LITMIR.BIZ

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true! No, this is her way of punishing me.”

      Before Hayley and Gemma could finally make their escape, Trudy was talking to them again. “I feel terrible I haven’t been able to forge a positive relationship with her, and Lord knows I’ve tried. She just doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

      “It’s her problem, not yours, honey,” Ted said, gazing lovingly at his wife. “You’ve made a herculean effort to become her friend. She’s just acting like a spoiled brat.”

      “Well, we better get going,” Hayley said, grabbing Gemma by the arm to quickly steer her away.

      “Wait,” Trudy said. She disappeared inside her truck and then reemerged with a paper bag that she handed to Ted. “Did you walk here, honey?”

      Ted nodded. “Yeah, when Alyssa called I figured it would be safer if we didn’t talk while I was behind the wheel of a car.”

      Trudy turned back to Hayley and Gemma. “Ted’s picking up lunch for himself and the Reverend and Mrs. Staples over at the church. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind dropping him off on your way home.”

      “Not at all,” Hayley said. “We’d be happy to.”

      “Thanks,” Ted said, taking the bag from his wife and looking up at her. “You did remember no olives on Edie’s veggie sub?”

      “Yes,” Trudy sighed. “She reminded me five times when she called to place the order.”

      When Hayley, Gemma, and Ted piled into Hayley’s car for the five-minute drive to the Congregational church, Ted dropped any further references to his troubled daughter, Alyssa, and focused on how much he was looking forward to taking over ministerial duties from Reverend Staples. Hayley couldn’t agree more given her own complicated history with the mercurial reverend. She was eagerly anticipating some new blood at the church.

      As Hayley pulled her Kia into the church’s gravel parking lot, she and Gemma were both stunned by the sight of a monstrous RV parked parallel to the backside of the church building.

      Reverend Staples, who was just stepping out of the brand-new, pristine, shiny vehicle, spotted them immediately and waved frantically at them to get out of the car and join him.

      Ted, who was sitting in the backseat, leaned forward and said, “I don’t think there is any way you are going to get out of a tour.”

      Hayley shifted the gear into park. “I’m actually curious.”

      They all jumped out of the Kia as Reverend Staples hurried over to them, excitedly huffing and puffing.

      “So, what do you think?” he asked expectantly.

      “It looks really nice,” Gemma said.

      “It’s a 2020 Coachman Mirada 32SS,” Reverend Staples said, beaming proudly. “She’s such a beauty. And she better be because she cost us half our retirement savings!”

      Hayley could only imagine what the reverend’s nettlesome and stingy wife, Edie, had thought about that.

      “She’s thirty-four feet and ten inches long,” Reverend Staples boasted, leading them over and rapping on the side of the RV with his knuckles. “Exterior is champagne glass with partial paint.”

      Hayley and Gemma nodded, pretending to have some idea as to what he was talking about.

      “And she’s fully loaded. Come inside!” Reverend Staples said, clambering up the steps.

      They all dutifully followed. Once inside, they found Edie sitting at the dinette table, scowling as she paid bills from a checkbook.

      “Hi, Edie, we’re here for the tour,” Hayley said, smiling.

      Edie grunted, obviously not at all sold on her husband’s self-proclaimed magnificent purchase.

      Reverend Staples didn’t seem to notice his wife’s less than enthusiastic demeanor and prattled on. “It’s got a king-size bed, full-wall slide, fireplace, hardwood cabinet doors, and a solid-surface kitchen countertop.” He pounded on it with his fist for good measure. “And we went with the deluxe package that features stainless-steel appliances, a WiFi ranger, exterior speakers—oh, and a power drop-down bunk in case we have guests.”

      “Have you thought about where you’re going to go first?” Gemma asked.

      “We’re heading north to Niagara Falls as we make our way west. I’ve never seen Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and the Black Hills, I’m partial to the canyons and alpine rivers in Wyoming and Utah, Vegas is a must, and then when we hit California and dip our toes in the Pacific, we’ll turn around and head south because Edie has always dreamed of touring the old plantation homes of New Orleans. Isn’t that right, dear?”

      “I can’t wait,” Edie said, scowling. “I just envisioned us flying there and staying in a nice hotel in the French quarter, like the Hotel Monteleone where my sister and her family stayed, not in some RV park outside of town.”

      “Oh, you’ll love it!” Reverend Staples insisted, obviously turning a blind eye to what his wife wanted in his dream retirement scenario.

      “Whatever you say, dear,” Edie said, forcing a smile.

      Hayley had known Edie Staples long enough to know that this simmering and so-far-unspoken conflict between her and her still oblivious husband would eventually come to a boil. She could only imagine what kind of knock-down, drag-out fights were going to erupt in this surprisingly spacious RV as the couple slowly made their way from sea to shining sea. She just hadn’t expected those fights would start before the Coachman had even left the parking lot.

      Chapter 7

      After dropping Gemma off at the house, Hayley stopped by the office to finish writing and filing her column for the next edition of the paper and attending to a few office managerial duties that she had neglected all week. She wanted an empty inbox by the time she went home for the evening, and just barely managed to get everything done by five o’clock. She popped her head into Bruce’s office after shutting down her computer and packing up for the day. He was slumped over his desk, staring into space, lost in another world.

      “Working late?”

      He didn’t answer at first, but then he peered up at Hayley hovering in the doorway and gave her a tired smile. “No, I’m coming right behind you. I just have to wrap up this column. You have no idea how challenging it is to make a bike theft sound exciting. It’s not even an expensive one either. The owner wasn’t too upset it got stolen because he’s been wanting to buy a new one anyway.”

      Hayley chuckled. “I’m sure if anyone can make it a page-turner, you can, honey.”

      “Whatever happened to the good old days of just reporting the facts?”

      “Everyone wants to hear a good story. Any thoughts on dinner?”

      “I don’t want you and Gemma making a fuss and putting on a fancy spread,” Bruce said. “I’ll take us all out. Talk to the kids and see what they feel like.”

      “Okay, see you at home,” Hayley said, blowing him a kiss. She could tell from the worry lines on Bruce’s forehead that Sal’s recent demands to juice up his column were getting to him. She could only hope that sales would eventually improve and the pressure would finally subside, at least a little bit.

      Hayley got in her car and drove straight home, forgoing her usual stop at the Shop ’n Save since she would mercifully not be cooking tonight.

      When she pulled into the driveway of the house, she was surprised to see the garage door wide open. Inside, Conner was foraging around, opening plastic bins that had been stacked in a corner. He pulled out a giant furry spider and held it up excitedly as Hayley hopped out of her Kia.

      “This is awesome!” Conner yelled, holding it over his head.

      “Gemma’s

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