Paper Trails

Shane refused to believe that Gunther would sell the town museum's entire collection for personal profit. While admittedly the mayor did not know the curator/librarian all that well, the goateed man was the one who agreed to officiate Shane's wedding to Emily. Maybe it was not politically wise, it put the guy in Shane's good graces.

Still, he could not let the matter go untouched. Shane knew that his predecessor tried to illegally sell the Community Center, so there could be any number of additional shady dealings for which he inherited responsibility when he defeated Lewis last season. The longer he waited to address the case, the colder the trail would get. Shane could already tell this whole thing was going to be a pain in the ass, but it had to be done.

He did not want to interrupt Jas and Vincent's school day with potential drama, so the new mayor made his way to the museum as soon as it opened and hoped that Gunther was at least in a good mood.

The goateed man tipped his hat to Shane as the tiny bell above the door announced his presence. "Good morning, Mister Mayor," Gunther greeted him with a smile. "What brings you to my fine establishment this morning?"

Shane hesitated, unsure of how to bring up the accusation against the librarian. "We uh… missed you at the Festival of Ice yesterday," the sable-haired man began awkwardly. I really should have practiced this…

Gunther shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Ah, I suppose I do not participate in the local festivities much these days. Though now that Mister Lewis is gone, I suppose I might partake in your company."

Did he have a falling out with Lewis? Shane wondered. Much to his surprise, he was actually getting some decent information already. "Lewis is obnoxious, sure," the younger man conceded, "but the festivals are pretty big, so it would be relatively easy to avoid him if you wanted."

Gunther stared down at Shane through the thick lenses of his glasses. "I suppose that, technically, you are correct, Mister Mayor," he replied slowly. "But I don't care to associate with crooks like Mister Lewis."

"Was this because of him stealing tax dollars or something else?" Shane probed, hoping to get more answers out of the museum curator.

A white gloved hand rapped against the countertop between them as Gunther deflected the question. "That is a private affair between me and Mister Lewis."

Shane frowned. Gunther had his guard up now, that much he could tell. Well, it's too late to retreat now, the mayor thought with a heavy sigh. Shane glanced down at his toes, trying to avoid the discomfort of confrontation. "Gunther, I spoke to someone from the NuNu City Anthropological Museum yesterday, and -"

The click of a firearm alerted Shane to danger. His dark eyes turned upward to see Gunther brandishing a rifle pointed directly at his chest. "I will not surrender those funds, Mister Mayor. I simply took what was owed to me."

Shane could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. The situation went from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. "What the-?!" the poultry farmer restrained himself from cursing as shouted in alarm, throwing his arms up in the air to demonstrate he meant no harm. "I just want to know your side of the story!"

Gunther's goatee twitched as he mulled over Shane's words. "Very well, sir." The librarian lowered his weapon and switched on the safety before replacing it somewhere low behind the counter. Better keep that in mind for the future, Shane supposed grimly.

The older man motioned for Shane to follow him upstairs. "We should discuss a delicate matter such as this in private, Mister Mayor," Gunther reasoned. "We can have a nice, civil chat over a cup of tea in my modest dwelling upstairs."

Shane faltered, concerned what would happen if he went into Gunther's apartment where no one else would see him. Then again, the man appeared to leave his rifle in its hiding place behind the counter. "Give me just a moment, I have to tell Emily not to expect me home right away."

This may be his last chance, so he typed his message quickly. *I'm going into Gunther's apartment. If I'm not home in an hour, send help!* Shane pocketed his phone and ascended the stairs with Gunther trailing behind him.

Haley sat in the clinic waiting room, browsing videos from her favorite IG stylists when Maru finally came out to collect her. "Ready when you are, Haley," the dorky girl proclaimed.

The blonde groaned internally. On the one hand, at least the person examining her was a woman. Harvey always got super weird with her, probably because she was a gorgeous young person who happened to have boobs and while he was a tall doctor, he held a tragic, unhealthy love for the '80s pornstache on his upper lip and full-rimmed glasses that shielded perfectly good eyes behind a façade of thick lenses.

Haley almost suggested giving him a makeover during her last appointment simply because she could not stand his lack of fashion sense, but then he might have actually had a shot with Maru and that would have had a major ick factor. He was in his mid-thirties, for Yoba's sake - and his assistant did not pass the "half your age plus seven" rule for appropriate dating.

