I turned around to find Pearl Beerman standing behind me in line at the gas station. I instantly cursed my need for an energy drink that morning. Despite the odd brownie hangover I had and the turmoil going through my brain because of Charlie, I smiled politely. “Hi, Ms. Pearl. How are you?”
She gave me a knowing smile. “I saw the funniest thing the other day.”
It was my turn to check out so I stalled while I paid for my industrial-size caffeine fix and tried to figure out what she wanted. “Oh?”
Pearl slid some change over to Danny, the clerk, and waved a candy bar at him before following me out to my car. “Yeah, after you left the motel, I saw August Lee, Theo White, and Charlie Taylor leaving the same room.”
I leaned against my car and cracked open the can. After taking a long gulp of it, I let out an unladylike burp and excused myself before just going for broke. “What’s it going to take to keep that odd sighting to yourself?”
“Cheesecake. Cookies. A pie, here or there.”
I frowned. “You want me to bake for you?”
“Jonah Newberry likes baking. I told him I’m a blue-ribbon winner. If I take him desserts made by a professional, he’ll buy it.” She shrugged. “Jonah’s a little old, but he’s sitting on a huge payload.”
My frown turned even deeper. “You’re trying to get Mr. Newberry’s money?”
“His money?” Pearl snorted. “I’ve got my own money. He knows who’s been painting the chip. He won’t tell me, but if I get in good with him, he will. I just know it.”
I squinted in the bright morning sun. “Why don’t you just get in good with him without the lie?”
“Why don’t you just get in good with him without the lie?” She mimicked me in a voice that I was pretty sure was nothing like my own. “Because! I’m eighty-four. I don’t have time to get in good with people. I have to get what I need and get out. You should know a little something about that. Not that I’m judging. Those three… God outdid himself with them.”
I took another long drink and finally nodded. “Fine. I’ll bake for you. If you tell anyone about what you saw, though, I’ll go to Jonah Newberry and tell him that you couldn’t bake a cake if Betty Crocker herself was holding your hand and whispering in your ear.”
Pearl narrowed her eyes at me and then grinned. “I like you. I wasn’t sure before, but now I know. We’ve got a deal. I need a pecan pie to take Jonah tomorrow. It’s his favorite, so make it good.”
“Want me to drop it off at the motel?”
“Oh, my god. Have you never done this type of thing before? Of course, I don’t want you to drop it off at the motel. We’ll meet in secret. I’ve got your number. I’ll call you and let you know the drop-off location.”
“You have my number?”
“Yeah.” She made a face. “What?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Fine. Call me.”
She looked me over once more before inching away. “How was it?”
I drained my drink, burped once more, and met her stare. “How do you think it was?”
She cackled loudly and shot me finger guns before scurrying away. Before I was buckled into my seat, I could see her cornering someone else already.
I left that interaction hoping the next one I wanted to have would go as well. Driving across town to the city hall, I parked in front of the obnoxiously shaped building and stared up at it. Lunar really liked to draw in people with the alien hype. City hall had been built by a mayor before I was born to look like a large spaceship. It was pretty cool architecture for its time and a draw in itself, but the fact that our town’s city hall was a spaceship had led to Lunar being mocked more than once.
I let myself into the front abduction hatch and looked around. Margaret Folly, a woman who’d babysat my mom, sat at a glass desk off to the side of the entrance, and as soon as she spotted me, she screamed and jumped out of her chair.
Six feet four inches of baby powder and blush, Margaret Folly was an anomaly. A sweet and innocent grandmother half the time. The other half of the time, she was a rockstar roller derby skater who screamed profanity and tried to crush the skulls of opposing teams. I’d followed her career avidly, even after moving away. How many other times was I going to get to say I knew a senior citizen derby girl?
“Reagan James! Get over here right now and give me those cheeks!”
I laughed happily and hurried over, hugging the older woman tight and barely grimacing when she kissed both of my cheeks, for sure leaving bright red lipstick marks. “Hi, Mrs. Folly. How are you?”
“Call me Margaret! I’m great, of course. How are you? Besides beautiful. You’ve grown into the spitting image of your mother. She was a stunner, too.” Tears suddenly filled her eyes and she swore, drawing the lone security guard’s eyes, who scowled at the language. Margaret scowled back. “Stuff it, Hank. Just because you found Jesus two weeks ago doesn’t mean I have to stop swearing. Jesus doesn’t mind a few dirty words.”
I barely stopped myself from cackling at the horrified look on Hank’s face. Squeezing Margaret’s hands, I drew her attention back to me. “Could I bring dinner over for you and Mr. Folly soon? I’d love to catch up and tell you all about how I’ve followed your skating career and how proud I am of you. Today, I was just hoping to catch Megan if she’s in. I heard she was working for the park department.”
“Oh! You’re making an old woman’s day. Of course, you have to come over for dinner. It’d probably be polite of me to insist on cooking, but I’ve heard all about your skills from your brother and Vince would murder me if I didn’t let him taste your cooking.” She hugged me tight again and then pointed to a rocket-shaped hallway. “Megan, who is the entire parks department, is the third door on the right. She’s in.”
“Thank you. I’ll call you to work out dinner.”
“You’d better.”
I walked away from her feeling a warmth in my chest that I hadn’t ever felt in LA. Being around people who knew my parents, people who loved them, people who still loved my brother, it made a difference. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in Lunar because that seemed insane, but it felt like what I needed at that point in time.
The closer I got to Megan’s door, however, the warmth was replaced with more nerves. Outside of her office, I studied her name on the planet-shaped plaque and then raised my hand to knock. I just had to face her and rip off the bandaid.
Before I could knock, the door opened and I found myself face to face with my childhood best friend, the girl who’d been there for me through everything, the girl I’d left behind when I ran away.
Her eyes narrowed when she spotted me and I watched her jaw harden. Her thick curly hair was the same bright orange shade it’d been through childhood and her vibrant green eyes could still make me feel about an inch tall, apparently.
I lowered my hand and offered a slow smile. “Hey.”
She gritted her teeth and stepped around me. “Nice of you to stop by finally.”
