"You two are kinda freaking me out, I'll be totally honest," Trent said as he drove back home.
"What?! Why?" Jen replied.
"Yeah? Come on, what could be more awesome for a guy like you than having two girls who really want his dick?" Melody replied. "Especially considering," she leaned forward, as she was in the backseat, and put her lips to his ear, "I got permission from all your girlfriends to let you give me a big fat creampie," she whispered.
Trent shuddered. "Holy fucking God," he whispered. "That's...whew, way too much. Too hot. Um. Uh. Um. I need to focus on the driving."
Melody laughed and Jen giggled, as did Bea beside him.
"Give him his space, girls," Bea murmured.
"Oh yes, Queen Bea," Jen replied.
"That's right, I am, in fact, Queen Bea," Bea said.
"Oh lord, it's gone to her head," Jen murmured. "I heard this is what regular dick does to you."
"Only when it's fucking bomb dick," Trent replied.
"You know I feel like you shouldn't be the one saying it, but...you aren't wrong," Bea murmured. "Anyway, focus, we're almost home."
"I can't believe we actually did it," Trent said after a moment had passed. "How much did we take in?"
"Twelve-I can't even. I can't even say it! Twelve thousand dollars," Bea replied.
"That's so much money!" Jen yelled. "Is it, like, um, safe?"
"Oh-ho yeah. Molly showed up with a few deputies this time around after everything that happened last night. And she's personally escorting Candy and Stan to the bank," Trent replied.
"So what happened last night? I heard you beat like three dudes' asses?!" Jen asked.
Trent sighed. "No. I maced a few guys is all."
"He straight up fucking socked a motherfucker in the mouth yesterday though," Bea said. "Fuckhead grabbed me. In like broad fucking daylight, surrounded by people!"
"What the fuck? Seriously?" Melody asked.
"Yeah, he's from Mulvey though, so…"
"Oh. Ew. Fucking Mulvey. I swear, I try not to generalize but...fucking no one from Mulvey is good," Jen said.
"What's Mulvey?" Melody asked.
"It's...you don't wanna know. Super shit town where a bunch of psycho methheads and dope fiends live," Bea replied.
"Oh. Wow. Jeez. That sounds intense," Melody murmured.
"So what does that put us at?" Trent asked.
"Probably over seventy grand now. I checked the donations and like a few more grand has rolled in," Bea replied.
"Jesus. Fuck man. seventy grand?" Jen asked. "That's crazy!"
"Yep. And we still need more," Trent muttered. "That isn't even half of what we need."
"Trent, try to relax," Bea said. "We saved the house. That's what matters."
"Yeah, I just...want to do more. Mae's still all fucked up because a lot of the debt they're dealing with is all about her. Credit card debt and college debt and paying off that medical debt for the thing with that Cullen kid."
"Trent...even if we got the whole two hundred, shit, even if we got an extra hundred grand or two hundred grand, she'll still be fucked up over it," Bea said.
"Yeah…" Jen murmured.
"I know, but it'll help. Like it'll take a big chunk out of her guilt. It's important," he replied.
"I understand, just...stop shouldering so much responsibility," Bea murmured.
"I can't help it, I...love her."
"That's way too sweet," Melody murmured. "Also, Trent. You're too hot."
He laughed. "What the fuck? Where did that come from?"
"I saw how you were with that one old lady, Miss...Rosy?"
"Rosa. What about her?" he asked.
"You were so nice to her! And you actually helped her, and hung out with her, and made sure she was okay, and had food. That's just, like...amazing. Like, nothing turns me on like kindness, Trent. And just...so many people just straight up ignore old people, and it always fucking pisses me off and depresses me. Like, they're old! Everything's gotta be just so damned hard when you're old, and it's like the world is just like, 'what the fuck ever, you're old now, go fuck yourself', just-I don't know, there's something really nice about that. It was just really sweet."
