“Oh, Vera!” the hummingbird called. “There you are, and with Deputy Braun as well. My, my, my. You two are getting cozy, aren’t you?”
Suppressing a sigh, Vera said, “It’s not news that Orville and I have gone on some dates.”
“No,” Gladys agreed with some deflation in her tone. “It’s not news. Unless you want to make some sort of…announcement?”
“Nothing comes to mind,” Orville replied. His expression was mild, even a little stupid. Upon meeting Orville, Vera had thought he wasn’t the brightest. She’d quickly come to learn that while he had a very different approach to the world, Orville was much, much smarter than he looked. It was one of his best tools as an officer of the law. (The other tools were sheer size, four massive paws, and a jaw that could snap a pine sapling in half.)
They moved through the festival grounds and stopped at a table where two chipmunks presided. Geoffrey and Benjamin Eastwood ran the town’s bed-and-breakfast, which was located on a lovely cul-de-sac just off Main Street. Ben was offering cookies to passersby, and Vera smiled when he called her name.
“Miss Vixen, you’re a connoisseur of treats,” he said. “Try my maple cookies. I only bake them in the fall and winter.”
He gave one each to Vera and Orville. She nibbled the leaf-shaped cookie with delight. Crunchy granules of maple sugar studded the cookie’s top, like a particularly delicious autumn frost.
“Real good,” Orville said, licking the last of the sugar off his paw.
“Then have a second,” Geoffrey insisted, reaching past his husband to offer another cookie. “We’ve got seven dozen, after all!”
“That won’t be enough,” Vera predicted. The cookies would pair excellently with a cup of strong coffee, maybe with a stick of cinnamon in it, and a dollop of whipped cream…
Dreamily, Vera told the Eastwoods goodbye and walked off with Orville, delighted with the fine day and blue sky and general bounty surrounding them.
Moments later, they waved to Howard Chitters, the manager of the sawmill, Shady Hollow’s largest business. He was accompanied by what looked to be an invading horde of mice, but was in fact just his immediate family.
Vera chatted with Mrs. Chitters and her daughter Moira for a few minutes, exchanging pleasantries and guessing as to who would win the bread-baking competition this year. When Vera said goodbye to her friend, she turned her attention back to Orville. “Shall we go find the Nevermore table?” she asked. Shopping for books was perhaps the greatest treasure hunt there was.
But Orville didn’t reply, because his attention was elsewhere—he was staring at the cider tent, which was a very popular destination on this crisp, sunny day. Vera followed his gaze and spotted Theodore Meade, the Shady Hollow chief of police. More significantly, he was Orville’s boss. Meade clutched a mug of cider in one huge paw and was clapping Howard Chitters on the back with the other. This friendly gesture nearly sent the small mouse into the air.
Orville’s usually pleasant expression was missing, and in its place, a mask of anger that Vera had seen only once or twice before. Before she could ask him what the problem was, the police bear began muttering, “What is he doing here? He promised to take a solo shift at the station today. I never ask him for anything, and the one time I do…” Orville trailed off, sputtering.
Before Vera could gather her thoughts and take in the situation, Orville was striding over to the gazebo. A podium was set up for the mayor’s speech later in the afternoon. Orville took the stairs in one leap and stood behind the podium.
“Ladies and gentlemice, if I could have your attention, please.” Orville’s voice boomed out over the crowd. “I have an important announcement to make.”
The crowd murmured and whispered. Vera caught a few words here and there. Then she heard Gladys’s distinctive loud tones. “Yes. I knew it! He’s finally going to propose to Vera!”
A sheep standing next to Gladys tried to shush her when they saw Vera staring at them. Could it be true? Vera wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She liked Orville very much, it was true, but they really had not been dating all that long.
Vera’s musings were cut short when Orville began to speak again.
“As you know, there is an election coming up in a few short weeks. And while this may be a surprise to hear, I would like to announce my candidacy for police chief of Shady Hollow. I have served this community long and well, and it’s time for a change in the establishment. Please cast your vote for me, Orville, for your police chief. Thank you for your attention.”
Orville gave a tip of his hat to the crowd, and promptly left the stage. Creatures began to chatter excitedly and wished Orville well as he walked through the crowd back to Vera. Vera closed her mouth as she realized that it was hanging open slightly. She was completely flabbergasted by this turn of events. She knew that Orville was unhappy with his boss, but she never thought that he would actually do anything about it. Least of all this!
Orville made his way back to where Vera was standing. By the time he reached her, she had regained her composure and didn’t appear as shocked as she had been after the bear’s announcement.
“Vera,” he began, “I’m sorry that I didn’t give you a heads-up.” Orville paused and looked at the fox, trying to gauge her reaction. “It was something that I had been thinking about off and on. I planned to discuss it with you first, but then I saw Meade at the cider tent, when he had promised me he would be at the station, and I just got so mad.”
Vera laughed at this, so Orville knew that everything between them
