THE BAR WAS THE LAST PLACE RILEY EXPECTED TO END UP. the sheltered boy had never been much of a smoker or a drinker, but here he was, drinking some sort of concoction the bartender assured him would loosen him up enough to be social ( and eliminate the throbbing headache he’d acquired after five minutes of the reception playlist ). “it is lovely.” he hopes his lie isn’t obvious to the other, he doesn’t want them to know he’s having regret about showing up. “but whoever made the playlist deserves twenty five to life.” a joke. maybe.

         “FUCK.” there was way too many people maneuvering a path to the cocktail bar now that the reception had started. though the ceremony is without a doubt the most important part of a wedding, the afterparty is where the real fun is at. or so he’s been told. so far though? riley isn’t much of a fan. anything with a large crowd is enough to turn him off, but he’s been trying to be less of a hermit and more of a social guy. “am i the only one who’s actually surprised this many people showed up?” underestimated would be an understatement to describe riley’s expectations for how this wedding would turn out. ( @penabrams​ )

         “TELL ME — DO ALL MAPLEVIEW WEDDINGS INCLUDE THE CHICKEN DANCE?” if there was anything about mayor levi’s wedding that would stand out in riley’s memory as the years pass, it would have to be the disaster of a playlist for the reception. he can’t imagine anyone being eccentric enough ( and that’s putting it nicely ) other than mayor levi, who would willingly put their guests through such a chaotic experience. ( @ophliasfm​ )

          “THERE YOU ARE.” the sigh of relief country boy riley j lets out is more than satisfactory when scanning brown eyes finally land on his intended target. weddings weren’t really his scene, he’d never been to one, actually, and for his first to be mayor levi’s — he chalks it up to bad luck. “if i had to stand alone mysteriously in the back for another thirty minutes i just might have died.” though he’s joking, he knows savannah is aware of his obvious social anxieties and the trouble he has even just showing up to these kinds of events. truth be told, he’s only here because of her, the one person he can’t seem to stop stepping out of his comfort zone for. ( @savannahraes )

           BESIDES HIS MA AND GRANDPARENTS, HE KNEW HE COULD COUNT ON SAVANNAH TO BE HAPPY FOR HIM. “i would’ve told you what i was up to but i wanted to see your reaction.” he laughs. “what do you think about the color? i wanted black but the dark blue was the only one left, i think it’s growing on me.”

              “I LITERALLY JUST DROVE OFF THE LOT WITH IT.” riley says while hopping out of the front seat, the keys nestled in the palm of his hand. “you wanna go for a ride?”

           RILEY CHUCKLES AT HER QUESTION, WONDERING ABOUT THE ANSWER BEFORE FLASHING HER A SMILE. “i dunno.” a pause as he holds up the keys in front of his face. “do you wanna find out?” he’d been racing cars in the back roads of mapleview since he was sixteen.   

            RILEY HAD BEEN LONG OVERDUE FOR HIS OWN VEHICLE. he felt bad always going back and forth borrowing his grandfather’s ‘98 chevy, having something he could call his own after eight months of hard work and dedication to the cattle barn, felt amazing. “this’ll be my first truck, it took me a lot of hard work but i can finally afford to make payments on it.”  

            BEING THAT THE CAR WAS BRAND NEW, IT HAD COST HIM AN AWFUL LOT. he’d saved up just enough for a nice sized down payment, the rest he would pay off monthly. “at first i didn’t like the blue that much but, it’s starting to grow on me more by the minute.” he laughs, opening up the door of the truck closest to jasmine, inviting her to see for herself. “it smells like black ice air freshener because i hung up a bunch of those tree shaped scents that people hang on their mirrors, sorry.” 

