“I don’t care!” I protested. “There is no excuse for a grown man saying anything like that to you!” I stood up from the table, enraged. No one talked to my little girl like that.

Grace put her hand on my arm. “I’m mad too, Charlotte, but I think it’s fair to say that Merit settled the score.”

“No! We should turn him in! Get him suspended!” Even as I said it, I knew it was idiotic. Maybe somewhere else that would be an argument. But in a town this small—and in regard to a man that beloved—I would somehow end up being the one who got punished.

Grace just patted my arm, a little sympathetically. To console myself, I thought of what people must be saying about that insufferably proud man’s fall from grace at the hands of a teenager. I sat back down.

“Merit,” Grace said calmly. “There is never any excuse for violence—”

“But, Grace!” Iris interrupted.

Grace put her hand up. “—but in this specific case, I’m glad you punched him. I wish you’d knocked him the hell out.”

Merit smiled but still said nothing.

“So, are we grounded?” Iris asked.

“I can’t think of why you would be,” Grace said. “But if you can think of a reason, please feel free to fill us in.”

Merit got up and kissed Grace’s cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Sit back down, please,” she said.

Merit looked concerned, but then Grace said, “I need more details about Sophie’s tantrum.” She grinned, and we all started laughing.

“The best part of any good party,” I said, “is unpacking all the details afterward. So settle in. In fact, I’ll get us some snacks.”

But before I could, I heard the doorknob turn and then a key scratching in the lock, and Julie burst through. “You guys!” she said. “I think we did it! I mean, at least we did something.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Julie bounded over to us. “Check out Juniper Shores Socialite.”

I gasped as she handed me her phone. On the screen was a red square and, inside, the hashtag #freebill. It might not bring Bill home. But I could feel the tide starting to turn.

JUNIPER SHORES SOCIALITE

@junipershoressocialite

Sharing bad behavior and delicious drama in North Carolina’s most exclusive coastal zip code. DM with tips, pics, and juicy deets.

SEPTEMBER 7, 11:11 P.M.

29 Posts

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Yes, yes, I know: You’re here for the party. So are we. Serious is not what we do here. But every now and then, every good socialite needs to stand up for what she believes in. After overhearing more than a few bits and pieces of conversation tonight at Belle Epoque on the Beach and reading Julie Dartmouth’s stirring interviews in this morning’s Sun, it comes to our attention that Juniper Shores’ own Bill Sitterly might just be unjustly incarcerated—at least for now.