by Raven Snow
“In a religious sense?”
“In a magic casting sense.”
“I suppose I believe she’s a witch about as much as I believe you’re a witch. Which is to say that I try to keep an open mind. Like I said before, that healthy level of skepticism is good for the show.”
Rowen wasn’t quite sure how to take that. It was a little like being told, “I believe that you believe it.” Still, Rowen supposed it was a healthy frame of mind. At least she kept her mind open. She almost certainly had to deal with a bunch of hoaxes out there in the world. Rowen didn’t see any point in proving to her that magic existed. No, she would much rather Irene decide this was all a hoax and head on to the next story. With any luck she would take the tourists with her.
“How would you feel about being on my segment here?”
The question startled Rowen from her thoughts. “Huh?” She stared at Irene. The words all made sense, but she was having a difficult time untangling their meaning for some reason.
“You’re cute.” Irene made no attempt to hide the way she looked Rowen up and down. “You have a much warmer personality than that cousin of yours. I feel like you would be the better guest.”
Was this why Irene had asked Rowen into her trailer? Had she hoped to sweet talk her into an interview? “You already have Margo.”
“Not after tonight.” Irene leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. She lowered her tone, making the conversation more intimate, more serious. “Look, I took a look around the town today. I saw that shop your family owns. You guys were slammed. I’ve got some merch guys. They do most of their business at night. I’ll ask if they want to help out at your store. Sound good? It’ll all be on me, of course. I’ll pay them.”
This was getting weird. “Thanks for the offer, but—”
“And, of course, you run your own paper.” Irene spoke before Rowen could finish what she was about to say. “You’re still working with a print medium as well as the blog. You’re a dying breed. I have connections. I can help you out. It would be super easy for me to drive, at the very least, some internet traffic your way. I can have some of our people from advertising do a video call. They can help you monetize. It’s super important in this day and age. Believe me. I’m not saying you don’t know your stuff now. I’m just saying these folks know even more. They’ve dedicated their lives to this. They know their algorithms and what’s trending. It’s like they have computers for brains. I don’t know how they do it.”
Rowen picked at some dry skin near the nail bed of her thumb. She looked at the floor. Something about all this felt wrong. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly it was. She didn’t feel any strong feelings from Irene one way or the other. Maybe it was still her anxiety about Margo. “I’m not sure.”
Irene nodded like that was what she had expected to hear. “Well, talk it over with Rose, at least. I spoke with her earlier today. Lovely lady. This should at least be a group decision, don’t you think?”
“I’ll think about it.” Talking to the rest of the family about the offer did seem like the least Rowen could do. It was selfish to make a decision here and now without at least mentioning it to them.
“That’s all I ask.” Irene glanced at the watch on her wrist and stood, indicating it was time for Rowen to get going as well. “Give me a call tomorrow.” She produced a business card and handed it to Rowen. Her number was on it.
Rowen nodded. “Will do.” She exchanged some goodbyes with Irene and left the trailer. She headed for the entrance of the campground, texting Eric as she went so that he knew she was on her way. She made it to the street before he did and stood to wait. It seemed some of the locals were blocking the streets now. Most likely they had come to see the camera crew and what all the fuss was about. Either way, they were blocking the road a lot worse than they had been only a little while ago. With a sigh, Rowen scanned the rows of cars, trying to spot Eric. She didn’t like standing out in the cold and the dark.
“Rowen!” sang a voice.
Rowen cringed. She wanted to leave. She didn’t want to get trapped in a conversation, regardless of who it was with. She put on a smile, but it fell almost immediately. It was Julia Martinez, and she was coming for Rowen like she wanted something from her. “No,” said Rowen, sternly.
Julia stopped in her tracks a few feet away. “I haven’t even asked you for anything.”
“No, but you’re going to. I can tell.”
Julia huffed, confirming Rowen was right. “Fine, look, I’ll be blunt. I can’t get into the camp ground. Can you get me in?”
“Why can’t you get into the camp ground, and why do you think I can help you with that?”
“Well, you just came from there for starters.”
Rowen held up her hands. “I’m not exactly here in a news person capacity, if you haven’t noticed.”
“I know,” Julia said with a nod. “But I know Margo is in there. She’s giving Irene an interview, isn’t she?”
“She is. I’m not sure why that matters and what that has to do with me.” Rowen looked to the street once more, still scanning the cars for her husband.
Julia redoubled the speed at which she was speaking. She could likely tell that this was trying on Rowen’s patience. It had been a long, long day, and everything suggested it would be just as long, if not longer, tomorrow. “Did you meet Irene? Do you think you could have a word with her for me, please? I keep trying to get to her, but I only ever get her assistant.”
“Why do you need a word with her?”
“Because I can’t get into the park.” Julia said through gritted teeth, like she didn’t like having to repeat herself.
“You never explained why you weren’t allowed in the park, though.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously, I couldn’t have seen the tourist thing coming. All that WNT nonsense got here before I did somehow.”
“Well, they were probably the ones who officially made the video go viral. Still not quite sure how that happened, but that’s probably it.”