So, while it was nice to have a woman who was not afraid to even look at her while talking, on the other hand, this was the girl that Alex had been simping over for nearly two seasons and just looking at her clueless face made Haley want to shake her with frustration. Like, Haley could understand Maru's "pure intentions" by nipping the whole dating thing in the bud, but now Alex spent all his time either moping or bro-ing it up with Shane and that was somehow worse.

While Maru asked her all the normal questions and checked her vitals, Haley realized this was her chance to set the record straight. "So, what's the deal with you and Alex avoiding each other now?"

Maru blinked, the confusion on her face was both expected and irritating. "What?" the nurse reacted with a gasp of disbelief. "I'm not avoiding Alex." Haley could see the insecurity creeping into the nurse's expression. "But… it does seem like he's been avoiding me lately."

"Yeah no, duh," the blonde responded with a roll of her bright blue eyes. Haley sat up straight on the exam table, turning her body toward the clueless wonder. "You shut him down before he even finished asking you out, so he's going to need some time for like, self-care after failing so hard."

The nerdy girl pouted, once again refusing to acknowledge the truth of the situation. Haley crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you remember what his exact words were?"

Maru shook her head. "I thought I did, but then Granny Evelyn said that he took the rejection hard when she was here for her appointment." Her suede-colored eyes turned to Haley for answers, as they rightly should. "I assumed she meant you."

"Oh, for Yoba's sake!" Haley growled in frustration as she hopped off the exam table. "And people call me dumb!"

"I've never called you dumb…" Maru sounded hurt. Even though Haley meant her words more generally, the other woman took it personally. The blonde buried her face in her hands and took a calming breath. Emily insisted it helped to simmer down to avoid saying something she would regret.

"You're right…" Haley admitted. The older of the two dropped her hands to her side again and placed her hands on Maru's shoulders. "Alex has talked about you constantly ever since you made him your personal project and now, he's like, annoyingly obsessed with you."

"You think Alex was talking about me when he mentioned he wanted to ask someone out?" Maru's big brain clearly could not handle such earth-shattering information.

Haley lowered her head to stare directly into Maru's eyes. "I know so!" she clarified with confidence. The photographer lowered her hands and pulled her bag onto her shoulder. "Now, if you want Alex to quit avoiding you, I suggest you both have a heart-to-heart or whatever and figure out where you both stand on the idea of dating each other."

Maru stood there quietly, still processing the news, so Haley continued with a warning. "But for the love of Yoba, if you two start making out in the square on the reg, I'm gonna gag."

The nurse seemed uncomfortable. Haley figured she must have taken things a bit too far with that last comment. "If you wanna date him, that's fine. It'll just take some getting used to the idea of Alex with anyone else, okay?"

Maru nodded wordlessly. Maybe this was what Leah meant when she accused the blonde of being mean. Haley smiled. "It's okay either way, Maru. Alex adores you and even if you don't want to be with him like that, I'm sure he'll come around. Don't worry."

"I won't," the woman in scrubs replied. "I just need some time to mull things over."

Haley nodded, smiling at the brunet. "Are we done here, or do I need to do anything else for this annual physical?"

Wordlessly, Maru dismissed Haley and the blonde exited the clinic feeling like she did a good job as a friend. Now the ball was in Maru's court and the misunderstanding was corrected. All she had to do was wait and see how things turned out. Haley could not decide which outcome she preferred.

It was Sebastian's birthday tomorrow and Violet made it her mission to make the day special. The gifts she ordered for her friends for the Feast of the Winter Star from Bex's primo Arturo were not ready just yet, and the farmer wanted to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday as its own occasion. Lots of people with Winter birthdays got the short end of the stick since friends and family tended to give only one gift and claim it as a combined birthday/Feast of the Winter Star gift. Violet was determined not to fall into that trap.

So, the current plan was to surprise him at his place with a fully cooked meal - including dessert - at his place when he got home from class and spend the evening together. Depending on how things went, Violet might even sleep over at Sebastian's place. The pastel-haired woman wanted to find something festive to make the surprise more romantic and what better way than with mistletoe? Leah had pointed it out to her when they were hunting for holly for Emily and Shane's wedding.

"A lot of people mistake holly for mistletoe," the master forager informed her friend that day. "But they look totally different!"

The mistletoe was located high in the tree canopy and luckily for Violet, she did not have to climb up there and risk breaking her neck herself. As the human representative of the forest, Violet had the Junimos at her disposal, all of whom seemed more than happy to assist the mission.