"Man, Miss Rosa's gonna get you laid apparently," Bea said.
He laughed. "She thinks I'm hot."
Bea and Jen both started laughing. "What?! How do you know that?" Jen asked.
"She told me. When I told her I was dating Mae she said 'wow, she landed a looker'." Now all three of them laughed. They came back to the house then and he parked in the driveway. He saw that Ann and Mae were already there. "Okay, um...Ann and Mae are here. Gregg and Angus went home to pack. Claire...should be home at Mae's parent's place. Stan and Candy...I need to make sure everything is going okay with the money and Miss Rosa got home okay, and um...I'm forgetting someone. Or something…"
"Trent! Okay, you're going inside and toking up and getting your dick sucked, right now," Bea said. "You got this kicked off. Full credit to you. We ran into this problem and you said 'fuck that, we're not giving up' and you actually got us going. But you cannot do this all by yourself. Just...you're gonna break something!"
"She's right," Melody said.
He looked over at Bea. He could tell she was actually beginning to get upset. He decided to try and do what she wanted, mostly to keep her from being upset.
"Yeah, all right," he said. "I mean it's not like I can complain about that."
"Damn straight," Bea replied. "Now, come on."
They got out and headed inside. They heard laughing as they came in and as they took off their shoes, they found Mae and Ann stretched out on the couch, which was still unfolded. They had clearly been smoking and were watching…
"What the fuck is this?" Trent asked.
"It looks...deranged," Melody murmured.
"Oh my God! Start it over! It's this insane Australian Rick and Morty episode!" Mae cried.
"Aus...trailian? What?" Bea asked.
Ann paused the episode and sat up, giggling. "I think a comedian was allowed to make some insane episode of Australian Rick and Morty as an April Fool's joke? We missed it, I guess, but it's fucking insane."
"I'm so fucking down," Trent said.
"This will be my introduction to Rick and Morty," Jen said. They all immediately began laughing.
"You know, honestly, not a bad introduction," Mae said.
"Did we order Taco Buck?" Trent asked.
"Yep," Ann said, "a few dozen tacos and some burritos are on their way here. Probably not the best choice, but...yeah, it was a long day. Or, honestly, it wasn't even, but after yesterday and the past week…"
"I want tacos and weed and sex," Trent replied.
"Yep," Bea said, finding her pipe and lighting it up.
"We're really bad at self control," Mae murmured.
"Holy fuck, I can't believe you're the one saying it," Trent said. "Now, I need to ask this because I feel like it hasn't been really, like, figured out? Jen, are we cool to, um...fuck?"
"Yeah," she replied.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes. I thought a lot about it and honestly I'm chill about it. I know I kinda freaked out about it earlier, but I am so down to fuck. I know what kinda girl I am and I am the kinda girl who catches feelings for no man and gets the sex I want."
"Yeah, go girl!" Mae cried.
"Well, uh, awesome," Trent said. "I think-" He stopped as there was a knock at the door. "Uh...huh. Wonder who that is," he murmured, walking back over to it.
"Careful," Bea said.
Trent glanced through the window and saw...a middle-aged fox woman in business causal attire. He had no idea who she was.
"Um, it's like, some fox woman? Middle aged? Looks kinda like a businessperson?" he whispered.
"No idea," Mae said.
"Same," Ann agreed.
No one else could place her.
"Maybe she's got the wrong address," Trent said.
"Or maybe she's a fan?" Melody suggested.
"Could be, but then how did she find my house?" he muttered.
"Maybe she followed you home? Or saw your jeep in the driveway?"
"Great." There was another knock at the door, this one a bit stronger. He sighed. "Put the weed away," he said and, after waiting a bit, opened the door. "Hello?"
"Uh...hi. Are you Trent Sinclair?" she asked.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"My name is Colleen Mitchell," she replied, sounding both tired and relieved, "and I'm with the City Council, and I was hoping to speak with you about-"
"Oh no!" Mae yelled, suddenly storming closer. "No! Fuck you! Fuck off! Get the fuck off my property!" she snarled.
