Page 64 of The Fine Art of Faking It
“Rightfully so,” Joey cut in.
“So, after the dance, I took my cousin Moon Beam with me to his house.”
The women around the table leaned forward in anticipation.
“I was just going to toilet paper his precious El Camino. I swear, it was totally innocent.”
“I wish I had popcorn right now,” Gia whispered.
“Anyway, Moon Beam was smoking like a rebellious teenage chimney at the time. She flicked her butt into the grass, which hadn’t had a good rain in forever. And it turns out the organic lawn fertilizer was highly flammable.”
A collective gasp went up around the table.
“So, there I was in my pretty dress with my rolls of toilet paper, and the entire front lawn is ablaze. Moon Beam, who was one infraction away from being sent to live on a commune with our Aunt Martha, took off.”
“That explains a lot,” Joey said. “I knew you weren’t the arsonist type.”
“I had to run up the driveway and ring the bell to tell them their yard was on fire. The flames were racing toward the house. I was hysterical and Mr. and Mrs. Gates were screaming at me. The Monthly Moon photographer arrived right before the fire company and spent the next half hour shooting my mugshot. Hazel Cardona arrested me in front of Davis and Taneisha… his next-door neighbor.”
The table was in absolute silence.
“It looked like he’d dumped me and I tried to set his house on fire. It was humiliating.”
“Oh, Eden,” Summer said with sympathy.
Eden stared down at the table. She could still smell the acrid scent of ash and smoke… and shame.
“You know how Blue Moon is. There were about fifty people on the scene, watching Sheriff Cardona read me my rights. I was still in my dress for the dance.”
She took another gulp of wine.
“I told the sheriff it was my fault and left Moon Beam out of it. My parents got the charges plead down to trespassing and vandalism. Moon Beam worked at the Fry and Fly for an entire year to pay me back for the fines. But for fifteen years, I’ve been the girl that tried to burn down Davis Gates’s house.”
She’d never told anyone but her parents the real story. And they didn’t believe her. They thought she was just acting on behalf of the feud. Everyone, including Davis, still believed that she’d been responsible for the fire.
“So, you really didn’t set the fire?” Joey asked in disbelief.
Eden shook her head. “Nope. My own parents didn’t believe me. I figured why bother to try to convince anyone else?”
“That’s awful,” Gia said with sympathy. “You must have felt so alone.”
She had. And if Eden were being honest, sometimes she still did.
“Listen, I believe every word. Your cousin Moon Beam saw a target on Jax’s pants and tried to get in them when he moved back to Blue Moon,” Joey told Eden.
“Davis’s parents freaked out, which caused my parents to freak out on them. I had to go through an entire semester of Impulse Control class and a year of community service,” Eden confessed. “And ever since, I’ve been the unstable bad girl of Blue Moon.”
“That’s so sad and funny and crazy,” Summer said.
“On the bright side, you two put it all behind you and now you’re together!” Gia said. “I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first, but from the pictures, you two look so happy. I’m really glad we matched you.”
“Pictures?” Eden frowned.
“Wait? You’re not allowed to talk about Beautification Committee business,” Joey pointed out.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Eva told them. “Eden knows she was matched. She even showed up to a meeting to contest it.”
“We can contest our matches?” Joey screeched, slapping her hand down on the table.
