Ms. Lawyer

by Lea Coll

  I wasn’t sure I would actually go through with it. Not until I was on the Bay Bridge driving to the Eastern Shore did I believe it. I almost turned around several times. My hands were sweaty. I was nervous. It was ridiculous to feel this way because I had not heard from Luke at all. He had moved on. I needed to as well. If only my heart would listen to my brain.

  ASHLEY OPENED HER DOOR AND exclaimed, “Hey girly. I’m so glad you came!”

  I gave her a weak smile in return. I was still undecided on the intelligence of this trip. I was happy to see her though. I allowed her to pull me in for a hug.

  “How are you doing?” she asked with concern on her face.

  “I’m alright,” I said, walking inside her apartment with my bag. I wasn’t sure how long I would stay. I felt ready to flee at any second.

  “How is work? You didn’t really respond to my texts,” she said, taking my bag and placing it by the door.

  “Sorry. Work is busy, so that’s good. It’s distracting.”

  “It’s so boring without you. I have no one to chat with,” she admitted, plopping down on the couch.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay.”

  “I know,” she said, resigned. I sat down next to her and looked around her apartment. Hers was a two bedroom with a small kitchen overlooking the living room. She had a small couch in front of the window facing the street, a television over her fireplace to the left of the couch and the kitchen across from the couch. There was a breakfast bar with two barstools separating the two rooms.

  “When does this festival start?” I asked. Traffic had been heavy the closer I got to town and a lot of the roads were shut down for the festival.

  “It technically started last night. It runs all weekend,” she said, glancing out the window over the couch. “It’s busy out there already.”

  “Sure is.” I assumed Luke would be working the festival. The odds were good that I would run into him this weekend. I’m sure that was the reason I was felt like I was going to jump out of my skin.

  “Would you have stayed if Luke asked you to?” Ashley asked, turning back to look at me.

  “Yes. I might have had to go back to the city for awhile until I found something though. He wouldn’t even consider it. He said I wouldn’t want to stay just like his ex, so it was a waste of time to consider it or continue our relationship.” Heck, the way I was feeling now I would quit my job for Luke. I’d wanted a more meaningful job anyway. I could work at a firm, get some more experience. Luke had a family home here. It made sense to move here. I had nothing in the city worth staying there for. I’m sure I could find something. Luke was worth it. If only he felt the same way.

  “Well, if it’s any consolation. He’s been a jerk since you left,” she said, picking lint off of her shorts.

  “Really?” I was interested but afraid to ask any follow-up questions.

  She started to say something and I interrupted her with my hand. “No don’t. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. If he wanted to see me or talk to me, he has my number.”

  “Fine. We won’t discuss Luke.” She gave me a look like she wasn’t happy with me, but too bad. I didn’t want to hear about him or if he’d moved on.

  “You can tell me about the election. How is that going?” No matter how I felt. I still wanted the best for Luke. If he wanted to be sheriff then I wanted that for him too. It was his dream.

  “It’s going great. Luke pulled ahead in the polls once Mayor Good announced his support for him.”

  “That’s great. I hope he wins.” I did want him to be happy. If he wanted to be sheriff then I wanted that for him.

  “The primaries are in a few short weeks. So it won’t be long now.” A knock sounded on her door. I gave her a sharp look, but it looked like she was expecting someone. I hoped it wasn’t Luke. I wasn’t ready yet.

  As she walked towards the door, she said, “Don’t worry. It’s probably Stella. She’s supposed to meet us here.”

  I sighed, relieved.

  She opened the door. “Hey ladies! I’m so excited!” Stella exclaimed, practically bounding into the room. “I love festivals!” She was wearing her signature sundress with a bright scarf around her neck. Then she saw me on the couch. “Emma! You came.”

  “Everyone sounds surprised,” I said.

  “We didn’t really think you would come. You were evasive,” she said, hugging me as I stood up to greet her.

  “Is Samantha coming?”

  “No, she has a booth for her bakery. So she’s been busy baking up a storm. I think she even recruited Jack to help this year. It keeps getting bigger every year,” Ashley said, looking down at her phone.

  “Have you seen Luke yet?” Stella asked.

  I frowned. “No.”

  “Are you covering the festival for the paper this year Stella?” Ashley asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

  “Of course. I cover all the events,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “The old fogies at the paper don’t like to cover anything outside of work hours.” Then she turned to me. “Have you seen my column?”

  “No?” I didn’t know what she was even talking about. Then I remembered she wrote a funny column for the paper. “Did I miss something?”

  Ashley snorted. “Stella wrote about how Luke screwed up letting you leave town. Luke apologizes in the paper begging for her forgiveness. Be still our beating hearts. Then lets the love of his life leave town. Did he follow her, folks? Nope. Stubborn Luke strikes again. Looks like we’re going to have a lonely grumpy sheriff around town. There will be no talking your way out of tickets now.”

  “Huh,” I answered. I could see how it was amusing to other people. But it was my life, not gossip.

  As we walked out the front door of Ashley’s apartment, the town was a flurry of activity getting ready for the parade which was due to start any minute. Banners hung over High Street and flags hung from the street lights. I could see the floats lining up to start and the high school marching band warming up. It was nice to see so many people coming out to see the parade. The Tea Party Festival attracted tourists from all over.

