Page 14 of The Fast Lane
Arms crossed, she sat back in the chair. “Totally.”
“I love living in Two Harts. Most of my family is here.” I waved a hand in her direction. “You. Ellie. My life is full. So, I’ve been feeling a little…I don’t know, lost? But that will go away with time.”
Mae kept her silence, waiting me out.
“It feels like a lot of things are changing,” I blurted out. “I don’t know what that means for me exactly. Am I supposed to be making big life moves right now? Is it okay to live a quiet life in a quiet town?”
“There’s not a thing wrong with that. As long as that’s the life you want. I’m saying the Ali I’ve always known doesn’t do anything quietly.” Mae straightened, her expression thoughtful. “Maybe it’s time for change.”
“Like how?”
“That’s up to you, I guess. What do you want your life to look like?”
“Geez. Being engaged makes you get all deep,” I muttered.
I let her words sink in and quietly admitted to myself what I wanted my life to look like; one where fear didn’t hold me back. I fiddled with my cup of iced coffee, swiping at the condensation.
The library door flew open.
“Mae,” a man bellowed.
Mae’s eyes narrowed. “Peter.”
He barreled around the checkout counter and appeared in the doorway to Mae’s office. His eyes landed on me instantly. “Alicia Ramos.”
I turned extra slowly in my seat until I faced him, already knowing why he was looking for me. His face was flushed, and he was breathing hard, like he’d run all the way here. Beside me, Mae’s back went rigid, her arms across her chest as though she was prepared for battle—the consummate Mama Bear.
“You.” His fists curled at his sides like he wished there weren’t witnesses.
Excellent. I smiled widely.
“Garden gnomes,” Peter ground out. “Everywhere. All over.”
“Do you think you could try to talk in complete sentences?” Mae asked. “You’re not making any sense.”
He stabbed a finger in my direction. “She knows exactly what I mean. They’re all over my front lawn. And…and those gnomes are all placed in indecent positions. Indecent!”
“Indecent gnomes? I don’t know a thing about that.” I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “I did hear having benches and other lawn ornaments comes with a hefty fine from the city these days.”
“I don’t know how you did it,” he leaned closer, “but I know it was you.”
Blinking innocently, I pulled back to put more room in between us. I wasn’t like Mae, who could cut a person down to size with one sharp-tongued insult; my preferred method of dealing with people was to put them in their place more…creatively. The man in front of me had been on the receiving end of many, many, many of my revenge pranks. It was not my fault; if he’d quit acting like a giant jackass, I could stop.
Peter’s eyes seemed to bulge right out of his head, his face turning purple. He loomed over me, bracketing me in with his arms on the table. “You are the most annoying, childish, pathetic person I have ever met.”
Mae stood, her voice sharp. “That’s enough, Peter.”
He adjusted the cuffs of his long-sleeved shirt. “I’m the mayor of this town. Remember that.”
With that, he stormed off. I turned back around in my chair. “Did you get the feeling he was angry?”
“Indecent gnomes?”
“Sounds like whoever thought of that is a genius.”
“Someone who needs to retire from her questionable activities.” Mae plopped in her seat.
“Then who would keep Peter on his toes? He has to have someone challenge him or he’ll claim he’s king and we are all merely his peasants, here to do his bidding.”