Walking down the main street of town, she was surrounded by the chattering of cheerful creatures dressed in smart jackets and dapper hats, or colorful dresses and frocks, all enjoying the sunny, cool day. Vera felt out of place and distracted by Orville’s unplanned announcement. She’d thought her biggest challenge today would be the sack race on the village green.
She had no doubt that Orville would be an excellent chief of police. It was an open secret that he did nearly all of the actual work of the daily operations of the department, while allowing Meade to take the credit for the (mostly) smooth running of the town. Shady Hollow was a peaceful community, with generally law-abiding and orderly citizens. Orville had never been a bear to disrupt the status quo. He’d been willing to wait for Chief Meade’s inevitable retirement until he would step up and put his name forth as the obvious successor.
Yet now he’d jumped right into the thorn bush.
However, it was one thing to announce a candidacy. It was another to actually run a campaign. And with only a few weeks until the election, he’d have very little time to prepare! He’d need a campaign office. He’d need staff and volunteers. He’d need flyers and pamphlets explaining his positions…
“Oh, dear, I’m thinking like a manager,” Vera muttered. (In fact, in her school days, she had run campus campaigns.) But she was a journalist now, and she couldn’t run Orville’s campaign too. It would be highly improper. But she could give a little advice…or perhaps not.
It was all quite confusing. And when Vera got confused, two things helped: coffee, and the counsel of a good friend.
Fortunately, the first thing was on her route.
A few creatures walked past Vera in the other direction, bearing baking dishes that all smelled wonderful. They must be on their way to the tent where the dessert contest would be held.
A rat said, “I can’t wait for the judging. My apple kuchen finally has a chance this year!”
“Did you change your recipe?” a marmot walking alongside asked.
“Oh, no, it’s the same as ever. But didn’t you know? Dotty Springfield isn’t here to enter her cream cheese coffee cake, the one that took first place three years running. She had to go tend old Mrs. Springfield. She’s close to the end,” the rat added somberly.
“I’ve heard that before,” the third creature noted. “Adora Springfield is at death’s door nearly every month, and Dotty always goes to take care of her. The old lady certainly got lucky with her daughter-in-law. Maybe that cream cheese coffee cake is the secret to long life!”
“Oh, Miss Vixen,” the apple kuchen maker said, noticing Vera. “How nice to see you. Good job keeping Orville’s announcement a secret!”
Vera smiled wanly, letting the others think what they wished. If only she had known in advance. The day could have gone much more smoothly.
Vera arrived at the table sponsored by Joe’s Mug, where Joe himself was serving up cups of his special cinnamon coffee. A few sticks of cinnamon hung from his antlers in honor of the occasion. The Harvest Festival was the first time he brewed it each fall, and eager creatures awaited their turns for a sip.
She joined the queue, still pondering the conundrum Orville put her in. Before she could come up with an answer, Joe was asking if she wanted one or two cups—Vera was a known devotee of coffee.
“Oh! I’ll take two, but one of them is for Lenore.”
“Two it is,” the moose said amiably. “Nice day for it.” He did not breathe one word about Orville’s surprise announcement, for which Vera was eternally grateful. Joe was the sort of creature who knew when to talk and when to keep his mouth shut…a rare skill.
“Here you go, Vera,” he said, pushing the two drinks toward her. “Now don’t forget that my pumpkin pie is going to be available starting this week. Come by when you have a moment.”
In a cloud of cinnamon fragrance, Vera continued on to the bookstore. Nevermore Books was situated in an old granary, and thus was much taller than the surrounding buildings. Inside, a visitor quickly realized that the store was sensibly arranged so that each floor was devoted to a particular genre, with shelves wrapping the outer walls. A railing on the inner side kept wandering bookworms safe, since the central part of the bookstore was all open air, allowing Lenore to fly to any floor and easily snag the book she wanted. The result was a bright and airy feeling, and the store was one of the most popular places in town.
Today, however, it was nearly empty, since all the townsfolk were at the festival.
“Lenore?” Vera called. “Are you here? I’ve got coffee.”
The raven flapped down from her office at the very top of the store. “Vera! Thought you’d be outside interviewing folks about the Harvest Festival. I just needed to pull some more books to bring to our table in the park. Violet’s running it, but I thought I’d bring some extra supplies.”
“Does that mean you missed Orville’s little speech?”
Vera passed a cup of coffee to her friend and proceeded to share the news. Lenore cawed softly in surprise.
“My goodness, what are you going to do?” she asked.
“That’s why I’m here. I was hoping for advice.”
“Well, I’m not sure I’m qualified to give any
