Abel had a tendency to forget how small Palmera really was. But driving to his parents’ home from the airport reminded him, since it took all of five minutes. The town felt like a big strip mall in need of a coat of paint. It was amazing to him that there were people who would be born in Palmera that month, who would die there, eight or nine decades later. They would spend their entire lives in this town.

The people…whatever he thought of they town, they people were the same as ever, meaning, just as good as ever. One thing he had lost sight of on the road was just how refreshing it was to be with people who were real. No bullshit. Maybe no excitement, either, but you know where everyone stood. Everywhere he went in the bigger cities, everyone wanted something from him, even if it was just a selfie. Sometimes he felt like he had almost completely lost the ability to make small talk, because even small talk felt like it had an agenda with most people.

Here, though, for better or worse, people were as real as it got. The TSA agents at the airport had given him a standing ovation when he walked into the terminal, sure, but they would have done the same thing after a high school football game. However, if he messed up or someone caught him driving under the influence—not that that had ever happened—these also would have been the first people to smack the back of his head and put him in his place.

Or so he had thought. Things may have changed. It felt like everyone looked at him differently as he waited for his bags. People whispered. Fathers timidly approached asking if their sons could have autographs. It took him twenty minutes longer than he had planned to get out of the airport, but it was worth it. Abel ran on ego, and there was no shortage of people willing to boost it for him.

After signing his first big contract, he had bought his parents the biggest house in town. That had been one of the proudest moments of his life. They had worked so hard to give him and Sasha every opportunity, and when he had the chance to pay them back, he had done it immediately, even though they had protested gently.

The house was out on the outskirts in a small-gated community. After getting his car at the airport, he drove towards what was now the family home.

The town hadn’t changed a bit. It was nothing but tattoo shops and farm stores, locksmiths and palm readers. It probably would have been hard to find a good bowl of soup, but no one could ever say that it was hard to buy fishing tackle or boots in this town, usually in the same store. There were still payphones every few blocks corner, which blew his mind. The thought of making a call from a pay phone seemed like something that only existed in movies where criminals couldn’t afford to be caught talking on their own phones.

After the brief magical mystery tour that was his drive, he left town and was soon approaching his parents’ estate.

He pulled into the driveway—which was about half a mile long, leading out to the estate—and honked the horn a couple of times. He got such a thrill out of seeing the difference between his parents when it came to this house versus their previous home. They spent a lot of time protesting that they could do things for themselves, but little by little they had come to enjoy their new place, and the freedom that Abel’s success had given them.

There were tons of people on the lawn, milling about like ants. He didn’t recognize any of them, but they were all moving with an urgency on their faces that only could have been Sasha’s doing.

This was exactly her style. Everyone in an uproar, everyone talking about her. Luckily, everyone loved her and she managed to be domineering in a way that never made anyone feel raw about it.

Abel grinned when he saw her running across the grass to him. He couldn’t help it. His sister was one of the few people he knew who was truly alive. She didn’t just exist. She didn’t just fight her way through each day to collapse into bed and breathe a sigh of relief that it was all over for twelve hours. She lived and thrived and made the rest of them feel like deadbeats. Sometimes just watching her sit still was exhausting, because she never stopped humming, tapping her fingers, thinking about how wonderful everything was.

“Abel!” Sasha bellowed so loudly that the activity on the ground stopped for a second before everyone got back to work. She jumped into his arms and shouted, “I’m getting married! Oh my God, I can’t wait for you to meet him! You two are going to have so much in common! How was your flight? You did so good in the game! I didn’t watch it but everyone says so!” You’re going to love Norman. Love him!”

Abel doubted that. Sasha liked guys who would do her bidding, and Abel didn’t have much in common with the type.

“How’s things, sis? Good, I take it, for all of your squealing.”

“Better than good. Superlative, I’d say. Exemplary. I’m sure there are more words, but things have never been better. I can’t wait to take you out and show you to everyone again. Oh my God, Lacey is going to crap her pants when she sees you. We had so much fun yesterday, I just couldn’t believe it. I mean, I could, we always have fun, but you know.”

“Wait, what? She’s coming?”

“Of course she’s coming! You think that I’d get married and not have my best friend come out? Did you think I was somehow not going to have her here?”

“I just figured…I don’t know. I figured she might be super busy with the music and all that. I’ve tried to keep track of her, but she kind of vanished. I seriously hadn’t given her a thought until I got here and you said it just now. I’m sure she’s just busy.”

“She might be. She’s a mysterious one. But she’s here. I saw her the other day. I’ve got to tell you, she’s like what you’d get if a riddle married a quiz. And then there was a lot of musical talent that looked like their baby.”

Abel laughed. “You can still turn a phrase. Not a phrase that makes sense, but you know what I mean.” He was calculating inside. He figured Lacey had just come back for the wedding. His heart raced at the thought of her. Still…maybe she hadn’t even thought about seeing him. Maybe she’d be as cold and aloof—or whatever it had been—when she saw him. Well, no matter what, she’d think about it when he was standing in front of her. He’d see to it. After all this time, he’d finally get to confront her about leaving him. And not just leaving him. Ignoring him, which was one of Abel’s deadly sins. To let someone ignore you was to admit that maybe you weren’t that important. He wasn’t a phone you could turn off or a text you could ignore. Not this time.

“What are you thinking about?” she said. “And don’t lie. You’ve got the look.”

“No, it’s just weird,” he said. “I felt like I knew everyone here. Back in school. Makes me wonder if I ever really knew her at all. If you didn’t know her, I mean. I thought you too were so close, and she even managed to shut you out. Why would I have known her?” He heard himself stammering and cursed himself for a fool. He wasn’t a nervous talker unless he was talking about Lacey, apparently. But Sasha was looking thoughtful.

“You know what?” she said. “I’m not even sure where she lives. She didn’t tell me. Good grief, I can’t even remember if I asked. Norman had them bring out a ton of this whiskey that I couldn’t stand. It was like drinking a campfire. Honestly, I couldn’t believe how much he had to say about it.”

I’ll find out where she lives if I want to, thought Abel. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “She probably doesn’t have time for small-town folks like us.”

Sasha folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Mr. Small Town. That’s you. Better go put on your overalls and put some hay in your mouth.”

“You know, I never understood why anyone would do that. But I’ve never forgotten my roots, sis.” He said this in a tone of voice that made sure that they both knew he was joking. “So, tell me about this dream man of yours. Besides his ability to talk about whisky. I’m guessing he’d tell me he’s pretty debonair and I’d think the opposite.”

“It just so happens that Norman is your biggest fan,” she said. “There are times when I almost want to tell him to shut up about you or marry you. We’re going out for drinks tonight. If you want to tag along, just say the word. Might be nice for you to meet the president of the Abel boosters.”

Abel looked at the sky. That sounded like the last thing he needed. He didn’t even like fast talkers, let alone fast talkers who only wanted to talk about him. “I’ll let you know. Not sure what I’m up to yet. I’m going to go say hi to mom and dad and then make the rounds in town and see a few people.”

“See all your old girlfriends, you mean,” said Sasha. “Lord knows there are plenty of those out there. They probably have their noses pressed to the windows, mouths watering for a glimpse of the great man, returned, the boy who made good! I’m so proud of you, Abel. Don’t let me tease you too much.”

Maybe, he thought. Maybe I will go see them all. But only so they’ll tell me about Lacey.