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“Thanks for the heads-up,” Maye said as she handed Tracy a foam mallet. “Here, let’s play. Loser has to tell the mayor that Chris’s name is misspelled on the banner.”

- 25 -

Tuesday Night

at Fall Fest

Maye tried to distract herself while waiting for Chris to arrive. She cleaned her condo. Reorganized her office. Scrubbed the kitchen in the common. Washed her car. She thought about helping to clean up the leaves on Main Street, but she hadn’t completed the Foliage Freshener Orientation and didn’t want to shake any branches on the Fall Fest committee.

Most of her interactions with Chris so far had been either virtual or on a movie set. Maye was excited to have him visit her home turf for some ordinary hanging out and to experience a few seasonal traditions. She squealed when she saw him calling.

“Hey! Are you here?” She said.

“Cideys is definitely not a saying here! I knew it!” Chris said.

Maye snort-laughed. She loved how playful he could be. “Are you all checked in? Want me to come get you?”

“Yeah, I’m in my room at the inn and, uh, I’m sitting next to a very random welcome basket. Care to explain?”

“Well…” Maye began.

“Nope,” Chris cut her off. “You know what? Nevermind. No explanations needed. I’m sure everything will make sense, eventually.”

Maye wondered how he would make sense of an alpaca scarf, honey sticks, a moose ornament, and a “Bumpah Stickah” sticker. “Right,” she said. “Okay, I will come get you, okay?”

“Yes, please,” he said. “See you soon!”

As Maye walked toward the inn, she gave herself a pep talk. Okay, Maye. Be cool. Be super cool. Don’t freak out. She planned to be smiley, but even-tempered. The last time they saw each other, it ended on a really good note, and she hoped they would be able to get closer while he was in town. Then she saw him. Chris was standing on the steps in front of the inn and began rushing toward her. She couldn’t help but do the same. The two crashed into each other, and Maye wrapped her arms around him. He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. Maye inhaled sharply at the thrill of what might happen next. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a curtain move in the inn’s front window. That was just enough.

“We should probably—” Maye nodded toward the inn window.

“Right,” he said, taking a step back. “Small town and all…”

“Right,” she sighed deeply. “Well, you ready for your first night at Fall Fest?”

“Born ready,” he confirmed.

Maye parked near Town Hall so she could walk with Chris around the block to the market entrance. Anticipation fluttered in her stomach and she played with her hands nervously.

“Listen,” she said as they began the short trek. “There’s something you should know. There’s sort of this unofficial welcoming committee that wants to—”

“Oh don’t worry about that,” he waved her off. “I can handle a few fans.”

And with that, Maye smirked and zipped her lips, eager to enjoy the show.

The faint sounds of the marching band got louder with each step, and Chris started to strut when he caught the rhythm. “You guys have music at your fest? That’s awesome!”

“On occasion,” Maye said.

As they rounded the corner to the market entrance and the scope of the welcome committee came into view, Chris’s eyes grew wide. He grabbed Maye’s hand.

“Is this for me?” he said excitedly.

“Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!” Mayor Mayer announced as the crowd parted and created a clear path to the market entrance. “Come on down, Mr. Christoffer Robert R. Walker!”

As the regional high school band played, the banner unfurled from the Downtown Fall Market arch: Welcome to Greenville, Christoffer Robett R. Walker! Someone had attempted to manually alter the extra t in Robert to an r.

Chris stepped up onto a podium that was created for him out of a couple of upside-down buckets and a few wood boards.