  Signs blocked the road at the beginning of the parade route. That’s where I saw him. He was standing tall in his uniform, looking as handsome as ever. He was talking to some officers who were directing traffic. It physically hurt to look at him so I diverted my attention back to Ashley and Stella. Then I saw Samantha walking towards us with Jack right behind her.

  “Hi, guys.” Samantha walked over to us with a smile. She had bags under her eyes, but she was cheerfully waving small American flags and handed one to me. “Emma!” She practically squealed grabbing me for a hug. “I missed you,” she said, pulling back to look at me. “We didn’t think you would come.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?” I asked. I was starting to think I shouldn’t have come. They probably felt sorry for me. The girl who was dumped returned to get rejected again. I was so stupid.

  She raised her eyebrow at me, “You didn’t exactly give definitive answers to our texts.”

  I shrugged not really answering, “You look really tired.”

  “I was up all night baking for the festival. I definitely need more help next year so that I can get more sleep,” Samantha said.

  “You work too hard, Samantha.” A gruff voice came from behind her. I raised my eyebrows at his comment and exchanged a look with Ashley. Jack seemed concerned about Samantha, and when I turned back, I could see a flush on her cheeks. She was noticeably affected when he was around.

  “Thanks for helping, Jack. I couldn’t have finished without your help,” she said, smiling up at him sweetly.

  “Of course. But you should hire more help next year too. You shouldn’t be up all night,” he said.

  “It’s not really up to me, you know. It’s Justin’s bakery now. He won’t let me hire anyone else,” she admitted, with a pinched look on her face.

  Jack practically growled at that.

  “
Ladies,” Sawyer said, as he walked up to our group before Samantha could respond. “Morning!” Stella said.

  “Hey. Where’s Luke? I thought he wasn’t working,” Sawyer said.

  “He’s not, but he couldn’t help himself. He’s making sure everything is running smoothly,” Jack said, as he gestured to where Luke was still in deep conversation with the officers at the roadblock.

  “Of course he is,” Sawyer said, glancing over at Jack. “This is your first Tea Party Festival, right, Emma?”

  “Yes, it is. What do I have to look forward to?” I asked, tilting my face up toward his.

  “The raft race tomorrow, of course,” Sawyer said.

  “It won’t be much of a race, though. I’m going to win again this year,” Jack said.

  “I think you mean ‘we’ are going to win. We’re on the same team, jackass,” Sawyer said good-naturedly.

  “Is that the only event I have to look forward to?” I asked.

  “There’s the Colonial Village, the Wine Village, the flag-raising ceremony, music acts, and, of course, you can’t miss the reenactment this afternoon.” Sawyer went on excitedly, as he was a history buff.

  “Yeah, tomorrow is mainly the raft race, and everyone gets wasted since the beer and wine tasting is happening at the same time,” Ashley said, and then took a step back and gestured toward the street. “Oh, look, the parade started.” The sounds of the marching band rang out.

  “Did you get everybody straightened out?” Jack directed over my head. I felt Luke’s presence at my back and held my breath. Shit, I was not prepared to see him yet. I had hoped he would be too busy with the festivities to socialize.

  “Sure did,” Luke answered. I refused to turn around. A hand came to rest on my shoulder. I knew exactly whose it was and his front pressed closer to my back. Then I felt his breath on the shell of my ear. “You have time to talk?”

  Everyone else’s attention was focused on the parade, trying to give us privacy. Before I could answer, his radio crackled with a message I couldn’t understand. “Be right there,” he said into the radio.

  “I need to talk to you later,” Luke said into my ear, and then he was off. I turned to watch him walk away.

  “What did he say?” Ashley hissed at me so no one else could hear.

  I turned back to her. “Nothing, really. He said he wanted to talk to me later.”

  She looked at me with concern, and asked, “What did you say?”

  “He was called away before I could answer.” I didn’t even know how to respond. Did I want to talk to him? Yes. But why hadn’t he contacted me before? I didn’t like the idea that he only contacted me when I came back to town. I wanted him to chase after me and tell me he was giving us a chance. He was too quick to break it off.

  “That’s good right?” she asked.

  I just shrugged at Ashley. I didn’t know and it was too loud to talk with the marching band going by. So I turned my attention to the parade.

  After the parade, we walked around for a bit to check out the vendors. The day was getting hotter, and I was tired. Ashley and I went back to her apartment to rest for awhile. Samantha took off after the parade. She needed to man her bakery stand for the festival. The crowd was enormous for such a small town, and I thought she would probably run out of baked goods. People must have come from all over to see the festival. Jack and Sawyer stepped inside the pub to enjoy the air-conditioning. Stella was covering the event, so she was walking around to talking to different vendors.

  After our nap, Ashley and I made our way to Wilmer Park to watch the reenactment of the colonists throwing tea into the river. The whole thing seemed pretty silly to me, but the town took it seriously, apparently. Every year people traveled from all over to reenact the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, so I guess it was the same thing.