Surrounded by a swarm of spirits, Violet made her way through the Cindersap Forest, admiring the beauty of Winter in the valley. It had not snowed in several days, but the entire woods was coated in a thin layer of white that sparkled in the sunlight.

As she came into a clearing with her entourage of apples, Violet caught sight of an enormous old oak heavy with small white berries draped from its highest branches. The picturesque scene took Violet's breath away. The young woman had always visited her grandparents in Summer, and in the city, the snow usually melted or tainted by urban grunge too quickly. So, for the first time Violet experienced a truly breathtaking Winter wonder.

Violet could not help but stand in awe for a few moments, admiring the jewel-like berries that hung from the leaves of pale green as the Junimos went about their task happily in the treetops overhead. They were careful to only remove small portions from each section so as not to harm the mistletoe's delicate teardrop leaves or the mighty oak tree that hosted the hemiparasitic plant in the process.

Her basket was full of dozens of healthy sprigs of mistletoe, decorated by tiny round fruits. It was more than she needed, but she figured she could give away the rest to her neighbors. Her business deal with Krobus creating void crops and alcohols was proving to be even more profitable than all her other farming efforts, so Violet was not hurting for cash flow at the moment.

Which is why she also wanted to invite the young adults of Pelican Town over for a dinner party this coming weekend. Violet finally had a place big enough to host a real "adult" party and share the bounty of her farm with her new friends. She and Maru had discussed it at the Festival of Ice yesterday, and the younger woman assured the farmer that any excuse for good food was always welcome.

Conveniently, Talla's associate, the Hat Mouse, had sold her a handsome dining table with a pristine white tablecloth and ornate embroidery. The enormous dining table was delivered this morning by a hefty brown bear who appeared half-asleep. Then again, it was hibernation season, so Violet was surprised to see the creature at all. Violet giggled at the idea. I'm more surprised by seeing a bear deliver my furniture in Winter than I am about a mouse-run business with a bear delivery service!

Living in the valley had changed her worldview so much that Violet often questioned how little the rest of the world knew about the magic to which she had become so familiar. The agrarian hardly batted an eye at shadow creatures, monsters in the mines, merpeople, or any other being she would have previously believed was mere fantasy. As long as there are no werewolves imprinting on their friend's newborn or leather-clad gunslinging vampires… Violet reflected, amused by fictional works she had encountered. There were definitely some contributions to the collective imagination that she could live without.

Violet separated out several small bundles of mistletoe for herself with red ribbon, placed them in her bag, and bid the Junimos thanks and farewell before heading toward town to distribute the rest.

As she walked, the farmer saw Jas playing in the snow with Samantha near the ranch. Shane's sister waved Violet over, and the wavy-haired woman obliged. "You two are having fun," she observed with a grin. Their faces were bright with the fire of competition and their cold-weather gear was covered in the powdery remains of obliterated snowballs.

"Playing with Auntie Sammy is fun!" Jas reported, shrieking with delight as her snow fort took the brunt of a barrage of incoming snowballs. Samantha erupted in evil laughter as she stepped over the walls of the fortress while Jas was distracted and scooped the child into her arms. "Now I've got you!" the dark-haired woman declared.

Violet chuckled, amused by the scene, and made sure to give them a wide berth. Samantha finally set her little cousin down and collapsed on the remains of the snow fort to recover. The college student eyed the farmer's basket curiously. "What's all that?" Samantha inquired.

"It's mistletoe," Violet disclosed with a smile, lifting a small bundle up to showcase its pristine white berries. "I was just going to hand out the rest of this to whoever wanted any. Do you want some?"

Samantha appeared ponderous for a moment. "That's the kissing plant, right?"

Violet laughed at the nickname, but it was essentially correct. "Oh, yeah, you know, the typical holiday excuse to kiss your significant other at a party."

"Pft! I don't need an excuse for -" She cut herself off mid-sentence as if an idea struck her. Samantha regarded the local mischievously. "Hey, Violet. You're friends with Leah, right?"

Violet nodded. Samantha pursed her lips in contemplation. "I'll level with you, Violet," the student stated bluntly. "Haley likes Leah and thinks she's been giving all the right signals while Leah's been the typical useless lesbian assuming all the snacks around her aren't looking right back at her thinking the same thing."

Jas interrupted. "What's a lesbian?"

"A woman who wants to fuck other women," Samantha explained without skipping a beat. Violet's hand clapped over her own mouth to stifle her laughter and Jas was appalled by the language. She was at that age when kids were really stuck on rules and Violet had a feeling Marnie had a strict no cursing policy.

