“That’s a good point, Mrs. Chambers.” The mayor nodded at the old woman. “What we need to do is gather together like we did this evening, but with a bit more pomp and circumstance. We need decorations, food, and an honorary item to present to Mr. Marshall.”
“If it’s gonna be a party, we need some liquor!” A man suggested heartily.
“And music! Maybe dancing!” Someone else added with enthusiasm.
The mayor hushed the crowd by waving her pointer finger over their heads. “Anyone who would care to volunteer, come to the front of the room. We’ll divide into committee groups. I’ve got to see what kind of budget we can come up with. Mr. Treasurer, would you be so kind as to join me on the stage? And bring your laptop. I know you’ve got a bottom line of what we can spend on that thing. The rest of you should head on home. I’m sure we can convince Ms. Alistair to print off some sticky notes to slap on tomorrow’s Star announcing the time of our little event. And if you’ve got a friend that didn’t show tonight, make sure they’re here tomorrow. I’m expecting the whole town, ya hear?”
“Be more than glad to help spread the word, Mayor!” Murphy called out and James couldn’t help but smile at her.
A dozen senior citizens and several parents carrying young children called it a night, but the majority of the townspeople remained in the firehouse, eager to assist in Bennett’s surprise celebration.
“I hope he survives his homecoming,” James murmured as he and Milla joined the group in charge of refreshments. Lucy and Lindy decided to work with the decorating committee. “There’s no chance of him hiding out at home now.”
“I’m going to make Bennett a whole Sweet Tooth goodie basket, so it’ll be worth his while to stand in the limelight for a spell,” said Megan Flowers, who was sitting across from James. “And we know where Bennett will be at this time tomorrow, but the real question I want answered is will Gillian be here too?”
“She’d better,” Dolly stated firmly. “I’m not gonna close the diner early and cook all afternoon long for nothin’! I need to know how this love story ends, because whether Gillian admits it or not, that’s what this is.” Dolly sighed dreamily. “A small town love story.” She poked James in his side. “Isn’t it romantic?”
Luckily for James, Milla’s relatives were coming to Quincy’s Gap via car service, so he didn’t need to take off work to pick them up from the airport. As he was finishing up the morning’s hold and transfer requests, Scott gestured at the phone behind the circulation desk.
“Ms. Hanover’s on the line for you, Professor.”
Lucy was too excited to waste time in returning James’s greeting. “We’re really going to pull one over on Bennett this afternoon! The mayor has asked Sheriff Huckabee to escort Bennett from the Amtrak station back here. He’s riding the lead car and I’ll be taking up the rear.”
“That’s going to ruin the whole element of surprise, wouldn’t you say?”
“Not at all!” Lucy laughed. “Listen to this part! The sheriff’s brother is a retired FBI agent. He still works for them every now and then on a consultant basis, so he’s got an official ID. He’s going to put on a dark suit and some of those mirrored glasses and tell Bennett that he’s investigating a federal case of mail fraud. He’s going to tell Bennett that someone on his route is suspected of being the ringleader and ask for his help in obtaining information about this person.”
James couldn’t help but chuckle. No doubt Bennett would be completely distracted by such a ruse. “Who’s agreed to play the master criminal?”
“Mrs. Horner.”
“Our old school nurse? Oh, that’s perfect.” James grinned at the image of the prim and proper Mrs. Horner committing mail fraud.
“ That’s today’s good news,” Lucy continued, her tone suddenly tight with hostility. “If I didn’t have tonight’s celebration to look forward to, I might have had to shoot somebody as a stress reliever. Prepare yourself, James. Murphy’s book came out ahead of schedule. One of the deputies showed it to me this morning.”
“Oh no!” James shouted in anguish. “Things were just looking up around here!”
When Lucy didn’t respond in agreement to his sentiment, he asked, “Did you read any of it?
“Most of the first chapter during my coffee break, and that was enough !” Lucy replied angrily. “The beginning is all about us, James. We’re called the Cellulite Club! Cellulite! Murphy made us out to be a group of fat, bumbling nitwits. I’m this aggressive, man-hating secretary; Lindy’s a giggly, flighty teacher desperate for love; Bennett’s a total nerd-she even has him wearing thick glasses and a pocket protector-and Gillian’s just plain nuts. Murphy made her an animal psychic!”
James felt his stomach clench. “And what about me? Ugh, I’m almost afraid to ask.”
Lucy hesitated for a long moment, and James was unsure whether she was trying to be unnecessarily dramatic or was merely unwilling to be the deliverer of bad tidings. “You’re kind of wishy-washy,” she finally replied. “She uses the word ‘weak’ a lot to describe you. Everyone else makes decisions while you hide in the background. Murphy portrays you as someone who’s been permanently destroyed by his ex-wife, so now you let women run all over you.”
“Jane wasn’t that bad,” James stated in disbelief. “Our divorce hurt because I was still in love with her, but I’m not weak! And yes, she left me for another guy, so that didn’t feel great, but she didn’t destroy me! We had a lot of happy times together, and those help balance out the painful ending of our marriage.”
“Do you ever talk to her? To Jane?” Lucy seemed genuinely curious though James suspected she was just trying to change the subject before he could work himself into a full state of indignation.
“We exchange Christmas and birthday cards and an occasional e-mail, but I don’t really know much about her life now. The Christmas card she sent didn’t have a return address on it and was postmarked from Charlottesville, so I’m not even sure if she’s still living in Williamsburg.” An image of Jane smiling up at him as he slipped a platinum band on her ring finger arose unbidden in his mind, but he pushed the memory aside. “Tell me more about the book.”
“I only read the first chapter!” Lucy refused to play along. “Aren’t you getting a copy?”
James snorted. “I ordered four copies for the library, though it killed me to spend the money! Still, I know my patrons will be standing in line to get their hands on Murphy’s novel whether I like it or not, and it’s contrary to the librarian’s creed to censure reading choices.”
“Too bad,” Lucy grunted. “This seems like a great time to gather up a big pile of kindling and have us a good old fashioned book burning.” She sighed mournfully. “See you tonight.”
James hung up the phone and sank onto a nearby stool. For the rest of the morning, he did his best to be his solicitous self for the benefit of his patrons, but as lunchtime grew closer, his anxiety over Murphy’s portrayal of him increased. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, he had purchased two packages of snack-sized cheese puffs from the vending machine in the lobby. He then sneaked into the men’s room and locked himself in a stall. He practically inhaled the first bag and without even pausing to lick the salty, orange dust coating his fingertips, he tore into the second. He was halfway through that bag when he heard Francis’s voice.
“Professor? You in here?” Francis asked apologetically.
James hurriedly swallowed a mouthful of cheese puffs. “Yes.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but Milla’s on the phone and she sounds… well, I think she’s been crying.”