"Whoa, Mae, what the hell?" Trent asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Colleen looked completely taken aback.
"They wouldn't help Bruce!" she snapped. "Pastor Kate was trying to help him because he was homeless and they kept saying no and they finally just said 'fuck you' to Bruce and he left town because of you! I liked him!"
"The drifter?" Colleen asked.
"His name is Bruce!" Mae yelled and slammed the door.
"Wait!" Colleen cried.
"Mae, you're being really rude," Trent said.
"I don't care! They were part of the cult, Trent! Remember?!"
"Oh...right, they were on the list," Bea said.
"Wait, what about the cult?" Jen asked.
"Don't ask," Trent replied firmly. "But it wasn't all of them, Mae."
"Oh right, fuck, some of the council was a part of that crazy cult, huh?" Jen murmured.
"They arrested the council members who were part of the cult, Mae," Trent said, gripping her shoulders gently. "It wasn't all of them, remember?"
"Fine," she growled, "but they still fucked over Bruce, and then he left. And they just sat there and dicked around and argued over the stupidest bullshit! You know how many times I came across them last fall, standing around, arguing over nothing?! Arguing over a statue, or a fucking streetlight?"
"I get it, but...can we at least listen?" She wouldn't relent. He leaned in close, his mouth to her ear so that only she could hear him. "Babe, I understand, but this town might be fucked. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year. But if we can somehow get our hand on the steering wheel, even just a bit, maybe we can help. Like what Jacob is doing? Preparing for the hard times. You feel me?"
She sighed heavily. "...yes. Fine. All right. I'll listen."
"Holy shit, what'd you say to her?" Jen asked.
"It's...personal," he replied.
"Apparently."
"Uh...we're gonna talk with her."
"Lemme join," Bea said. "I've actually worked with them before."
"Okay. We'll be right back, guys," Trent said.
"We'll be here," Ann replied.
Trent opened up the door again. Colleen was still waiting there.
"Please, it's really important," she said.
"Back up," Trent said, and she did. "We will listen."
He, Bea, and Mae stepped out into the front yard.
"Oh, Beatrice, hello," Colleen said.
"Hi, Colleen," Bea replied mildly.
"Listen, it wasn't me, okay?" she said, her voice low. "Me and Gary weren't part of that...cult. I had no idea. It was Andrew and Cathleen. Molly already asked us, God, interrogated us, and the FBI did too, and we're clean! Okay!?"
"I guess I believe you," Mae muttered. "Molly wouldn't screw up. Where's the other guy?"
"Gary resigned last month," Colleen replied, hugging herself. "It was too much for him. And now it's just me. Me and the Mayor."
"I want you to answer for Bruce," Mae said, stepping closer to her and pointing at her. "Pastor Kate pushed you, she asked again and again. And you didn't do shit."
"It was never going to work!" Colleen cried. "You think you know how to run a town!? Homeless in our church?! It was never going to pass, the people would've eaten us alive! And I remember you, Mae Borowski. I know what you did-"
"Hey," Trent said, his voice just a little loud and a lot firm, "don't forget that you came to us, councilwoman."
She took a moment to compose herself. "You're right. I apologize. It's...been a very trying year so far. People I thought were my friends turned out to be...murderous psychopaths, throwing people down a hole out in the woods...but I'm not here to talk about that. Mae, I'm sorry about your friend, about Bruce. If it had been up to me…"
"What?" Mae asked. "If it had been up to you, what?"
