The power of suggestion

It was several weeks later.

Life had mostly returned to normal in Pinkwhistle. True, all the women in the town had suffered a certain amount of teasing from the men, about how they'd all been made to run around the carnival naked with wet pussies, and had their photos posted on line and so on. But gradually, Pinkwhistle forgot about that. It was hard to explain, and probably carnival magic was involved, but soon enough the little town had returned to its innocent, quiet, ambiguously 1950s self.

With only a few small changes to keep things interesting.

Mayor Peggy Jackson sauntered through the peaceful streets of Pinkwhistle, peering through shop windows, making sure everything was up to scratch. It was her town, and she liked to keep an eye on it. No litter on the streets, no unsavoury characters hanging about. Just good old-fashioned men and women, doing regular commercial business, the way American small towns were supposed to be. Here in the year 2024, or 1954 but with internet, or whenever it was.

But something was wrong. Some aspect of this otherwise totally consistent universe didn't add up. She couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Oh, well. It probably wasn't important.

The general store was open for business. It occurred to Mayor Peggy that while she was here, she might as well do some shopping. She'd been wandering around town all morning, keeping track of the citizens and making sure they weren't up to any trouble. It was hard work. She deserved to run a few of her own errands for a change.

She walked into the store. The bell overhead rang and Doc Topper, who was sitting behind the counter, sat up. "Hello," he said.

"Oh," said Peggy. "Hi. What're you doing here, Doc? This isn't your store."

"Just filling in," said Doc, cheerfully, tipping back the brim of his straw hat so he could get a better look at her. There was something Peggy didn't quite like about Doc Topper. He'd run against her for mayor a few years back, and though she'd beaten him easily, she'd never completely forgiven him for making her do two or three days of extra work. He was cute, she had to admit, but that didn't make them friends. "How are you today, Peggy?"

"Just fine, thanks."

"Nice and sunny out, isn't it?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Bet you can feel it."

Peggy gave Doc a suspicious glare, wondering what he'd meant by that apparently innocent comment. Not deigning to reply, she turned her back on him and began perusing the shelves, looking for goodies to pack into her shopping basket. Maybe tonight she'd make herself a banana split.