Talk of the Town

by Lisa Wingate

  When we got off for the third time, it crossed my mind that I did break my promise to God about not getting on a roller coaster again if I survived the first ride. I figured He would forgive me, though. I had a feeling He was the one who wanted me to take those boys on the roller coaster to begin with. Funny thing was, when I brought us all into the fair and bought the ride tickets, I thought I was doing a good thing for the boys. As it turned out, the boys did a good thing for me.

  As we left the Lightning Snake behind, I could still feel the ground moving under my feet. The boys and I staggered a bit by the gate, laughing about how we couldn’t get our balance, and when I turned around, darned if Betty Prine wasn’t sitting on a bench in front of the fun house, watching me with her lips squeezed together, blinking like a bug-eyed goldfish. One of her grandkids tried to wave at her from the Lightning Snake line, but she didn’t even notice. She was too busy curling up her nose at me.

  “Hallooo, Betty!” I smiled real big and waved at her, because at that moment, even Betty Prine couldn’t ruin my fun. I was as happy as a pig in poop. “You enjoyin’ the fair tonight?” From the looks of her, the answer was no. Betty Prine never looked like she enjoyed anything. My mama used to say if you frown on the outside long enough, eventually you’ll grow a frown on the inside, too. I heard on Oprah where they use that Botox on people’s faces so they can’t frown, and that gets them over being depressed. Betty Prine needed a gallon jug of that stuff.

  Avery tugged my hand and hinted that it’d be neat to go in the fun house. Andy scolded him for asking, and Avery looked down at his shoes.

  “That’s a fine idea, Avery,” I told him. “I don’t see why not. I haven’t been in a fun house in years.”

  Avery brightened up, and the three of us marched right over to the ticket booth by Betty Prine’s bench. “Come on in the fun house with us, Betty,” I said, and Avery, bless his heart, gave her a hopeful look. What a sweet boy.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Betty tipped her nose in the air, pretending she didn’t see Avery at all. “Imagene Doll, what in heaven’s name do you think you’re doing?”

  “Goin’ in the fun house,” I answered, just as pleasant as you please. I was proud of how nice the words sounded. That’d really get Betty’s goat. “After that, we might go on the roller coaster again, or maybe that crazy thing where you ride up in a chair and then drop on a big rubber band.”

  Betty’s eyes got smaller and smaller—narrow, like a rat’s. “Have you looked at yourself, Imagene?” She flipped a hand toward me as I finished paying for another book of tickets. “Going around in public like that. People will think you’ve lost your mind.”

  I leaned over and took a glance in the mirror on the fun house sign. The wind had pulled the curl from my hair and stood it up straight at a height of about four inches, all the way around my head. I had lipstick trails around my mouth, and somehow I’d picked up a smudge of grease from the roller coaster. It had stained my shirt and there was a dollop on my cheek. “Well, will you look at that?” I said. “Boys, ain’t that a funny mirror? Let’s go see what else is inside.”

  Betty glared fireballs at me as I herded the boys toward the fun house. The best thing was I didn’t care one whit. The folks who mind don’t matter, and the folks who matter don’t mind—I saw that on a T-shirt someplace on the midway. Maybe I’d buy one for Betty.

  “Don’t think everyone doesn’t know what you’re doing, Imagene Doll,” Betty hollered after me. “You and Donetta Bradford using those poor boys to try to get on Amber Anderson’s hometown show. You ought to be …”

  The fun house music drowned out the rest, and Betty Prine was gone by the time we came out. As we strolled up the midway, I spotted Amanda-Lee and Carter trying to throw Ping-Pong balls into a goldfish bowl to win a goldfish. The balls were bouncing everywhere, and finally one landed in a dish, and Amanda-Lee came away with a fish in a Ziploc bag. Carter tried to take it from her and she sidestepped away, laughing. Holding the fish at arm’s length, she told him to win his own fish—this one was hers fair and square. He argued that it was his ticket that bought the Ping-Pong balls, but she said it didn’t matter—it was her toss that landed in the bowl.

