Page 73 of Everything Has Changed
I open the organizer, flipping through to get a booth agreement for our local psychic. Knowing the sticker shock after the last couple of stores I stopped in this morning, I brace myself for the same conversation I’ve been practicing.
Yes, the booth price went up. There are upgrades the town is going to need to get in top shape next year. I know it’s double the price, but costs have gone up everywhere.
I felt sick to my stomach each time I’ve had to say it. Especially when Bernie stared at me so long with a blank look, as if waiting for me to crack under the pressure. Truthfully, I almost did. But I kept reminding myself this was just temporary. I was going to try my damnedest to get this back to them and then some. Not into the hands of greedy millionaires who want to turn our beloved small town into a corporate hellscape.
Mary, though, just taps my hand gently. A sad pull of her lips tells me she already knows what I’m about to say.
“It’s okay, Logan. I know it’s not you.” She takes the agreement from me, bending over the desk to quickly glance over the words before signing the bottom. A check that was already filled out and waiting in her register slides over with the signed document as she pushes it toward me.
“Did you use your psychic abilities for this?” I take the form and check; placing it directly into its designated slot, just like Gwen showed me. Her system was going to stay in pristine condition under my watch. I wanted to make sure this was perfect for her.
Mary huffs out a laugh. “I didn’t need to. I talked to Bernie this morning. The gossiper called me as soon as you left his place.” Her lips twist to the side as her head tilts and her eyes roam over my face.
I try not to squirm under the appraisal. This is probably something I need to get more comfortable with if I’m being forced into the position of Mayor, eventually.
“What?” I finally ask after a minute too long of her gaze narrowing on me.
“Something is off.”
I shuffle my feet. “I don’t know what you mean by that. Everything is just fine.” I can feel my face wanting to contort in pain at the lie flying off my tongue.
“I don’t know if I believe you.” Her finger swirls around my face. “Something here is telling me that’s a lie. I think it’s the eyebrow twitch.”
I cover my traitorous eyebrow. “Mary, you’ve known me since I was a kid. Have I ever given you a reason to distrust me?”
Her lips purse again, thinking back to if I had. “No. But I don’t know if I can say the same about your father.”
I swallow back the lump in my throat. “Has he said or done something to make youfeel that way?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet. But something in the air tells me there are stirrings in the heart of Willow Grove.” Mary twirls her finger around her head, her bracelet-laden arm clinking a sharp tune.
“Well, my father is retiring next year. Maybe that’s the change you feel.”
“Maybe,” she responds, her tone of voice not at all convincing. “But I trust you, Logan Spencer. I can feel how pure your heart is. But a little advice. Don’t let any shiny dealings of an already rich man steer you from that. You hear me?”
Unfortunately, too loud and clear for my liking. The hammer is hitting too close to home for comfort. It was foolish to believe the town hadn’t picked up on the potential for growth, but do they know the extent of it? I don’t think so, because if they knew how far it was going, they would be coming at me with pitchforks rather than veiled warnings from the local tarot card reader.
I dip my head toward her in acknowledgment. “Yes, ma’am.” I hope the smile on my face reads comfort and ease instead of the concern and darkness I’m feeling currently.
She pats my upper arm. “Good. Now, would you like a reading while you’re here? On the house. I haven’t read your palm since you were a young boy.”
I flinch at the reminder of that year. “Not today, Mary.” Not ever, but now wasn’t the time to say that.
“Mhm. Maybe at the festival. Swing by my booth. Gwen has a standing appointment, you could come by with her.” She smirks, her eyes twinkling with the mischief we all know and love that comes with this woman. It was nice to see it back, easing my own shoulders at the familiarity after the concern had been shielding it a moment before.
“You two seem to be friendly these days.”
Friendly is one way to put it. My chest warms at the thought of just how friendly I want to be with Gwen. Not that everyone needs to know.
“That’s how friends act with each other, right?”
She smirks. “If my friends looked at me the way you two look at each other, I’d have a lot more of them. I’ve seen you over at the cafe a lot lately.”
Her head tilts toward the front window. I follow her line of sight, my gaze catching on a flurry of red hair across the street.
Gwen’s fiddling with the sign out front of her shop. One that announces the specials and regularly has catchy quotes to draw you in.
“Friends, my ass.” Mary chuckles as she swats her hands in the air at me, shooing me away. “Get out of here and go check on your girl. Looks like she might have another admirer if you’re not careful.”