Julia continued as if Rowen hadn’t said anything at all. “Anyway, I realized they were setting up here. This isn’t public property, so I can’t just march in there and film. I got permission from the owner on the first day. When I tried to come back more prepared, they turned me right around. I needed more space than they had left available, they said. I kept getting stonewalled when I went for permits. It’s a mess. It’s an all-around mess, and it’s detestable behavior. I have my people looking for a loophole around the clock. They shouldn’t legally be allowed to do this. They have lawyers slowing us down, you know. By the time we get something settled, the tourists will be long gone.”
“I’m still not sure what you want me to do about it.”
“Ask Margo to talk to Irene Jones. Unless you’re close to the woman yourself? Are you?”
“No, I was just dropping off Margo’s makeup.”
Julia frowned but nodded. “All right. Still, have a word with Margo. Remind her that we know how to do her makeup and hair. I bet you those overpaid hacks in there aren’t even doing it right. It looks like she has golden undertones, but really it’s more of a slightly golden neutral.” The frown vanished suddenly. There was a light behind her eyes. “I don’t suppose you would like to sit down with us for an interview.”
Rowen should have seen this coming. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t. Maybe it was because she was far from the most photogenic Greensmith. Willow and Peony definitely put more care into their appearance. Rowen would argue that Rose even beat her in terms of attractiveness. She didn’t put a lot into the way she looked either, but her hair was so long and glossy and silky. Her skin was always clear and without blemishes. Rose would never agree to an interview though. “I’m heading home now.”
“That’s fine. I would rather it be back at the studio anyway. The light here is just terrible.”
“I’ve already agreed to another interview… Maybe.”
J
ulia’s brow creased at first, then her eyes widened as she began to catch on. “So, you are working for Irene!”
Rowen didn’t even bother to mention that it wasn’t an official thing yet. “It’s really none of your business.” She started walking down the sidewalk like she had seen her husband’s car. “I have to go.”
“I thought we were supposed to be working together!” Julia called after her.
Rowen kept her back to the woman without reply. She certainly had a knack for picking and choosing when it was they were teammates. She made a mental note to call her cousins later and make sure they didn’t agree with anything before talking things over with the rest of the family first. As it was, it already felt like they were spreading themselves too thin.
***
As it turned out, Eric was still in a shopping center parking lot. No one was letting him pull out. They were bumper to bumper, unwilling to let anyone take their place in line. With Rowen in the car, Eric drove behind the shopping center and hopped the curb onto a back road. Ben would be mad if he had caught them. Rowen didn’t much care. She would happily pay a hefty fine just to get home.
They finally did get home. Chinese food was reheated and Margo’s interview was turned on. Rowen did her best to pay attention to the interview. It seemed like the preliminary questions were all finished. Now it seemed like they were just co-hosting some sort of live stream in which they watched the skies and chatted with the occasional UFO enthusiast.
“Hey, Irene. I just wanted to say that I love your show and that you’re gorgeous. Wooo! WNT rocks! Wooo!” A bunch of the people they pointed the microphone at had something along those lines to say. Each time, Rowen could see Margo’s expression darkening even more. Heck, the longer things went on, the more restless the whole campground got. They had been hoping to see the lights by now, no doubt. Rowen could only assume that they were used to waiting days without seeing anything unusual. You couldn’t tell now by the way most of them seemed to have completely lost interest.
Rowen had lost attention ages ago. She had been drifting in and out of sleep for a while now. At long last, she just gave into it.
Chapter Seven
***
Rowen only vaguely remembered Eric waking her up long enough for the both of them to climb the stairs to bed. She knew she must have crashed and fallen back to sleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Eric was still asleep beside her. Chester was snoring at the end of the bed. Occasionally, he kicked his legs. Maybe he was having a dream about chasing a squirrel or something.
As quietly as possible, Rowen climbed out of bed. There was no telling what today would be like. No one was going to thank her if she rolled over and went back to sleep. She stopped by the bathroom, splashing her face with cool water before heading down the stairs.
Rowen found her phone on the coffee table. She had a voicemail and several missed calls. Yep. Today was going to be another busy day. She could tell already.
Instead of checking the voicemail, Rowen just called Rose back. “Hey, did you get my message?” Rose answered the phone.
“Yeah, but I didn’t listen to it.”
Rose sighed, like she didn’t want to repeat herself. She did anyway. “I was just trying to figure out where everyone was going to be today. I know Mom and Nadine are having issues with the shop. I’m sure they’ll be able to drag Norm in for a shift. He must like the extra cash flowing in. I’m not sure if Peony and Tina are going. Peony answered her phone, but she was kind of vague.”
“I think she and Tina are having a small lover’s spat.”
“Ah… Well, I can’t get in touch with Margo. I bet she’s sleeping in today. She had a long night.”
“How did the interview go? I didn’t get a chance to watch the whole thing.”
“Uneventful from what I saw. It was just ending when I woke up this morning. It seems that no lights were spotted. Margo didn’t look thrilled about that. It means the whole interview will be pretty forgettable. There’s no telling whether or not they’ll have a live stream going tonight as well.”