  I stood there and watched the two of them for a minute, reliving the first time Jack and I ever walked down a midway, him a young soldier and me just a girl in my first year of college, on a trip to Galveston Island with my chums. I first met Jack down on the beach. He invited me to a winter carnival that was set up by the shore, and that was all it took. It didn’t matter that I’d just started college or that he had two more years in the navy. He won a Kewpie doll for me, and I fell in love. Every time we were within ten feet of each other, there was lightning in the air.

  When Amanda-Lee danced away from Carter, she had that look in her eye and so did he. The space between them was filled with enough electricity to light up the entire midway.

  After the gold fish booth, Amanda-Lee and I ended up in the restroom together. I was headed out and she was going in. I’d stopped at the mirror to try to do something with my hair. She had a flush in her cheeks and a glow in her pretty brown eyes.

  “Well, hey there, Amanda-Lee,” I said. “You having a good time at the fair?”

  She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror, smoothed a few wild curls of coppery hair back into place, then tried to get a towel out of the dispenser with one hand.

  “Here, I’ll hold your fish,” I offered, and she handed me the bag with the little orange and black spotted fish inside. “Ain’t he a cute little fella?”

  Amanda laughed. She had a sweet laugh. “I wondered if you ladies might want him for the beauty shop. I doubt they’ll let me take him on the plane.” She frowned at the fish, like she really didn’t want to leave him behind. “He’d probably starve to death at my apartment, anyway. I’m never home.”

  “That’s kind of sad, not to be home enough to feed a fish.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said something so personal, but I was getting to feel an affection for Amanda-Lee, like she was one of my daughters-in-law, brand-new in the family. Strange how with some people, you just feel like you know them right off.

  “Yeah, I guess it is, in a way.” Just for a second she had a somber look, but then she shrugged it off. “One of these days, things will slow down a little.”

  She smiled, and I smiled back. “I rode the roller coaster. Three times, actually. I’m almost seventy years old, and it was one of the best things I ever did. I wish I hadn’t put it off for so long.”

  Amanda-Lee took her goldfish and raised him into the air like we were toasting with fine champagne. “Here’s to life in the moment.”

  “You betcha,” I cheered. I wished I’d learned about life in the moment when I was as young as her. Jack and I would have sailed around the world and seen all those places he remembered from the navy. “Looks like Carter’s having a fine time tonight, too. That sure does my heart good, considering.”

  Tossing a wadded-up towel in the trash, Amanda raised a brow. “Considering?”

  “Considering all he’s been through, I mean.” Imagene Doll, did you or did you not just promise the Almighty, not a hundred feet from here, that if you survived the roller coaster, you’d never gossip again? You better pull out your umbrella. It’ll be raining brimstone any minute.

  Amanda-Lee cocked her head to one side and leaned up against the sink, setting the fish on the counter like she wasn’t in any hurry to move on.

  Maybe it ain’t gossip if you’ve got good motivations. It ain’t. It ain’t gossip. “Well, you know, his brother having cancer and all. It’s not every young fella who’d give up his job and his place—his whole life, practically—to move back home and take care of his brother’s business and those three little nieces. It takes a man with a pretty sterling character to do that—one who understands what’s really important. Not just anyone would make that kind of commitment.”

  Amanda blinked hard, taking it all in. Her face softened, and sh
e swiveled toward the door, like she was looking through it and seeing Carter in a whole new way.

  “He don’t wear it on his sleeve, either,” I added. “It’s just that Donetta could worm the Christmas list out of Santa Claus. Folks will tell her anything, even folks she don’t know. Of course, she was sure he was from Hollywood, coming to do Amber’s show, so she was trying pretty hard to get infor—” I slapped my mouth shut, just a second and a half too late, as usual. The beans were spilt.

  Amanda-Lee let her head fall forward and sighed. A heavy twine of silence stretched between us. “I know you’re aware of who I am,” she said finally. “And why I’m here.”

  There wasn’t any point denying it. “Well, I think I do, but I wouldn’t tell a living soul. I understand it’s supposed to be top secret—until the Final Five gets announced and all.”

