“Sounds like you boys have got sports covered.” The Sentinel’s Editor-in-Chief, Steve Halloran, looks at our boss with his bushy gray eyebrows raised. “Norm? What’s coming up in Lifestyles?”
Norm nods, turning to the young woman sitting on his left, with what passes for a smile in Frumplestein’s world. Leigh and I have a running theory that Kim Johnston, who joined the Sentinel in March and quickly secured her own column, is putting out more than articles for Norm.
“Kim’s got late-May covered. She’s going to a few area schools to talk to parents, teachers and students about the last day of school. Where’re you headed, Kim?”
Kim leans forward, looking up from her notes. “Bellevue Christian and Schmitz Park Elementary.”
“Nice,” says smug-Norm. “And you’ve got the veteran’s thing in…uh…”
“VA Clinic. Puget Sound. Memorial Day Cook-Out.”
“Right,” says Norm. “And you’re also doing a piece on the Capitol Hill Block Party in late-June?”
“All over it,” she answers. “Can’t wait to get my tunes on! Boom!”
“Great,” says Steve with an indulgent chuckle. “Good stuff. Kids, vets and local music covered. I like it. Good work, Kim. What else you got, Norm?”
“I’ve got Stacey on the Seattle Street Food Festival the first weekend in June and the International Beer Festival the third weekend.”
“Are we a sponsor this year?” asks Steve. “For the beer weekend?”
“No, sir,” says Norm, shifting in his seat. “Amazon’s the lead sponsor.”
“We missed the boat on that?”
“Didn’t realize you wanted in,” says Norm, his pasty cheeks coloring a little.
“I always want in. Bit of a fuck-up on that one, huh?” Steve gives Norm a look. He’s all about rejuvenating the Sentinel’s lagging subscribership by being a part of major local events. “Sponsorship is an easy way to keep the Sentinel relevant. It’s good local PR.” He shrugs with annoyance, then shifts his attention to me and Leigh. “Wow me, ladies. We need a winner. What’s on tap for the June column?”
“Manda’s got a great concept,” says Leigh.
“Fabulous,” says Norm, pursing his lips like he just bit into a lemon peel. “Let’s hear it.”
I clear my throat. “Umm…it’s umm…”
I look at Norm, then at Steve, who’s waiting expectantly for my idea. Except, my mind is a blank. Utterly and completely blank…except for…Single in Sitka…
“We’re planning to…”
Luke…Luke…Luke…
I turn to look at Leigh, who blinks at me, her dark eyes starting to look a little crazy.
“Share the idea with us, Manda,” she says slowly, leaning forward a little as though her sheer will for me to formulate a sudden idea will make it happen.
r /> My heart beats faster and faster and suddenly that click-bait headline screeches across my mind’s eye in hot pink neon and I hear myself say:
“Bear attacks are on the rise in Sitka, Alaska?!”
I blurt it out in a sort of combination question-statement, smiling at Steve like a lunatic.
“Huh?” grunts Norm.
“What’s this, now?” hisses Leigh at my shoulder.
I ignore her and plow forward with my non-idea idea. “Um. Bears. They, uh, they’re attacking. People. I think. In Sitka. Big problem. Massive problem.”
“Bears,” says Steve.