Rowen couldn’t bring herself to feel too sorry for Margo. “Any sign that the tourists are moving out?” That was really her only major concern at present.
“Not yet.” Rose sounded equally disappointed with that news. “At least they’re not crowded around work today, though. So, are you coming in today or are you going to help out at the shop? I’ll understand if you decide to do the latter. They really need the help down there.”
“Actually…” Rowen wasn’t sure she should even mention what Irene had asked of her. Something about it felt wrong. Still, she had said she would talk it over with the others. She figured that she owed everyone that at least. “I got asked if I wanted to do an interview for WNT.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone at first. It was likely Rose wasn’t entirely sure what she had just heard. “What?”
“I ran by the campground last night to give Margo her makeup bag. Irene Jones caught me before I could leave. She wanted to have a word in her trailer and… well…”
“She wants you for an interview?” Rose still sounded like she was trying to make sense of that. That seemed fair. It wasn’t like Rowen was someone who got asked for interviews. “What did you say?”
“Well, I told her no at first. After that, I told her I’d talk to you guys about it.”
“What’s there to talk about?”
“She offered to send some staff over to help at the store. She would pay them for their time. She also said she could drive more traffic to our blog.” Rowen hesitated before remembering the rest. “Oh, and something about advertisers. She said she has good ones with, like, algorithms or something.”
Rose fell silent again. Silence spoke volumes with her. She was considering what they had been offered. She found it tempting. Rowen could tell. “I know we want the tourists gone. We probably don’t want her traffic again, right?” That’s what Rowen was hoping Rose would say.
“Yes, but…” That didn’t sound promising. Rose made a sound like she was going to continue speaking. She made the same sound a few more times before speaking again. “All of those things could be useful to us. It’s not like we make much of a profit here. After all is said and done, we mostly just break even. That’s why the whole staff is family. We all put in so much work here, and… It would be nice if I could help Ben out more with the bills. I know Willow and Benji want to move out of that tiny apartment. Peony could afford to move out of the house. Margo could stop lying about having an apartment or loft or house—whatever it is she’s saying now.”
“The trailer isn’t so bad. I lived there with Eric for a while.”
“The shop could use the help right now, but… long term.” There was another sigh from Rose. “I don’t know. What if the tourists mean people are able to find this place? What if people start moving in and the population officially starts to grow? It would be a shame to pass this up, right? We can always ask them to stop funneling traffic our way if it got to be too much. I can’t imagine why they’d mind.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Rose’s logic was hard to argue with. It didn’t feel like there could be much harm in going along with the interview.
“Ask if she minds if we send Benji and Willow in tonight,” Rose added. “We could use some footage for the blog. WNT is already offering to send us traffic. I can’t imagine they would mind us shooting a little bit of footage here and there.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll give her a call.”
“Tell me what she says!”
***
Rowen called her aunts and the rest of her cousins before she made the call to Irene. Bizarrely, she found herself hoping that one of them might have a reason to keep her from agreeing to Irene’s request. Everyone but Margo answered their phones. That had to be a first. Just her luck too. Everyone agreed, sans Margo. The vote was cast. Rowen took a moment to compose herself before locating the business card Irene had given her on the coffee tabl
e. She dialed the number. To her surprise, it was Irene who answered.
“Irene Jones here. Talk to me.”
“I expected some kind of receptionist or assistant or something.”
“Nope. If you have this number, I’ve deemed you worth my time.” There was a new sound in Irene’s voice. It sounded slightly fatigued, like she had better things to be doing. “Who is this?”
“Rowen Greensmith.”
“Ah! Rowen!” Her tone improved a little. “I hope you have good news for me.”
“I’m free for the interview, as long as you keep your end of the bargain.”
“But of course.”
“And something else. I’d like to allow our camera guy from the Inquirer to come in. We want some interviews of our own for the blog.”
Irene chuckled. “One camera man? I love it. I love how small town you are. It’s so intimate. But, yes. Sure. That shouldn’t be a problem. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll need you or one of your people to come down and hammer out all the details. Would you like me to send by a car?”
“No, that’s all right. I… I have a car.”
Irene chuckled again. “See you soon then.”
***
The drive took about twenty minutes longer than it should have. That was better than yesterday, but only barely. Maybe it would be better to just walk everywhere from now on. Maybe she should invest in a bike. Who knew how long the roads would be like this. At least cops were out in full force today, helping with traffic jams. Rowen imagined Ben really had his hands full.
At least Irene Jones had reserved a parking spot for Rowen. She was grateful for that. With all the cops out and about, she didn’t feel like parking in another shopping center just to drive over a median.
There was a lot of paperwork to sign. Irene wasn’t there for most of it. She came in and out as the legal team called her. Usually it was just so that she could sign something or another. It seemed that she was a busy woman. There had been little time for more than a hasty hug and a greeting for Rowen. “Glad to see you made it here safely. Do you need coffee? Has anyone offered you coffee?”
