’d love to have him back here, but I’ll support whatever he chooses, obviously.”
“You’re a good friend,” Em says as if she really knows me.
And maybe, in some ways, she knows me better than a lot of people. You get to see hidden sides of a person when you go through a crisis together, and when you live under the same roof. The sides of Em I’ve seen since last night have me glancing over again to sneak a look at her.
Em studies every building and landmark we pass as if she’s cataloging each one. I take her the most scenic route I can, pointing out shops along the way. We’re on State Street now.
“That’s the Dippity Do, our local salon. Laura owns it.”
“She owns it?”
“Long story, but yep. She’s the owner and one of the best stylists. Over there’s the Cues and Brews. Sometimes we meet up to play pool there. And that’s the town square.”
Em’s head goes from side to side as we drive, taking in everything I point out.
“It’s darling,” she says with a genuine smile.
We turn onto Main Street. “So, this is Main. You’ve got Bud’s Liquors, Movies on Main—they show oldies but goodies on Wednesdays—and there you’ve got our coffee shop, Bean There Done That, and that’s Pop’s Pizza.”
I keep pointing out various shops, telling Em stories about the owners or something that happened in the years I’ve lived here. We finally pull into the Seed-N-Feed.
“This is it,” I say, waving my hand across the span of the building. “Where all the magic happens.”
Em giggles.
“I imagine it’s magic to a community of farmers.”
“It’s definitely a hub. Not to mention the formal wear shop at the back of the building.”
“You’re kidding me!”
“I don’t kid about formal wear,” I tell her with a wink as I park the car and hop out. “You saw my extremely fashionable trousers from the high school dance.”
She laughs. “It’s an image I won’t soon forget.”
“Please do. Forget it, that is.”
We’re walking toward the entrance when I see a blur over to the left, and before I know it, we’re being ambushed.
“Aiden! Yoo hoo!”
I groan. Em looks confused.
“Hey!” Ella Mae says to Em as she approaches us. “I’m Ella Mae. I’m sure Aiden told you all about me. I’m sort-of famous on Instagram. And next to Rob, I’m Bordeaux’s claim to fame.”
“And humility,” I mumble under my breath.