Samantha's brain finally processed her own words after studying Jas' face. "Oh, uh…" her dark eyes flickered around to make sure no one else witnessed her sullying her impressionable cousin's vocabulary. "Forget what I said," Samantha instructed with a hopeful tone in her voice that suggested to Violet she was banking on Jas not to tell Marnie or Shane about this little incident. "A lesbian is a just woman who is attracted to other women."

Violet could tell that Samantha desperately wanted to sweep this under the rug as soon as possible and attempted to continue their discussion. "Anyway, I'll take some mistletoe. Make sure Leah knows I took some, will you?" she winked.

Curious, Violet chose to take the opportunity to properly understand Samantha's intentions. "Wait, so you're not into Haley?"

The smirk on Samantha's face widened. "Now you're catching on!"

Violet frowned contemplatively. "This is all to get Leah jealous?"

Samantha shrugged. "All we've been doing is hanging out, swapping tea, and noticing how much of Leah's art literally has Haley's face." The resemblance between Samantha and her brother Shane was uncanny, but Violet had never seen such a smug expression on the mayor's face. "The gay panic is just Leah's imagination running a million miles a minute."

So, that's why Leah's ice sculpture looked so familiar, Violet thought. "And you want Leah to know that you took some mistletoe because it'll fuel her paranoia that you're going to make a move on Haley?"

Samantha's reaction proved Violet's suspicions correct. Finally, a partner in crime to play cupid with! The farmer sprang into action, rearranging the mistletoe to make a large empty space in the middle of her basket, and giving the appearance that she had already given away most of it. "In that case," Violet revealed with a conspiratorial wink, "you took a generous armful."

"Could anything be more romantic?" Samantha sighed, a theatrical wistfulness to her tone as she feigned swooning. "Now get going, captain! We have a ship to sail."

Jas was puzzled by the sudden seafaring references but remained quiet until Violet was already back on the path toward town to put their plan into action. "Auntie Sammy, are you a lesbian?"

Sam still struggled dealing with his mother's memory loss on a daily basis. On the days Abigail trained with Rasmodius, it was difficult to forget that Jodi had chosen this for herself. The blond understood the pain his mom experienced on some level, but he could not condone the choice she made. It was one he would have never made for himself. But despite the underlying resentment he felt toward his mother, Sam also felt sorry for her and was relieved that she chose to forget her husband rather than turn to something that had no chance of being undone in the future.

So, in a way, Jodi's choice - in combination with Abigail's new schedule - made it necessary for Sam to spend more time with his kid brother. It was not a bad thing, the aspiring musician decided. He liked Vincent a lot as far as siblings went and as weird as it may sound, Sam almost considered himself Vincent's second dad after their own father due to their age difference and how involved he was in raising his younger brother.

That did not mean Sam was handling his father's disappearance or his mother's choice well, however. While he told Sebastian initially that he was okay with Jodi's decision, Sam could not help but feel resentful toward her for leaving him and Vincent to deal with this on their own.

He could barely keep himself together as it was, and with Sebastian gone, the blond did not have much of an outlet for his problems. Abigail was going through her own difficulties, from learning that Caroline had lied to both her and Pierre about her paternity and getting to know a whole new side of her that she never knew existed.

Sam did not want to unload all his burdens onto Abigail. He was supposed to be a happy-go-lucky, fun-loving skater dude who rocked out on his electric guitar on the weekends. But the general expectation to be Pelican Town's "Mister Brightside" was slowly suffocating him.

Luckily for Sam, Vincent had school today and his mother was at her aerobics class, so he could lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for as long as he needed. Or so he assumed.

A knock at the front door roused him from his half-conscious state. Sam pulled on some pants and answered the summons of the mystery person outside. He blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light reflecting off the snow on the ground outside. It was Violet.

"Oh, hey, V," the blond greeted the farmer as he leaned his body against the door frame. "What brings you here?" He noticed the large basket filled with some kind of plant hanging from her arm.

Violet's concern was as plain as the nose on her face. "Sam, no offense…" his friend said, "but you look like shit." Sam was not sure if she purposefully stopped there or simply forgot the "are you okay?" that typically softened the blow of such an insulting observation. It short-circuited the automatic response that everything was fine.