  She pulled her lips to one side and narrowed her eyes, like she was thinking hard. “Would you be willing to help with something? It’s a strange request, and I’d need complete secrecy until it’s over.”

  Pure intrigue tingled all over me. I felt like James Bond having an undercover meeting with Q in the bathroom. “Anything. You just name it. I’d do anything to help Amber’s show turn out to be the best one of all.”

  Amanda-Lee blew out a long breath. “What I really need is a horse and a trailer… .”

  Chapter 15

  Mandalay Florentino

  As I wrapped up my conversation with Imagene, I experienced an emerging hope that Amber’s hometown reveal would come off as intended. Our plan was clear and sharp—in my mind, at least. Tomorrow morning, after Amber and the crew arrived in Austin, they would leave the airport and drive straight to the home of Imagene Doll. Her farm would provide a secluded country location, where we could prepare for Amber’s grand entrance without the curious eyes of townsfolk and the potential interference of one roving reporter, whom Imagene had also seen roaming around town. Imagene assured me that the reporter had sufficiently offended the townsfolk by asking smutty questions about Amber, and no one would give her any information.

  With silence from the locals and some strategic planning, we could keep a lid on the story until after Amber’s big reveal at the rodeo arena. Once word of that got out, things would probably become frantic before her hometown reunion concert at the Daily community building, but right now, I could only attack one Amber issue at a time.

  Imagene had committed to arranging for a suitable horse trailer and truck to be waiting at her house. She would also procure Amber’s brothers, and hopefully her grandfather. When Amber arrived at the farm, we would shoot family reunion scenes and interviews, using Imagene’s place as a down-home locale. With a little ingenuity, and about a thousand pounds of luck, it would work.

  If Ursula found out I’d confided in one of the locals, she’d have my head stuffed and mounted on her wall. I could hear her screaming, even now. Vhat? Vhat? Did you think these people couldt be trustedt, Mandee-lay? You leet-tle fool. Trust no one.

  “This has to remain absolutely secret,” I whispered to Imagene as we prepared to part ways. Two teenage girls had come in and were giggling in front of the mirrors. I waited until they left to say anything more. “If word gets out, there will be paparazzi everywhere and this whole thing will turn into a fiasco. It won’t be about Amber’s singing anymore; it’ll be about celebrity gossip. The only thing keeping Amber on the show right now are the viewer votes. If public opinion turns against her, she’ll be out of the Final Five before she even has a chance. This hometown show is important.” I left out the fact that the network powers-that-be didn’t like Amber. Warren Entertainment, the studio that awarded the million-dollar recording contract, didn’t want to be saddled with, direct quote, “a gospel music–singing bumpkinette with decidedly poor judgment and a penchant for stumbling into controversial situations.”

  Imagene appeared to have a clear understanding of the problem. “That business in the papers about Amber and that awful Justin Shay isn’t true, is it?” She watched closely for my reaction. “Sometimes a young girl can fool herself, thinking that a fella who’s never done right by a woman before will do right by her. I’d hate to see Amber fall into that trap. She’s such an innocent little thing.”

  I tried to brush off the possibility. “My suspicion is that it’s more media hype than anything. I can’t picture someone like Justin Shay having a serious interest in Amber.” On the other hand, there was Ursula’s concern that Justin might actually show up in Daily with Amber. Surely Justin Shay had more important things to do … unless he really was in hot pursuit of Amber. He’d been known for obsessive whirlwind love affairs in the past.

  Imagene nodded, looking relieved. “Well, that’s what I told that lady reporter in the café—she ought not to be spreading rumors on national TV. Amber’s a good girl.” She glanced toward the door. “Shoot. I forgot I had the boys out there. They probably think I fell in.” Hiking her purse onto her shoulder, she hurried toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. You got the directions to my place, right? Two miles west to the crossroads, take a left, then four miles on County Road 2103. Old white house with a big red barn, kind of sits back in the live oaks. There’s a couple of antique horse-drawn plows welded into the gateway. You can’t miss it.”

