Page 50 of Cakewalk
I let those words hang in the air for a moment. I had been lonely too, I knew that much.
Griffin then snorted out of nowhere and had to clasp his hand over his mouth to suppress a laugh.
My eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Remember that one time? On the sofa?”
“Sweet Jesus.” I turned away, distinctly tryingnotto remember.
“And then it turned out your ex had been watching us. We sure put on a good show for him, didn’t we?”
I really,reallydidn’t want to remember that. “So, this is what you’ve been doing this whole time? Just moping around and remembering the good old days?”
With a drunken haughtiness, Griffin said, “Not at all. I’ve been a very busy bee, I’ll have you know. In fact, I’ve uncovered a conspiracy.”
“Oh?”
He gave me a big nod. “Well, maybe it’s not a conspiracy, but it’s definitely not common knowledge. The gist of it is that the town’s about to go bankrupt.”
“Wait, that can happen?”
“It can more than happen. So there’s this ‘council’ that bought out the paper mill’s properties and essentially owns this town, right?”
“Yeah, they own Main Street and a bunch of other properties.”
“Well, they own a lot more than that, including the newspaper and utilities. I mean, it’s no wonder I’ve been dealing with so many roadblocks. They don’t want me here, potentially shaking things up. They want to sit pretty, make no effort to improve this town, and just collect their rent while everyone struggles.”
I hadn’t really considered that the council could be to blame for the town’s stagnation. “How’s it the council’s fault, though? They may own a lot of the town, but it’s the people we elect who decide the direction of Calhoon.”
“Well, since the council owns the newspaper, they can print stories that slant their needs. Whether it’s policies or elected officials, nothing goes forward in this town without their approval.”
I stared off, letting that all sink in. It hurt to hear how corrupt my hometown had been this entire time.
Griffin swirled a finger in the air. “But here’s the thing: They’re on a one-way path to bankruptcy, so they’re either going to sell to me now while there’s still some value left in this town, or they’re going to sell to me once Calhoon is completely destitute. And by that point, my terms aren’t going to be pretty.” Griffin then looked down at Patches and squished the raccoon’s cheeks. “Isn’t that right, Patches? You and I will reign over this trash heap of a town.”
Well, now he was sounding like the conniving, rich fat cat everyone thought he was. I sat on the far side of the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me this was your plan? That you were staying?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t really call it a plan. More of an extended tantrum that snowballed. As the days and weeks went on, I felt less and less inclined to gracefully bow out, until it evolved into this big ol’ plan to buy out the town.”
“But you knew that you weren’t going to leave. And yet you didn’t tell me?”
Griffin’s hands dropped from Patches, and he slumped back against the sofa. “I was planning on telling you, but I wasn’t sure you would ever want to associate with me again. And I really didn’t think I could handle the rejection a second time.”
It was a relief to hear he was as torn up about our separation as I was. I had been convinced it was another case where the feelings weren’t mutual. My voice no longer carried such an accusative tone as I surmised, “So, is this entire plan just something you’re doing out of spite?”
Griffin waved me off. “No. This is a good business opportunity, a prime commercial location right off the highway, and I’m not going to let anybody push me out of it just because I’m a hot-blooded man who happens to love—” He paused and swayed as he corrected himself, “—Happens tolikesome girl.”
My eyes teared up at his accidental confession, and I wondered if it was just the booze talking. He needed to sleep this off. Then we could properly talk about everything. “Okay, Griffin. It’s all right. And I’m sure that scandal has died down a bit, anyway. I mean, I haven’t shown myself in public until today, but I can’t imagine everybody’s still going on about it.”
“They’re still going on about it,” Griffin confirmed with a stern nod. “I’m asked about our relationship all the time at the bar. It’s kind of ridiculous how involved everybody is with your sex life. Mrs. Salisbury, in particular, is always plying me with drinks to try to get the details out of me.”
“Oh my God. Mrs. Salisbury of the knitting circle? Please tell me you haven’t told her anything.”
“Not a thing.” Griffin smiled and booped my nose. “It’s gonna take more than that to make me betray you.”
“Well, that’s sweet.” I saw that his eyes were getting droopy, and he was resting the full weight of his arms on the poor raccoon’s back. “Why don’t you sleep this off for a few hours?” I suggested, getting up and grabbing a knitted blanket out of a basket.
“Not… a bad idea.” He released Patches, who scurried off to an automatic dog feeder that had just released some food.