Sam tilted his head to rest on the door frame and closed his eyes. "Just… dealing with some stuff right now that mom chose to remove my dad from her memory, you know?" he confessed. His answer was specifically vague. Enough to warn people away from asking more, since family matters were private affairs, but enough to give away the nature of the issue so the neighbors did not get any wild ideas. He was not eager to dump everything onto Violet, even if things were eating at him.

The farmer's face was twisted between sympathy and unease. "Is… there anything I can do?"

Shaking his head, the blond declined. "Nah, you're running errands," he replied, his chin pointing to the basket in her arms as he politely declined the offer.

Violet's eyes shifted toward the basket. "Oh, this? It's nothing really," she replied as she casually adjusted the basket on her forearm. "I just had extra mistletoe I was handing out."

Sam smirked knowingly. "Ah, so you plan on luring our boy Sebastian into a sexy trap for his birthday?" The woman blushed, making Sam laugh. It was so easy with Violet and Sebastian both, they were fun to tease.

"... Something like that," his friend acknowledged sheepishly. She surveyed the area for an excuse to change the subject. "Oh!" Violet reached her hand into the mailbox. "You've got a letter."

Sam could immediately tell it was not a bill. The color of the envelope was different, more beige than white, and there was an impressive assortment of stamps on it. Intrigued, Sam took the letter. It was addressed to his mother, but the blond was used to opening the mail now that he had to intercept anything that might mention Kent to avoid any problems.

Sam tore it open and found a hastily scribbled note inside in handwriting so poor that the man could not read most of the words. He narrowed his eyes, hoping it would help, but no such luck. The blond turned to Violet for assistance. "Can you read this, V?"

Violet accepted the letter and skimmed over its contents. "It's the weirdest mix of cursive and chicken scratch I've ever seen…" she marveled with amusement.

"But can you read it?" Sam demanded, raising his voice to grab her attention. He could tell this letter was important. The man was sure he at least saw his father's name somewhere in there.

Nodding, Violet's eyes scanned the words once again. The farmer glanced over her shoulder, as if she were worried someone might be listening. "Can we take this inside? I don't know when your mom gets back."

That comment alone made Sam's heart race. He pulled her inside and shut the door behind him before the two took a seat on the nearby couch. Violet went ahead and read the note aloud once Sam settled on the sofa next to her.

Jodi,

Forgive me for getting straight to the point, but you asked me to update you if I heard any news of Kent while working here in Gotoro. I recently heard rumors of him making trouble for the Gotorons at a nearby POW camp.

Word going around is that your husband and his platoon are all still alive and well. I will do anything I can to ensure Kent returns home safely to you and the boys, even if I can only keep him healthy while he's imprisoned here.

I do not intend to leave this country without him, even if that means I must stay here longer than originally planned. I promise you that I will not abandon your husband.

I may not be able to write again for some time, but I will send word again when I can.

Sincerely,

Dr. Harvey

Sam let out a nervous chuckle, slowly releasing pent-up anxiety from his body. "Dad's alive!" the blond breathed, unable to believe the news himself. He had spent so long fearing the worst that good news came as a shock.

His mind was racing, but Sam knew one thing for sure. If his father had survived being captured, there was no way his old man was going to let prison get the best of him. Sam snatched up the envelope to check for a time stamp of some sort. The letter was sent over a week ago.

Sam understood there was a possibility that things had changed drastically between now and when Harvey sent the letter, but the blond found new hope from the news. Even if his mother did not remember her husband, Sam was sure that once the family was reunited, things could go back to the way they were.

The man hopped up from the couch and pulled Violet to her feet. "Dad's alive!" he shouted, laughing, and crying tears of joy as he threw his arms around her. He nearly kissed Violet, but she turned her head to dodge the sign of appreciation.

"I'm happy for you, Sam, but save it for your girlfriend," Violet teased with a laugh. Instead, she gave him a big hug and he noticed that she was crying happy tears, too. "Do you want to go celebrate?" she inquired, wiping her eyes. "I'll treat you to whatever you want at the saloon!"

That's right, even if his mom chose to forget his dad, the rest of the villagers would be eager to hear the news. Sam felt genuinely happy for the first time since he heard the news about his father in the POW camp. Things were finally starting to turn around. "Yeah, let's do it!"

Emily came home from work relatively late that evening. While she did not typically stay until midnight anymore, now that the man she stuck around after-hours for was her husband, tonight had been special. Sam heard wonderful news from Doctor Harvey and so Gus treated everyone to a free round to celebrate. The atmosphere remained animated and joyful the rest of the evening and Emily basked in the positive energy until closing time.

