The golden day turned into a starlit night. We’d spent the day wandering the carnival, snacking and drinking cheap beer, playing carnival games, and mostly losing. But I was now the proud owner of a cotton-candy-pink teddy bear almost half my size, courtesy of Lucas. I don’t know how much he ended up spending to win it for me. Determined, he spent at least twenty minutes throwing rigged baseballs at rigged milk cans until he finally came away a winner. Victorious, he presented me with a bear, and promptly begged me to please rub his now-sore shoulder.
I told him he should rub his own shoulder, which earned me a high-five from Neil, a wounded look from Lucas, and an appraising eyebrow raise from Sophia, who seemed to be slowly warming to me. Whether I was warming to her, I wasn’t quite sure. But Neil was great. They were down from San Francisco to see her folks. She’d grown up in Monterey, was only a year younger than Lucas, and it was apparent that the cousins became as close as siblings, just like in my family.
I also met about a million other new people. The Campbells knew almost everyone in town, and every few minutes we stopped and chatted with another group of friends. Lucas always introduced me and told people all the wonderful things Our Gang was already doing, and planned on doing for the community overall with our eventual outreach program. I’d made several good contacts, people who I thought were genuinely interested in what we were doing and really wanted to get involved. This town? Close knit, and kind.
As the evening arrived under a cloudless sky, we wandered with everyone else toward the bandstand. The Fourth of July in Monterey concluded not just with fireworks and music, but with the crowning of Little Miss Stars and Stripes, a local pageant. My mother had kept me out of local pageants, saving me for the ones she felt could lead to bigger and better things. But the truth is, sometimes these local pageants can be the most fun. This one was loaded with sparkle and glamour, small-town pride, and just enough camp to make it fun.
Sophia huffed, “I still can’t believe you were engaged to a former Little Miss Stars and Stripes. A beauty queen—that should have told you something right there.”
Lucas was looking very uncomfortable.
“Was that Julie?” I asked.
As he nodded, Sophia told me, “She was a total twat.”
Lucas said, “For your information, Chloe was a beauty queen. Miss Golden State, right?”
Now I was the one blushing and looking uncomfortable.
“Seriously? Miss Golden State?” she asked, and I nodded. “Well, you don’t seem to be a twat.”
“I’m oddly flattered by that,” I replied, and she offered a smile.
Then someone tapped the microphone on stage, and we all turned to see a parade of cute little girls dressed up in their finest red, white, and blue dresses. As the crowd oohed and aahed, an official-looking man introduced the beginning of the annual Little Miss Stars and Stripes pageant, and asked us to please welcome the judges for this evening. The high school cheerleading coach, the owner of the local supermarket, and a former Little Miss Stars and Stripes.
“Speaking of twats,” Sophie muttered under her breath, and Lucas suddenly went as still as stone beside me.
“Please welcome back to town, all the way from Hollywood, where she can currently be seen in commercials for Mattress Giant, Julie Owens!”
General applause. Hissing from Sophia. Lucas had gone mute.
Oh, boy.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Sophia whisper-yelled.
The announcer said, “Former Little Miss Stars and Stripes Julie Owens is back in town to help us crown our next winner. As you know, we usually have our current Little Miss crown the new winner, but Becky Whippleson is recovering after a nasty accident involving a skateboard and Vespa scooter. We wish Becky a very speedy recovery.”
“So, she’s back just for this?” Sophia asked.
“She came back home just for this. Isn’t that wonderful, ladies and gentlemen? Leaving behind her booming career in Hollywood, she rushed back home to help us out,” the announcer said, sounding more and more like a game show host by the minute.
I looked onstage to see Julie, clad in a red sequin gown and a crown, waving to the appreciative crowd. Then I chanced a look up at Lucas, still frozen but taking it all in.
“I can’t believe she’s here. She better not stay for the fireworks, or I’ll have a bottle rocket with her name on it,” Sophia said, a little louder this time.
“Tell me, Miss Owens, will you be staying for the fireworks tonight? Helping us celebrate the Fourth?” the announcer asked, and handed her the mike.
“I sure will, Mr. Wilson. I can’t wait to celebrate our nation’s birthday with my family, and hopefully some old friends, here in my hometown!” Julie crowed, and the crowd cheered along with her and the rest of the Little Miss minions.
“Oh, for the love of—” Lucas rolled his eyes.
“Do you want to leave?” I asked in a low voice, leaning in so the rest of his family couldn’t hear.
He gave me a tight smile, then shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Besides, I promised you fireworks.”
When he tucked me tight into his side, I let him. And we watched his ex-fiancée crown Little Miss Ah, Forget It.