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, then grabbed my goldfish from the counter and followed her out, mentally cycling through tomorrow’s plans as she disappeared into the crowd. In the midst of the cyclonic spin of work-related details in my head, there was a small, persistent voice asking, Where’d Carter disappear to? I found myself standing outside the restroom, searching for him, even though he’d probably given up on me and moved on by now, and that was undoubtedly for the best. An emotionally unavailable soon-to-be-married young professional shouldn’t be searching for some guy who was not her fiancé, still evasive about his reasons for being in town, and not part of her plan to salvage Amber Anderson’s reunion show. A committed professional would be back in her hotel room, covering all the bases, plugging the laptop into the phone line to email tomorrow’s plans to the crew, maybe giving David a call to say good-night, exchange I love yous, and perhaps ask said fiancé to skip the upscale hobnob with the wealthy female client up the coast… .

  I spotted Carter sitting on a bench near the Lightning Snake, and the imaginary phone conversation fizzled. There was a giant blue stuffed gorilla on the bench next to him. He grinned and pointed to it as I came closer. “My prize is bigger than yours.”

  “Yeah, but mine came with a two-day supply of goldfish food.” I held up my fish, and it twirled around in its watery bubble, the colored lights giving it a metallic sheen.

  Carter looped an arm around the neck of the gorilla and glanced over his shoulder toward the roller coaster. “You ready for the … Lightning Snake?” He pronounced Lightning Snake with all the drama of a professional voice-over announcer, then stood up, issuing a silent challenge.

  “With the gorilla and the fish?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Well … I’m not sure about the gorilla, but I don’t think the fish would enjoy it.” Holding up the bag, I inspected the fish like the concerned pet owner that I was. “He’s looking a little traumatized from having Ping-Pong balls thrown at him all day, actually. He’ll probably need therapy.”

  Carter chuckled. “We could leave him with the gorilla.”

  “He might get stolen.” I watched the roller coaster zip down a hill and whip around a curve. Really, that didn’t look tempting. No telling what kind of underpaid lackey tightened the bolts on that thing. “Besides, the fish doesn’t even know the gorilla.”

  Holding the gorilla close to the goldfish bag, Carter performed cursory introductions. “Gorilla, Goldfish. Goldfish, Gorilla.” The gorilla’s black plastic eyes stared sightlessly through the bag at me, and I couldn’t help laughing.

  “I don’t think they like each other.”

  Little dimples formed at the corners of Carter’
s mouth, followed by a smooth grin. “I think they like each other pretty well.” Somewhere near the rodeo arena, fireworks exploded into the sky.

  “I …” Whatever I’d been about to say flew from my mind. I felt lightheaded, out of body. “I guess you’d have to ask the gorilla.”

  “I already did. He said he’d be happy to sit with the goldfish while we go on the roller coaster.”

  “How about if I watch the gorilla and the goldfish while you go on the roller coaster?” I came back down to earth and surrendered to my own lack of chutzpah and the fact that I shouldn’t be riding the roller coaster with some guy I met on a business trip. This escalating game of flirtation at the fairgrounds had to stop before I did something I’d be tempted to lie about later. I’d never lied to David about anything. We were completely open and honest with each other. The rules didn’t change just because I was stressed out and a long way from home. “I’m really not a Lightning Snake kind of girl. I’m a both-feet-on-the-ground kind of girl. Thanks for the offer, though.” I took a step back, putting a safe distance between us.

  Carter tipped his head to one side, watching me from the corner of his eye. “There’s no hidden agenda here, Manda. Just two friends on a roller coaster ride.”

  I blushed, embarrassed that I’d so clearly telegraphed my thoughts. “I know that.” In the back of my mind, I was thinking friends, he said friends. Even people in committed relationships have friends. “Thanks for hanging out with me last night and everything, but I think I’d better head back to the hotel and get some work done. I need to plug my laptop in somewhere, clear up my email, and make plans for tomorrow.”

  Both Carter and the gorilla gave me the same blank look. “I think the phone’s in my half of the room, along with the Care Bears and the light switch.” He lifted both hands, swinging the gorilla into the air. “Afraid you’re out of luck until I get back to the hotel. Might as well ride the roller coaster.”