Colleen sighed. She looked tired, older suddenly. She gently shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "Mae...I'm sorry. I just don't know. I've been doing this for five years, and it's just...compromise after compromise. Things I thought would be straightforward and obvious are complicated and difficult, and everything's just so damn hard. I thought maybe I could get more done when it was just me but I can barely do anything without other council members, and the elections aren't until August. Believe it or not, I care. I care about Possum Springs. I care about people. I care about the homeless. It's just...everything costs something. You can't just-you can't just do things. It's never that easy. But...well, I won't lie, we did bullshit around a lot. And I regret that. But I'm a woman in a man's world, and that makes it that much harder…"
"All right, fine," Mae grumbled. "But spare me the sappy bullshit. I'm a four foot ten pansexual weirdo with mental health problems and I grew up here. Don't even think you had it worse than me."
"Mae," Bea murmured.
Mae sighed and folded her arms.
"Okay, you want something from me, right?" Trent asked.
"Yes," she said.
"What do you want?"
"I want to work with you. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what's going on, but obviously you and your...group, you know how to bring people to this town. How to bring business to this town. We've seen more activity in the past two days than we have in the past two seasons. Everyone's seeing business. People are coming from all over the state! I've never seen anything like it! Obviously, you know what you're doing, and this town...it needs help. It needs commerce and money coming into it. Tourists. People visiting."
"I think you might be overestimating my abilities," Trent said.
"I don't know...you're hanging out with Beatrice Santello. She knows her shit."
"Thank you," Bea murmured.
"Why should we help you?" Mae asked.
"I think we want the same thing," Colleen replied. "We want to help Possum Springs."
Mae stared at her hard for several long seconds, then sighed. "Yeah, that makes sense."
"I still think you're overestimating our abilities," Trent said. "But...okay, I mean, do you have any specific ideas? I mean what are you actually asking for?"
"Well, for starters...we need an overhaul on how we present the town. The town pamphlet, the town website, advertising campaigns...we did all of it and we, well, were not the best at it."
Bea snorted. "I'll say, Possum Springs dot com looks like it was designed in nineteen ninety three. Honestly, if you gave me a crack at it, I could totally update it."
"Well, just because I'm a writer doesn't mean I can just whip up a pamphlet or write an advertising campaign," Trent said.
"You could try," Colleen replied, a little helplessly. "Maybe you could also write a short story set in Possum Springs? Or something? I think I read about that being a thing. Maybe we could get a bookstore going? I've always wanted a bookstore in town but I could never convince the others…"
"Okay, okay," Trent said, raising his hands, "look, practically speaking, right now, we're right in the middle of something. The bank fucked Mae's parents and they're trying to steal their house. Our focus is stopping that. And we're doing that for the next few days. We can have a real discussion about it...in two weeks. But. If you seriously want my help...then I want direct input on two of the council seats."
He felt Mae and Bea's eyes on him, but neither said anything.
"I...I can't just snap my fingers and make that happen," Colleen said finally, more than a little shocked. "You're asking for...do you have any idea how much you're asking?"
"Yes, but you're the person most directly responsible for this. I know there's gonna be an election and ballots and campaigns and yada yada yada, but ultimately who you and the mayor throw their weight behind is probably going to win."
She looked at him sternly for a long moment. "I'm not letting you stick your nineteen year old goofball friends on the city council," she said.
"Don't worry, Colleen, I'm not looking to fuck you, or this town, over. I just want a few people I can actually trust on the council. People I know for a fact will actually try to help this town and won't just line their fucking pockets, make speeches, and fucking gladhand themselves."
Colleen stared at him for another long moment. Trent crossed his arms and stared back.
Finally, she sighed. "All right," she said, "figure out who you trust and then tell me in two weeks, and if they aren't an absolute clown or a felon or psycho...if I feel that I can trust them, then I'll do it." She paused, then stuck out her hand.
"June Fifteenth," she said.
Trent shook her hand. "June Fifteenth."
"Thank you," Colleen said quietly. "I...I'm exhausted." She shook her head, then smiled, a little grimly. "Good luck with your house situation."
"Good luck with the town," Trent said.
She just nodded and then walked back to her car. They watched her go in silence until she'd driven away, then they went back inside.