Spring has sprung, and with it, smiley faces. When yellow crocuses bloom all over town in the shape of an emoji during April’s first warm days, reporter Nero Storm is sent out to discover their meaning and origin.<br><br>Nero has little to smile about himself, what with dysfunctional family drama and a tragic love life. The previous fall, it seemed as if he might have finally met the man of his dreams in dog daddy, ride share operator, and charity organizer Z. Though the two spent but ten morning and evening car rides together, sparks flew. Unfortunately, at the end of that time, Nero witnessed a crime, and Z disappeared.<br><br>Now, as the rest of the world looks forward to a new beginning promised by spring, Nero is left to wonder. Are the smiley face flowers a message for him, and will he ever see Z’s smile again for real?

21 Smiles

She chuckled. “Like only wearing yellow socks and underwear?”


“That’s not a fetish. It’s a holdover from our U of Albany days. Go Great Danes, purple and gold! Which is also part of why I chose Abby at the shelter. Anyway, there’s still a possibility the placement of the happy faces was all mere coincidence. That banker lady’s hypothesis always made sense to me. Hell, maybe she planted the crocuses and just doesn’t want to take credit out of fear of getting busted, or maybe because the mystery of it brings more attention.”


“I’m still skeptical, too,” Carmen said.


“Fine,” she huffed. “No, I’m not. Speaking of U of Albany, remember what our old journalism professor said?”


I wondered why we still referred to a guy in his forties as old, when we were now quickly approaching that age ourselves.


Chapter 33