          THOUGH AT FIRST RILEY HAD HIS HEART SET ON A BLACK TRUCK, THE DARK BLUE WAS REALLY STARTING TO GROW ON HIM. “i was really bummed at first when they only had dark blue in stock down at the dealership but now that it’s been a few hours, i really am starting to like the blue more than i thought i would.” he’s never had much to call his own, growing up in mapleview taught him to truly enjoy the things he did have, never too picky, always grateful. riley watches as she gets rid of her smoothie, he wonders what flavor it must’ve been for her to have thrown it away without finishing it. “thank you! but i’m actually more interested in talking about what kind of pastry’s you have today?”

           RILEY HAD ALWAYS PICTURED HIS FIRST TRUCK AS BLACK, MAYBE SILVER BUT, DARK BLUE WAS THE CLOSEST THE DEALERSHIP HAD IN STOCK AND RILEY WASN’T TOO PICKY. “i wanted black or silver but, dark blue is all they had and honestly i’m just happy i own it at all.” he’s always enjoyed having nice things but never been materialistic. “it just feels good to know i won’t have to use my grandpa’s to go back and forth through town.”

            EIGHT MONTHS OF SAVINGS AND HERE WE ARE. a brand new dark blue pickup truck. if riley were being honest with himself, he thought he’d never save up enough on his own. at least not in the amount of time it took him. he’s impressed with himself and also over the moon with joy. “d’ya like it? it’s brand new.”

             AFTER A LONG DAY AT THE CATTLE BARN, RILEY DECIDED TO TAKE A WALK AROUND TOWN. walks were something he did frequently. not only did he enjoy the fresh air and scenery, but it was also therapeutic, a way to let his mind wind down for the day, to let go of any anxieties he may be feeling. as he loops around the block, riley is intrigued by a white fluffy dog who has taken interest in him. a smile as he reaches down to pet him. riley has a full sized golden retrieve named buddy that’s been his grandpa’s dog since he first arrived in mapleview at the age of nine. “no worries here, i work with animals all day, he’s no bother.” he pauses for a moment “what kind of dog is he?” 

“so what exactly is a prophylactic salpingooophorectomy?”

           RILEY TRIES TO RELATE TO WHAT AMANI IS SAYING, BUT HAS A BIT OF TROUBLE SINCE HE’S NOT MUCH OF A VIDEO GAME TYPE OF GUY. he’d much rather be doing something physical like, feeding the cattle, taking a walk in the park, even exercise, but video games? he wasn’t very experienced in those. mostly because his grandparent never had computers or fancy gaming systems around the house when he came to mapleview for the first time to live with them when he was twelve. “i totally get where you’re going with this but i have to admit i’ve never really played many video games.” he shrugs. “what kinds do you play? you seem into the topic.”

            AFTER THE CAMPING TRIP, RILEY STILL CAN’T STAND EVEN THE MENTION OF COPACABANA. a small chuckle escapes his lips as he tries not to let the sound of mayor levi’s singing voice echo through his mind yet again. “maybe i wouldn’t have been so opposed to it had he not sang that damn song every hour on the clock.” an over exaggeration of course but he’s sure anyone who was present, too felt like it was never ending. “mass social gatherings have never been my thing either, so, guess it’s not surprising i didn’t enjoy it all that much.”

          THE OTHER FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE NO STRANGERS TO RILEY AND HIS GRANDPARENTS. though riley hasn’t lived here his whole life, his grandfather was a mapleview native born and raised, so, when riley and his ma moved to mapleview and his grandpa took him under his wing, he met and learned a lot from the other farming families in town. he considered himself closer to them than he’s ever been with any of the other townsfolk. “a raccoon? wow, that sounds intense. did you have to get a shit ton of rabies shots for precaution? i always heard they have to give you like, ten shots in your stomach or something like that.” though he’s not sure if it’s just an old wives tail his grandma would say when he’d try to catch wild squirrels to feed as a young boy. “the next one?” riley hadn’t even thought about what the next kooky event the mayor would try to drum up. “doesn’’t he have something more important to do than plan town fieldtrips like we’re in the fifth grade again?”