judgment kind of person. It was what I loved most about her. She loved gossip, but never when it tore someone’s character down. “What are you talking about? What reputation do I have?”
“Well, you don’t have one yet. And if you want to keep working for Jennings Abernathy, then you should probably keep it that way.”
“Isn’t one of his sons in rehab and another just got a DUI?” Unlike Nadia, Mrs. Beasley had no issue with tearing someone’s character down, and had given me the lowdown on the entire Abernathy family when I told her where I was working.
“Yes, but as I’m sure you of all people are painfully aware, nepotism is real. People have double standards when it comes to their children.”
“So you’re saying that I need to be a nun or I’ll get a Scarlet H for Ho pinned to my chest.”
Nadia laughed. “Not me. I’m not saying that. You know my motto—let your freak flag fly! And if that freak flag happens to be a patchwork quilt of Billy Comfort’s boxers, so much the better. I’m talking about what everyone else will think.”
A crease formed in my forehead. “Everyone else? Like who? Mr. Abernathy?”
“Yes, him.” She gestured widely. “But also the town. I told you Firefly is different. It’s a small town, and it’s set in its ways. When it comes to reputations, a good one is damn easy to lose, but a bad one’s almost impossible to shake.”
I wanted to argue, but I could see the truth of it plain as day. As much as I stood for sex positivity and female empowerment, I knew the hard way that small towns like this one could have much more provincial views on sleeping around.
Growing up, I’d heard what people said about my mom. We couldn’t go to the grocery store, or farmer’s market, or movies without me hearing someone whisper home wrecker or slut. I’d seen the way that people looked at her, the way they judged her, and by association, me. I wasn’t invited to the birthday parties of my classmates because none of the wives wanted my mom around their husbands.
As an adult, I’d come to the conclusion that everyone had known about my biological father and her. So why was he an upstanding member of the community with a successful real estate business, and my mom was shunned to the point that she’d tried to take her own life on more than one occasion?
“Plus, there’s the fact he’s a Comfort. That would be an issue.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know.” Nadia waved her hand in front of her. “He’s…a Comfort. They’re…well…”
“Wow,” I deadpanned. “If you ever have to testify, remind me to coach you beforehand.”
She laughed, put her hand to her forehead. “I know, I know. I never realized until right now how much there is about this town that’s just kinda understood. Trying to put it into words appears to be failing me.”
“So, what’s so bad about the Comforts?”
Nadia thought for a moment, then said, “It’s not that there’s anything so bad about them, per se. I think it has a lot to do with the first generation of Comfort men. I never met Mr. Comfort’s brothers, but I’ve heard a lot of rumors. And I’m sure you know that after Mrs. Comfort passed away, James Sr. drank. A lot. He couldn’t look after the boys, he was always being picked up for public intoxication. And I guess he just developed a bit of a reputation around town.”
There was that word again. “Reputation. That sounds tragic to me, not scandalous. I know it’s a small town, but isn’t one of the selling points about living in small towns that people look out for one another? Did anyone offer to help?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Before my time. I’m just telling you how people see them. And, I mean, obviously, there’s the bad blood between Mr. Comfort and Mr. Abernathy.”
I had to laugh. “What bad blood?”
She shook her head. “Right! Shit. It’s just so hard to remember that you know absolutely nothing.”
“I’m going to go ahead and assume the phrase, ‘about local history,’ was supposed to be amended at the end of that sentence and agree with you. I know nothing. Start from scratch.”
“Okay. How do I put this? There’s kind of like two factions that run this town. The two sides of the track, if you will. There’s the country club set. The people with money, and influence. The mayor, the city council.