Sunday Evening:

They arrived in Trixie’s suite and Bobbie took off the ruined dress. She headed to the shower and had to use acetate to get the paint out of her hair. She was reasonably paint free and went in her room to change. She wore casual shorts and a baggy tee shirt.

She went out to see Trixie and saw that Greg was home. “Hi Bobbie, sit down and let me get you a drink; or some tea. Or what would you like?”

“Don’t fuss Greg, I could use a shot of Scotch though.” Bobbie grabbed her phone and made her flight reservation for tomorrow. It was quite expensive but she really wanted to get home.

“So, you and Ambrose are done, eh?”

“Yes, I wasn’t cut out to be a politician’s girlfriend after all.”

“He’s a pretty good guy but he seemed to put his career above everything else.”

“That’s a cautionary tale for me.” Said Trixie, walking into the room. “I would like a scotch too.”

They sat around and sipped their drinks and chatted when Bobbie’s phone pinged. It was an email from Townes. He said he hoped she was alright. Bobbie looked up. “That was from Townes, how do you suppose he got my email?”

“I might have given it to him; He’s such a cold fish and you seemed to have a connection.”

“He wanted to protect me but there’s nothing much beyond that. He must be a lot younger that us, isn’t he?

“I’d say he’s got rich kid Peter Pan Syndrome. He was born in 1968 so he’s not that much younger.”

“He probably dates cheerleaders and models.”

“What do you mean buy he protected you? What exactly, went down?” Asked Greg frowning.

“Some anti Planned Parenthood protesters yelled at me and threw red paint on me. It wasn’t that big a deal but I’m just so tired of all the attention. Can you imagine how much worse all this would have gotten if I stayed with Ambrose?”

“It was his fault. He was the one that caused the trouble that got you so much attention.” Said Trixie.

“So, he planted a fake threat at your motel and the police and press were there? It’s likely illegal and if you could prove that, he could get in real trouble.” Greg freshened their drinks.

“I overheard him talking to Brock about it but I can’t really prove it. I’m sure he covered his tracks. I don’t want him to burn to the ground I just want a clean break.”

“You’re too fair Bobbie. Do you think you are going to miss him?”

“Not right now, I just miss Alex a little more.”

“Oh, sweetie that is so sad. Greg, maybe we should cancel our dinner reservations and order in. We can stay home and order in Thai food and watch renovation shows.”

They stayed in and ate and drank and laughed and Bobbie felt much better when she went to bed.

Monday morning:

She woke and found a goodbye note from Trixie and Greg and she got cleaned up and packed and checked the schedule for the Airport shuttle bus.

Across town, Ambrose Hennessy was nervously waiting for Trixie in his office. She came in and closed the door. “Are you planning to contact her? Just don’t. Your little stunt at the motel has temporarily ruined her life. She can’t go anywhere without people hounding her for a selfie and she can’t walk down the street for fear of getting assaulted by anti-planned parenthood protesters. She can’t properly manage her motel or even sing at that little market because she has to stay safe in her apartment. It is all your fault. She knows this and is very angry at you. Let her be angry and leave her alone. You have royally fucked this up. There is no coming back from it. You are done with her. Now if we are clear, Let’s continue with our meetings.”

Bobbie’s flight landed around noon. Her car was at the airport so she found it and headed home. She had to pass by Quinn’s farm so she turned off the highway and headed up the road.

The place was beautiful. Bobbie couldn’t believe what she saw. The shop and shed and barn were all a little straighter and sturdier, with a fresh coat of paint and the main house looked charming and larger. “Hi there, I was just passing by and was wondering who’s home.”

Lorne came out wiping his hands. “Hi Bobbie, we’re finishing things up for the girls and they should be able to move in on Wednesday. We just have to make sure all the trim is dry. Come in and have a peek. My God, how are you with all that fuss on the internet?”

“I can’t wait to see it. I’m done with fortune and fame; I had to break it off with the politician.”

“Aww, he was so powerful and sexy. Your mother will be sad. Who needs the baggage though, right?”

“Exactly, I love the new, old looking windows and the front porch and the new front door. Do I see a sun room on the side?” Lorne drew Bobbie into a large foyer that had a closet door that actually opened to a big mud room with a powder room and laundry.

“They can park their double stroller here.”

“Maybe, I’m hoping they keep it on the porch. Look at this floor. It is old pine and has been here over a hundred years. We just needed to scrub it and give it a clear coat and we kept it where we could.” The foyer, mud room and the big side sun room had black and white check tiles, installed on the diagonal.

“You even found wood in the u-shaped kitchen. I like the tiled area in the centre that looks like a rug under the kitchen table. There’s no formal dining room but the kitchen table is big and the family room with two facing sofas and space for their swivel rocking recliners is great. They didn’t want a TV here, did they?”

“No, they have a comfy den on the other side of the stairs with a TV. Come out here and see the sun porch.”

They went out the side door by the kitchen and Bobbie caught her breath. The tile floor was heated, making it a 4-season room and the casement windows went from floor to ceiling.  A door on the end opened to a patio with a barbecue and you could climb up over a rocky outcrop that had a railing and a large sitting area with a fire pit. It was a covered fire pit. Lorne said he didn’t want them to burn the place down. They looked at the view. They could see a small parking lot and a path to what will be their shop and they could see out to the field with their sheep and alpaca. Bobbie saw a figure walking from the field towards them. She squinted and waved. “It’s Gary, he must be out feeding the animals.”

They climbed down and met Gary by the shop. “I’ve been coming by to check on things and keep Lorne on task. I have to thank you guys for what you’ve done for my girls. I never could have managed this for them.”

Lorne hugged him. “Uncle Gary, I have a new renovation company and Quinn is so great to work with, we were happy to help. You paid for rehabbing all the out buildings and made this tired farm a real homestead.”

Bobbie got out her phone. “I have to take pictures for Trixie.” See you guys later. Bobbie walked over to the house, went in through the sun room and out the front door.

Back to reality. Bobbie got in her car and beeped as she drove away. Quinn and Ray are going to love that place she thought. She drove up to the motel and saw a bunch of people in the lower parking lot. She pulled her hat down and drove up to her own back door. She grabbed her bag and hurried inside. She went up the stairs and unlocked the door to her place. It felt good to be home.

Fossie bounded over and wound around her ankles. She dropped the bag and picked him up and he nuzzled her chin purring.

He phone pinged. It was Barb sharing a news picture captioned. “Does Hennesy’s BFF have a new love interest?” It was a picture of Townes with his arm around her, rushing her away from the protester. He had a look of concern on his face and she was shielding her face and it looked like she was leaning into his chest. “Where did you meet him? He’s about the most handsome man I have ever seen? What about Brose?”

Bobbie texted back. “Easy there, Barb. He was just giving Trixie and me a ride. I think Trixie was deleted from the photo. She had her arm around me on the other side. Townes is one of Trixie’s Oil men. I’ll call you.”

Bobbie called Barb and explained how wrong she had been about Ambrose and Barb agreed that it was best that they called it quits.

Bobbie went to bed early and spent a little time creeping Townes Carson on social media. He really did date cheer leaders and models.