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Maye stared blankly.

Tabby’s bubbly demeanor flattened. “Oh…um…I just see him when he comes in for coffee. I say hello to lots of people and he’s just chatty, so we’ve become friendly.”

She wasn’t wrong about that. Randall was a talker.

“And you two talked about hiking?” Maye said with disdain.

“Well, he talked about hiking,” Tabby looked scared. “And other stuff sometimes. But I just knew he had a trip coming up and I haven’t seen him in a few days so I figured he must have gone. I was just…I’m sorry.” Tabby lowered her head. “It’s not really my business…”

“What kinds of other stuff?” Maye said.

Tabby looked confused.

“You said that you and Randall talked about other stuff sometimes. What other stuff would you talk about?” Maye crossed her arms and tilted her head. She didn’t really think that something was going on between Tabby and Randall, but at this point, she couldn’t trust her instincts.

“Oh!” Tabby seemed to pick up on what Maye was asking. “Oh, no, nothing like that. It was completely innocent small talk,” she assured Maye. “Randy and I—”

Maye cringed.

Tabby cleared her throat. “Randall and I were strictly choffee shop friends. Only. Always.”

Taylor stepped up beside Tabby and handed Maye her drink. “Everything okay over here?”

Tay and Maye looked at Tabby, while her eyes darted between them.

“I’ll make those next drinks,” Tabby said, excusing herself from the conversation.

“What the heck is going on here?” Tay whispered. “Were you two arguing?”

“It’s nothing,” Maye said, attempting to brush it off. “It’s embarrassing,” she admitted. “It’s just that she knew about Randall’s hiking plans. And she called him Randy. Randy.”

“Tabby gives a lot of people nicknames,” Taylor said. “There’s a good chance that’s just a coincidence.”

“Well,” Maye sighed. “That’s a relief, I guess. But it doesn’t change how this rando knows more about my boyfriend—” Maye caught herself. “I mean, my ex-boyfriend, than I do.”

“Speaking of people in the know,” Taylor nodded towards a table behind Maye. “Lunch Ladies at six o’clock.”

The Lunch Ladies were deeply rooted and well-connected in the community. What was once a daily routine of lunch, dessert, coffee, and lots of chit-chat between friends Sandra, Laura, Margery, and Estelle had evolved into a daily radio show hosted by four of the most entertaining and gossipy ladies in town.

“All of them?” Maye looked desperately at Tay.

“Just Margery and Estelle,” Tay said.

“Okay,” Maye said, slightly relieved. “That’s probably the best-case scenario. Estelle will be polite and not bring up anything that she’s heard. Margery, on the other hand, she’ll likely want to tell me about the multiple revenge plots she’s already cooked up.”

“Well, you’ve definitely been spotted,” Tay said.

Maye turned her head slightly to see both ladies grinning expectantly out of the corner of her eye.

“Quick,” Maye said. “What did they talk about on their Lunch Ladies show yesterday?”

Taylor thought for a second. “A pothole or a streetlight or…oh! I remember. It was the school budget and whether they should take private funding to make up for shortfalls in exchange for premium school pickup parking spots.”

“That was quite a journey down memory lane there, Tay.”

“Hey, I got there, didn’t I?”

“Perfect,” Maye said. “I’ll just bring that up. That will get Margery going and she won’t bring up my situation. Well,” Maye raised her coffee cup. “Wish me luck.”