on spooky, because Bobby knew her well enough to know that was what would make her happiest, not drinks in some overcrowded noisy bar.
When she was finally done getting ready, Piper stood in front of her full-length mirror and reviewed her handiwork. Her thick hair, which she usually let air dry, was silky and full of volume thanks to forty-five minutes of blow drying with a giant round brush. Her dress was cut low, and it hugged tight to her waist. Piper’s modesty would never allow her to admit it, but she did have the figure for perfectly showcasing a snug fitting dress.
As she walked the ten blocks to the restaurant in heels, she realized this would be daunting to most people in Edenville. People hardly walked anywhere in this town if they didn’t have to. For Piper, however, her whole life had been spent walking the streets of Brooklyn. Her parents never owned a car, and Piper avoided public transportation as often as possible. As a result, she frequently found herself walking miles to her destination. She thought it very funny that she had a car and a driver’s license now. It had all been included in her relocation. The fact that she never took a driving class, passed the necessary test, or had even been behind the wheel, didn’t seem to matter to anyone. Those types of details fall through the cracks when you’re handed a prefabricated new life. She had taught herself to drive in the parking lot of a closed supermarket. It took three weeks before she was willing to venture out onto the streets, but, even now, she walked whenever possible.
Walking in Edenville was so different than walking in Brooklyn. In Edenville, there were no herds of people moving like cattle. You didn’t have to jump to avoid oily puddles loaded with floating cigarette butts. There were no homeless people to step over and passively ignore. Edenville had charm, but Brooklyn had character, and Piper knew there was a big distinction. You could search all of Edenville and still probably not be able to find a group of people to represent every race, creed, and religion whereas in Brooklyn you could find it all walking down the street. No matter what time of night, you could get any type of food you wanted in Brooklyn. A Viennese deli, a food truck, an upscale restaurant—they were all just steps away from each other. For Piper, Brooklyn was full of toxic memories, but they were the only ones she had.
The contrast between New York and Edenville was most glaring in some of the simplest scenarios. Piper would watch a school bus stop every hundred feet in Edenville to gather up children of all ages. Back in Brooklyn once you reached middle school, there were no school buses to transport you. Students ventured out onto the subway, walked, or hopped three or four different bus routes to bravely make their way to school, unaccompanied and trying hard to appear unafraid.
The tallest building in Edenville was the bank, standing three stories high. In Manhattan, where Piper would escape to as often as possible, she’d get vertigo just by staring up at the enormous structures that towered over the busy streets. As a child, Piper’s favorite thing to do was ride the elevators up the highest buildings and stare out the large glass windows at the skyline of New York. There was no shortage of differences between the two places she had lived, but Edenville had one thing New York didn’t—Bobby. She let herself smile slightly at the thought of him, and replayed in her mind for the hundredth time, the kiss they had shared.
Pulling the door to the restaurant open Piper pushed out the thoughts of her past and Bobby. She took a seat at the bar and started to refocus on what her goal was tonight. She was going to attempt to determine through which avenue it would be best to annihilate the judge’s relationship with the Donavans. Would it be Christian’s wife? Would it be his family? She might not get everything she needed from Sean tonight, but even the most general conversation could open up a new door for her to explore.
It was now a full thirty minutes past the time Sean was supposed to arrive and Piper was getting annoyed as she sat looking quite pathetic at the bar. Finally, after telling herself she’d give him five more minutes, the door swung open and in