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She could see Bettina and Viola and the rest of the festival co to keep the ticket booth line in control Oh God She should have told the to find out about Fatback Bubba with the rest of the crowd, and as members of the committee, the croould undoubtedly blame them as well
The weight of hundreds of curious eyes stared back at her Only Pilar and Kitty and Shea and the rest of the Bunco Babes knehat she was about to say She searched the crowd for them, but there were too many people to h, and that helped so hie the outcome, but it would make her feel a lot less vulnerable
“First off,” she said into theout today Despite the rain, we had a terrific turnout at the 10K run and I want to congratulate all the winners and everyone who put in such a great effort” The crowd clapped politely
“And of course, I want to extend a great big thank you to all the volunteers Without them, this festival wouldn’t be possible And especially to theBay police force who donated their time today to keep us safe”
The crowd clapped louder this time Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with tissue paper
“So…you all know this was my first year as mayor and as head of the festival committee Now, I’, so everything that’s happened here today, and, um… that will happen, is totally onNo one else Just me As my husband Zeke likes to say, the buck stops here”
The crowd stared back at her, waiting
“And, so, here’s the thing” She squeezed her eyes shut She couldn’t look She just couldn’t It was like a band aid you had to rip off Better fast and furious than slow and tortuous “Fatback Bubba won’t be here tonight,” she blurted
The croent silent
“What did she say?” someone yelled
“Yeah, what did you say?” yelled aa cowboy hat Froht it was Brooks Farina, the head butcher at the Piggly Wiggly Just last week he’d hand-cut her soetting Fatback Bubba and the Rattlesnakes for the festival After tonight she’d probably be lucky if they even let her back in the Piggly Wiggly
“I…yes, I’ht Fatback Bubba won’t be here It’s all my fault All mine No one else’s The rest of the festival co on”
The noise level juazillion (if such a nu so fast she was sure the mic would pick it up Maybe if she had a heart attack, then everyone would feel bad for her and she could get off the stage alive Of course, she’d have to survive the heart attack for that to happen
Suddenly, the croent quiet again Footsteps coe drew her attention Too freaked out to do liher Worn jeans She followed the jeans all the way up to a plaid shirt and to a man who looked exactly like…
OH MY GOD