Talk of the Town Read Online Free PDF

nodded soberly. “Very true.” He glanced around. “Is there a local newspaper? I thought I might learn a bit more by reading it on a regular basis.”
    Jane nodded. “Yes, it’s called the Acorn Nutshell . But it’s only published once a week, on Wednesdays.”
    “Once a week?” Maxwell looked stricken. “But what happens if something interesting or exciting happens on Thursday? People have to wait a whole week to find out about it?”
    Jane laughed out loud. “Not in this town. As you’ve seen, the gossip mill is very efficient in Acorn Hill. If I stubbed my toe at breakfast, everyone in town would know it by the end of the day.”
    “I see.”
    Jane said, “Do you have any other questions?”
    “I didn’t see any parks,” Maxwell said. “Are there recreational facilities around?”
    “There is a park. And there’s a rec area near the elementary school. Fairy Lane is a good place for a country walk. It’s about a mile north of the inn and there’s a lovely path around Fairy Pond.”
    “Ah. A pond. That sounds restful.”
    “It’s beautiful,” Jane assured him. “I wish I had time to show it to you, but I must go home and get to work. If you’d like to explore the town a little more, it’s hard to get lost in Acorn Hill. But if you do lose your way, just ask anyone you meet and they’ll point you in the direction of the inn.”
    “Thank you for the tour, Jane.” Maxwell paused at the entrance to the Coffee Shop. “I also have work to do but I believe I’ll take Ronald and Henry up on their invitation first. I really must sample this pie everyone raves about.”
    “Her blackberry pie is one of my favorites—it’s practically a work of art.”
    Just then the door of the Coffee Shop opened and Hope Collins, the waitress, stuck out her head. “Good morning, Jane. Did you hear Sylvia has the flu?”
    Jane knew she would laugh if she looked at Maxwell. “Good morning, Hope,” she said to the waitress. “I did hear that, thank you. Hope, this is Maxwell Vandermitton. Maxwell, Hope Collins.”
    “It’s nice to meet you,” Hope said as she held the door open for him to enter. “Are you staying at the inn?”
    “Yes, I’ll be there for the next few weeks.”
    “Weeks? Goodness, I guess we’ll be getting to see a lot of you then.” She turned to Jane. “Are you coming in? June has blackberry pie today.”
    Jane grinned. “You know me too well, but I’m afraid that I have to get back to the inn. Maxwell is going to join Ronald and Henry. Make sure he gets a great piece of pie.”
    Hope smiled. “That’s an easy request to fill.” She turned to Maxwell. “Today we have blackberry, blueberry, key lime and shoofly pie, and strawberry shortcake, which isn’t pie, but it’s still one of June’s most popular desserts.”
    Maxwell shook his head. “I can see I’m going to have a tough choice.”
    “Oh, you have no idea,” Jane said, grinning as the two parted ways. “I’ll see you back at the inn.”

    Alice did not work at the hospital on Tuesday. In the middle of the afternoon, she carried several bags and a large box into the dining room. The ANGELs, a church group of middle-school girls that she led, had decided to put on a prom for seniors. With Alice’s assistance, they had contacted a nearby nursing home and arranged to host a dance for the residents in the facility’s recreation room.
    Most of the residents used canes, walkers or wheelchairs, and the dancing they’d do would be mostly from their seats, but the ANGELs knew that the older people would enjoy a special night. The girls were very excited about dressing up and were looking forward to seeing smiles on the faces of the residents at the nursing home. At their next meeting, they would be making paper corsages out of colored tissue and pipe cleaners, decorating invitations and baking cookies for the event. Alice’s initial task was to organize their supplies, and she went about it efficiently, laying out all her