Her phone chimed with a text from Carmen.
How did the interview go?
There was no way to adequately share how she felt about the interview in a text, so she said, Would you like to come over? Or go to Tony’s?
Carmen responded with a thumbs-up, and Alice decided to invite Maggie and Claire, too.
This was the first time she’d ever invited anyone to go out for drinks. Not a big enough deal to go on her bucket list, but it was still a meaningful first.
By the time she’d showered and put on a pair of jeans, Carmen had arrived. “I’ll drive,” Carmen said. “Unless you want to?”
“I’ve never ridden in a Porsche before,” Alice said. “So, I’d love for you to drive.”
It only took ten super-fun minutes to get to Tony’s in Carmen’s red car, which they drove with the windows down and the music up. For a grown-up lady with a possible new job in a big library in Austin, Alice felt surprisingly young. And hip. And cool. And very much not the young girl in the picture Beau had texted earlier.
“There’s Maggie and Claire,” Carmen said, pointing to Maggie’s yellow Jeep.
They had just parked, and when they spotted the Porsche, they waved and headed over.
Claire yanked Alice out of the car. “I’m on borrowed time. My boobs will explode in exactly two hours.”
Music and laughter streamed out of Tony’s as they filed inside. It took Alice’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting as they walked past the small dance floor covered in sawdust to get to a table beneath a neon Dos Equis sign.
Carmen, always the hospitality person, automatically took their orders. “Is it beer for everyone? Whatever’s on tap?”
“Soda for me,” Claire said. “Because soon, I’ll literally be what’s on tap as far as Rosa is concerned.”
“Beer,” Maggie said, and Alice nodded her head.
For years, Tony’s had been the place other people went when they had something to celebrate, or when they needed to blow off steam after a bad day, or when they wanted to catch a game with friends. It’s where couples hooked up and broke up, and where dang near everyone—except Alice—bought their first legal drink. But tonight, Alice finally felt like it was her place as much as it was everyone else’s.
“So, what’s Travis up to tonight?” Claire asked Maggie.
“Dropping F-bombs all over Henry’s third grade math homework,” Maggie said. “And Maisy is potty training, so he’s probably also begging and bribing and singing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ while she sits on the potty playing him like a finely tuned fiddle.”
Claire laughed. “I swear Rosa already has Ford wrapped around her little finger. And he loves it.”
Carmen came back to the table, followed by Tony himself. “It’s ladies’ night, and Tony is treating us to fried mushrooms!”
Tony’s was famous for its fried mushrooms.
“On the house,” Tony said, setting the mushrooms and two beers on the table.
Carmen set the other two drinks down, gave Tony a high-five, and plopped into her chair. “I fucking love this town. Now, Alice, tell us how your interview went.”
Maggie’s eyebrows disappeared into her blond bangs. “Interview?”
Claire frowned. “For, like, a job?”
Alice cleared her throat. “Please don’t tell anybody, but I interviewed for a library position in Austin.”
Instead of squealing with excitement, Maggie and Claire just stared, mouths agape. “It’s a much bigger library with a bigger staff, and”—she lowered her voice—“a bigger salary.”
“But it’s in Austin,” Maggie said.
Claire nodded. “Have you asked for a raise here? In Big Verde? Maybe—”
“It’s more than the money,” Alice said. “I’ve done all I can do here. There’s nothing else for me to achieve. There’s no way for me to advance. If I stay in Big Verde, I’ll be stuck doing the same thing forever.”
“But we thought you liked doing what you’re doing,” Claire said.
“I do. But . . .” But what?
“She doesn’t feel like she fits in here,” Carmen said.
Claire gasped. “Of course you fit in.”
Maggie, in her no-nonsense way, shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t. What’s wrong with that? I certainly don’t. Small towns aren’t easy places for people who go against the grain. But when I decided to give folks a chance, they surprised me.” She poked Claire in the arm. “I mean, look at me now, sitting here with the former Queen Crispin of the Big Verde Apple Festival.”
“I’m not exactly known for blending in, myself,” Carmen said.
A popular Tejano song came on, and a few people whistled as Gabriel Castro and JD Mayes took to the dance floor. Claire waved at them. “JD says the folks of Big Verde have surprised them, too.”
Alice looked at their little table of misfits. “A beauty queen, a librarian, a celebrity chef, and a landscaper walk into a bar . . .”
They all laughed. “See?” Carmen said. “I told you you’re funny.”
Claire squeezed her hand. “If a job in Austin is what you want, then I hope you get it.”
Alice swallowed. She wanted the job significantly less than she had an hour ago, and that was saying something. “Thanks,” she said, fanning herself with a cocktail napkin. The air-conditioning in Tony’s was crappy.
“So, what’s Beau up to tonight?” Carmen asked brightly.
“He’s out with the boys. I haven’t seen him all week, actually. But last Saturday . . .”
Everyone leaned in.
“We made out.”
Claire squealed and clapped her hands. “I knew it! Also, what do you mean by made out?”
“You know,” Alice said. “Kissing and stuff.”
Carmen dropped her head to the table in feigned frustration. “No pressure. But you’ve only got a week before this arrangement of yours comes to an end.”
“I think you should just git ’er done,” Maggie said. “I mean, why not? Beau’s a nice guy, there are no strings attached, and I hear he knows what he’s doing where sex is concerned.”
Carmen looked over Alice’s shoulder. “This might literally be your