  Sawyer’s attention was on the reenactment when Stella came up to him. “Hi Sawyer! Enjoying the festival?” Her face lit up with a big smile.

  He looked over at her like he was trying to figure her out. “Yes.”

  “Are you guys ready for the raft race tomorrow?” she asked, looking over at Jack.

  “We sure are. We are going to win again this year,” he said.

  “Nice. Can I quote you on that?” she asked, searching around for her notebook to write it down.

  “Of course not. We would sound like jerks if you printed that,” Sawyer said.

  “You’re no fun, Sawyer,” Stella said, giving up on the quest to find her notebook and wagged a finger at him.

  “I never said I was fun,” Sawyer said, frowning at her.

  “What’s the big deal with this raft race anyway?” I asked. It was all anyone was talking about today.

  “You have to design your own raft out of non-nautical materials and race the boats tomorrow,” Jack explained.

  “Jack always has the best ideas. He works at the marina so he has the most expertise. But it’s just a fun event. Everyone is usually drunk by the time they attempt to man the boats,” Samantha said. I think Jack actually blushed at her praise.

  “Some people use cardboard, barrels, or containers. Then they give out awards based on construction, looks, and navigational abilities of the rafts. Then the overall best team gets the Tea Cup,” Sawyer said.

  “It’s lucky no one has ever drowned,” Ashley said. “They have the wine and beer tasting before the race so everyone is usually sloshed.”

  “That’s not a good combination,” I said.

  “Nope,” Ashley said. “Hey, before I forget, Penny wanted to talk to you about some case. I told her we would meet her back in town later.”

  “Okay, sounds good,” I said.

  AS THE DAY WENT ON I was getting more and more jittery. I didn’t know what Luke wanted to talk about but the anticipation was killing me. Did he want me back? If so, he could have texted or called me at any time over the last few weeks. Why wait until I’m in town to talk? Was I just a convenience for him? Was I not worth a long distance relationship? Was I not worth working for?

  We were sitting in a table located between the pub and another building that evening. It was dusk and the string lights hanging between the buildings above us were twinkling. Samantha had gone home to sleep, so it was Stella, Jack, Sawyer, Ashley, and me seated at a table. I looked out at the street, where there was still a large crowd of people in the streets socializing.

  Luke was talking to some townspeople. Sawyer caught me looking and said, “Luke gets stopped constantly so people can tell him their issues with the election or whatever. He can’t go anywhere right now.”

  I smiled weakly at him, “It will be over soon.”

  “He’s so nice and patient with everyone. I don’t think I could be a politician. I’d be snapping at everyone,” Ashley said.

  Everyone laughed at that because it was so on point for Ashley.

  “Well, well, what do we have here?” Logan came up behind our table and put his hands on the back of Ashley’s chair. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

  Ashley tilted her head back to look at him. “I’m all caught up Logan.” She said this with a little disdain in her voice.

  “I heard the law firm of Gunner, Thompson and Anderson are looking to hire an experienced associate,” Logan said. It almost sounded like he was goading her. He was perfectly charming with everyone but Ashley.

  “Really? Who told you that?” Ashley asked.

  He accepted a beer from Jack, and said, “Oh, I have my ways.”

  “Oh I bet you do, playboy,” Ashley said, turning back to the table. She sat stiffly in her chair, her face tight with tension as he continued to stand behind her with his hands resting on the back of her chair.

  He leaned down closer to her to get her attention, and asked, “Aren’t you interested?”

  “Of course I am. Working there has been my dream forever,” Ashley admitted, with a wistful look on her face. She looked up at him, catching his smirk. “Wait, are you interested in the position there to
o?” she asked, panic in her voice.

  “Of course I am.” Now his smirk had turned to a shit-eating grin. “What? You think I want to work for the state’s attorney’s office forever?”

  “I didn’t take you for the ambitious type. I figured the state’s attorney office was just the right speed for you,” she said snidely.

  “You don’t know me at all, sweetheart.”

  Yikes. I had never seen Logan talk like that to anyone. Stella leaned closer to me, blocked her mouth so no one could see and whispered, “Those two are like oil and water.”

  I nodded in agreement continuing to watch them. Ashley stood up in a huff knocking his hands off of her chair. She turned to face him going toe to toe with him. She said, “You better watch out. I’ve wanted that job forever. You better not get in my way.”

  He just laughed in response. “We’ll see about that, sweetheart.”

  She started to stalk off and then turned her head back to say, “And don’t call me sweetheart!” Then she left.

  “Why do you antagonize her so much, man?” Sawyer said. “We were having a good time.”

  “I can’t help it. She’s so wound up all of the time,” Logan said, looking annoyed. “That woman needs to be knocked down a peg or two. She thinks she’s better than everyone.”

  I felt really badly for Ashley. I started to get up to follow her, and Logan said, “Ah, don’t worry about her. She’ll be okay.”

  “You were an asshole, Logan. It was totally unnecessary,” I said, as I started to follow her. I wasn’t exactly sure where she went. I didn’t see her anywhere, but I figured she would go home, so I started in that direction. I was upset that Logan was goading Ashley like that. The sweet and charming Logan I saw every day was nowhere to be found tonight. I was so distracted I almost ran right into somebody.