When Emily unlocked the front door of the Mayoral Manor and stepped inside, she noticed that Shane sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by paperwork strewn about him in a semi-circle. "Shane?" she voiced questioningly to grab her husband's attention. He had returned home safely after that worrying text this morning and began searching the house like a man possessed. It appeared he was still on his quest for answers.

Shane's attention shifted toward the door, and he relaxed visibly at the sight of her. "It's worse than I thought, Emily…" her husband reported, exhaling heavily. Emily noticed that a few of the floorboards had been removed.

"Lewis had us all paying at least three times our actual tax rates, and just as bad for the local businesses," the mayor described with a pained expression. He pointed to the worn document in front of him. "And Pam was screwed over the most," Shane continued in disbelief, "Lewis wasn't even legally permitted to rent her that property, it's too close to the river on a major flood plain! The government made that illegal back in the '80s!"

It alarmed Emily to hear that Pam's trailer could be so easily swept away if a severe storm hit the coast, but she knew that was not the extent of the problem. "Where did you find all these?" she wondered, glancing around at their home's disheveled interior.

Shane realized his mistake of leaving a gaping hole in their floor without warning his wife. He explained himself. "So, as it turns out, Gunther did sell the museum collection." The mayor nodded to acknowledge her shock, but he elaborated. "But he only did so because he was set to retire with a pension at the end of the last year and Lewis declared the contract null-and-void because Gunther isn't at the age of retirement for government employees."

"Gunther works for the government?" Emily echoed.

Shane shook his head. "That was the disagreement. Apparently, Gunther moved here as part of a government program to provide educational materials to rural communities and while his paycheck was supplemented by the state, the town was expected to pay him, too." The mayor frowned, "The problem with the program was that nothing was specified in terms of compensation and the town paid for Gunther's apartment and utilities in lieu of direct payments."

"So, when Gunther approached him about retirement and his pension, Lewis told him that since the government was the only party providing monetary compensation, Gunther was considered their employee and therefore subject to the same rules regarding retirement."

Emily could see where this was going. "So, Gunther decided to take matters into his own hands and get his pension money another way…"

Shane confirmed her speculation with a grimace. "He and Lewis struck a deal that they would report a break-in and split the profits and slowly reintroduce the collection into the building as they were acquired to replace what was 'stolen.' But Gunther sold the items to a museum in NuNu City behind Lewis' back rather than returning them as originally planned."

"Lewis couldn't prove that Gunther betrayed their deal without revealing that he was in on it, so he let it go," Emily concluded. She tilted her head curiously. "What are you going to do?"

Shane slumped forward in his chair. "I told Gunther I wouldn't pursue the matter and he was at least satisfied with that since it was about the same amount of money he would have received with the pension, just in a lump sum." Emily saw his dark eyes look to her for answers. "But I have no idea how to compensate the rest of the town for the money Lewis stole from them."

Emily sat down on her husband's lap and stroked his head gently. "We'll figure things out, Shane," she assured her spouse. "I think the best course of action is to be honest with the villagers, though. Maybe we can put our heads together and come up with a few solutions."

She kissed the top of his head as he slowly buried his face in her chest. "It's time for bed," Emily announced, wrapping her husband in a warm embrace. "You're exhausted and we can tackle this problem together in the morning."

Shane inhaled audibly and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Shane conceded. "Let's hit the hay."

Author Note: Full disclosure - I recently went back and edited some minor details regarding dates of past events. When I started writing in 2020, I went off what I thought were Evelyn and George's ages based on my comparison to the physical appearance of elderly people in my life.

HOWEVER, recently I noticed that their ages and the timeline I created off those presumed ages did not work with my math for certain events that will appear or have already happened in the past of the series for literally everyone else. Basically, I made the rookie mistake of choosing someone's age and plugging in dates afterward rather than naturally aging them through my own timeline. Whoops.

I went back and edited any mention of their ages or past events that would have caused some weird timing plot holes or somewhat annoying inconsistencies. While it's relatively minor, I'm not the kind of author to stealth edit or leave glaring plot holes if they can easily be fixed. So, to make you you all are aware, I adjusted my timeline slightly and the plague that has been referenced now occurs in the '60s rather than the '50s.

I promise it does not change anything in terms of the plot itself, though. I leave clues in the writing so that readers who pay attention might get an idea of what's coming for a reason and I'm not about to change that up now.