Wish You Were Her(12)
“Nice to meet you, Allegra,” Arthur Lancaster said, reading between the lines beautifully. “Hope you like it here.”
Then he carried his crate into the back of the cinema as if nothing untoward had happened.
“He seems cool,” she said to Grace, and it was true.
“He is,” Grace said, as they left the cinema and set off back toward the center of town. “I have an even older brother, too. He works for the council.”
“And are you in school?”
“I’m hoping to get into dance school. I had my callback last week. Just waiting.”
Allegra watched the other girl pick at her fingernails as she said this. She knew better than anybody how awful it was to await the results of an audition.
“Oh, wow. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll get it.” It was said out of politeness, but Grace gave her a smile of appreciation anyway.
“Thanks.”
As an appropriate silence fell between the two of them, Allegra realized how long it had been since she had last done this. All of her social interactions for the last few years had been in auditions, rehearsals, read-throughs, interviews and after-parties. At these, there was always a shorthand, an understanding running through each transaction. Should anything become too overwhelming she had trailers to escape to and a team to save her.
Now she was just a girl walking along Main Street.
“Grace, could we see the lake?”
* * *
As soon as Grace and Allegra headed off toward Lake Pristine, Jonah watched Simon rush back into the heart of the bookshop, where he released an obnoxious yell of triumphant joy.
“God, what?” snapped Jonah, returning the last book to the top shelf before climbing back down his ladder.
“She is so hot. Like, biblically. I cannot believe this is all actually hap—”
“Can you, like, do some work?” Jonah asked bluntly. “I’ve done almost all of the deliveries, I’ve done stock, I’ve cleaned. Please do something.”
“Why? This is fun, Jonah. You know this town gets, like, one new person every six years. Live a little.”
“To live, I must work. Same for you. So get to it.”
“She’s super nice. She’ll totally forgive you for that bad first impression.” Simon’s voice softened as he said it. He regarded Jonah with a look of sympathy.
“Unlikely,” muttered Jonah, but he did soften toward his friend. “I was bad, even for me.”
“I need you to get on with her. Cannot have you feuding with my future girlfriend.”
Though Jonah knew his friend was joking, the remark still turned his stomach.
“That’s so unbelievably gross,” muttered Jonah. “I’m going to work on the mailing list.”
He moved into the back of the shop and knocked on George’s door.
“Enter,” called his employer, sounding thoroughly distracted.
Jonah stepped inside. “George? There’s definitely an increase of people calling the shop, confused about the festival. If we’re not going to have a web—”
“We’re not going to have a website,” George said glibly, not looking up from his ledger.
Jonah let out a slow breath. “As I say, if we’re not going to have a website, someone needs to update socials regularly. And the Lake Pristine Tourist Board need to put more information on their site.”
“I thought you were on socials?”
“No, you took me off for arguing with trolls.”
“Well, I’ll call Courtney.”
“At the PR place?”
“Yeah, she’s a bit of a whizz, you know. She can handle all of that.”
“Well, okay. I just thought hiring a social media person might not be a bad idea. It’s a full-time job. I think your generation underestimates it.”
He thought of his friendly virtual friend and her job in social media management. He briefly fantasized about being able to offer her a job in Lake Pristine. He acknowledged it was a very strange way to feel about someone he hardly knew.
“Do you know any full-time social media managers?” asked George dryly, finally looking at Jonah.
“Not exactly,” Jonah said, “but I can have a look around.”
“Courtney can handle it,” George said, his tone reflecting his desire for this conversation to end. “Thanks for checking in.”
Jonah took the dismissal with a touch of sadness. Months ago, George would have been warm about the whole thing. He would have asked Jonah questions about his personal life. He would have asked what he was reading. Now, nothing. He left the room without another word and returned to the computer.
But to his delight, there was something waiting for him.
[email protected]
to: [email protected]
Subject: New Arrival
Dear Friend (I’m happy with that salutation, if you are.)
How thrilling! A glamorous new arrival in your town! You’ll be too distracted to converse with me now, I’m sure. Who are they, what are they like? Nice to hear you’ll have some excitement. Maybe I’ll get to meet you all at the festival. I can’t wait to see Lake Pristine. Keep me updated, I don’t want to feel left out. I would really love to keep finding emails from you each time I glance at my phone.