Page 15 of Wish You Were Her
Though Jonah knew his friend was joking, the remark still turned his stomach.
“That’s so unbelievably gross,” muttered Jonah. “I’m going to work on the mailing list.”
He moved into the back of the shop and knocked on George’s door.
“Enter,” called his employer, sounding thoroughly distracted.
Jonah stepped inside. “George? There’s definitely an increase of people calling the shop, confused about the festival. If we’re not going to have a web—”
“We’re not going to have a website,” George said glibly, not looking up from his ledger.
Jonah let out a slow breath. “As I say, if we’re not going to have a website, someone needs to update socials regularly. And the Lake Pristine Tourist Board need to put more information ontheirsite.”
“I thought you were on socials?”
“No, you took me off for arguing with trolls.”
“Well, I’ll call Courtney.”
“At the PR place?”
“Yeah, she’s a bit of a whizz, you know. She can handle all of that.”
“Well, okay. I just thought hiring a social media personmight not be a bad idea. It’s a full-time job. I think your generation underestimates it.”
He thought of his friendly virtual friend and her job in social media management. He briefly fantasized about being able to offer her a job in Lake Pristine. He acknowledged it was a very strange way to feel about someone he hardly knew.
“Do you know any full-time social media managers?” asked George dryly, finally looking at Jonah.
“Not exactly,” Jonah said, “but I can have a look around.”
“Courtney can handle it,” George said, his tone reflecting his desire for this conversation to end. “Thanks for checking in.”
Jonah took the dismissal with a touch of sadness. Months ago, George would have been warm about the whole thing. He would have asked Jonah questions about his personal life. He would have asked what he was reading. Now, nothing. He left the room without another word and returned to the computer.
But to his delight, there was something waiting for him.
Subject: New Arrival
Dear Friend (I’m happy with that salutation, if you are.)
How thrilling! A glamorous new arrival in your town! You’ll be too distracted to converse with me now, I’m sure. Who are they, what are they like? Nice to hear you’ll have some excitement. Maybe I’ll get to meet you all at the festival. I can’t wait to see Lake Pristine. Keep me updated, I don’t want to feel left out. I would really love to keep finding emails from you each time I glance at my phone.
Curious regards,
Your Friend
“You’re smiling at your phone; are you telling your friends how silly we all are?”
Allegra jerked in surprise at Grace’s question.
The two girls were sitting by the actual lake in Lake Pristine and Allegra had slathered her long legs in sunscreen. The Lake Pristine beach was not vast, sitting at around two hundred yards long. But despite its smaller scale, everyone seemed able to find a deckchair and a small space of their own. It was not cluttered or overcrowded. The sand was like caster sugar, and the size of Lake Pristine was large enough for people to imagine they were really sitting by the ocean.
Allegra felt like a different person as the sun shone down on her skin. It felt pleasant, rather than overstimulating. The cool water of the lake called to her like a comforting balm, promising cool relief should anything become too intense. There was a small stall at the other end of the beach, serving ice cream, chilled bottles of pop and free drinking water. Children splashed in the shallows of the lake. Two older men lay side by side in their swimwear, eyes closed behind their sunglasses, their hands entwined. A man and woman were pretending to bury their older child, who giggled delightedly at the game.
