[Blueberry Springs 01.0] Whiskey and Gumdrops

by Jean Oram

  “Those are rather large, aren’t they? I can’t eat that much.”

  “You can order a half.”

  “How does that work?” asked another, her face puckered in confusion.

  Oh, for heaven’s sake. Had none of these old biddies been to a sub shop?

  “It’s very simple. And delicious. You’ll love it. It’s like Benny’s BLT, only…” She wanted to say better, but seeing as Benny was holding the party, it wouldn’t be right to diss his food.

  “Not as dry? Bigger? On buns?” the circle of women prompted.

  “You’ll have to come and try it out.”

  “Oh, we will,” they chimed, nodding.

  “Just make sure you keep the bacon crisp,” one added. “That chewy stuff is hard on the dentures.”

  “And serve your blue ribbon brownies.”

  “I can’t, actually,” Mandy said awkwardly. “It’s not part of the chain-approved menu.”

  The women stared at her blankly.

  “Sorry,” Mandy said awkwardly.

  “Well,” Aunt June said, “I’m sure you’ll find a way. And I’ve never known anyone to start her own restaurant. With a big chain, too. My.” She gave Mandy an awed look and placed a hand against her neck as she studied her niece. “Our Mandy. I would never have guessed.” She grabbed Angelica, who was passing by. “Angelica, we were just saying we’d never have guessed Mandy had what it took. Did you see it in her when she was dating Oz?”

  Mandy felt her cheeks heat as Angelica--the woman who could have been her mother-in-law if life had gone differently--contemplated Mandy.

  “Well, she has always had grand aspirations, hasn’t she?” She gave Mandy a smile that was a little too tight.

  Like none of them had ever done anything they regretted to try and keep a guy when they were young and stupid. Mandy tried to excuse herself from the group, but her aunt held her arm.

  “Well,” Aunt June said in a low voice, “we all need something to keep us busy and if one doesn’t have kids…” She reached into her handbag to sneak a swig from her bottle of Peach Schnapps and allowed the others to fill in the blank.

  They all nodded as though they were all connected, their eyes on Mandy. “So true,” they said sadly, and someone tsked.

  “I heard Mary Alice’s nephew is moving back,” offered one woman. “He likes food.”

  They ran an appraising eye over Mandy, trying to determine if she would be a good fit with the nephew. The overweight nephew who never left the couch. Righhhhht. No, thank you.

  “And there’s Frankie, of course,” Aunt June suggested, her eye on Mandy.

  Mandy sighed, hoping her cheeks didn’t flush at the mention of her best friend. “Ladies, I don’t have time to worry about men when I’m starting my own business.”

  “That’s what Mary Alice said.” Liz laughed as she joined them. “Remember? When she took over the convenience store back when she was first married. She had a baby later that year!” They all joined in the laughter.

  “I’m not having a baby,” Mandy said, knowing no one had heard her over the chorus of laughter.

  With burning cheeks, she slipped from the group, trying to aim for Jen, who’d just come in looking slightly out of place with her purple streak and awkward stance. Despite living in Blueberry Springs for two years, the girl still didn’t seem to quite believe she’d been accepted.

  “Mandy,” said Liz, snagging her by the elbow as she caught up with her again. She was using her I’m-a-reporter-for-the-local-paper voice.

  Mandy turned, forcing a smile. Honestly, why had Ed hired her? Sure, she was good at getting the news, as she had her finger on the pulse of Blueberry Springs, but she also had her lips on the bullhorn, meaning she turned that news right back out into the world so quickly, she made the newspaper redundant.

  “I was wondering when you’d like to talk to the paper some more about your new venture and upcoming grand opening.”

  “Would it include a photo?”

  “If you want.”

  “And another spread when I hold the grand opening?”

  “Yes.”

  “Discounted advertising?”

  Liz’s eyes snapped to Mandy’s and her mouth drew a thin line. “Lookit, Mandy. You’d already be getting free advertising with the two articles. And I already published a shot of you and that guy shaking hands. Don’t push it.”

  Mandy laughed. “All right. Fine. I’d love to.” She pressed a fresh business card into Liz’s hand. “Call me tomorrow.”

  Liz handed the card back. “I know your number, Mandy.”

  “That’s fine. Keep the card,” she said, backing away. Why had she purchased five-hundred of those things? She may have saved ten bucks by ordering double, but really? Five-hundred? She’d be lucky if she needed five living in a small town.

  She backed against something soft and moving. She turned right into Mary Alice’s oncoming embrace. “There’s the girl of the hour!” She tipped her head toward the door as she released Mandy. “There’s Frankie, if you’re looking.”

  And there he was, scanning the place with his bright eyes. Looking for her. She felt her spine straighten in anticipation. She thanked Mary Alice and purposefully moved in the opposite direction of Frankie so the woman, who had surely read her telling body language, wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Or was it the right idea?

  Mandy aimed for Jen again, hoping to save her from the paint department manager who was hitting on her with clueless persistence. Then she could mosey over to Frankie.

  Man, the old ladies were getting to her. She and Frankie were best friends. Best friends were allowed to be happy to see each other arrive. They were allowed to go over and say hi right away and doing so didn’t mean that she wanted to jump his bones. In fact, avoiding him was probably saying all sorts of things to the watchful Mary Alice that she didn’t want to say.

  “He won’t wait forever, you know,” Mary Alice whispered loudly.

  Mandy jumped. “Mary Alice, you scared me!” She placed a hand over her chest and shook her head.

  “The women. They’ve always just been diversions.”

  “What women?” Frankie barely dated.

  Just then, Beth’s grandmother leaned in to whisper something, her glass of sherry tipping dangerously close to Mandy’s white sweater. “Kickstarter,” she muttered secretively.

  “Kickstarter what?” Mandy blinked and shook her head. What was with the code? A party game?

  Gran just smiled and slipped into the growing crowd, a Cheshire grin toothy with dentures.

  Maybe starting a business in Blueberry Springs was a mistake. The place was going to drive her batty before the opening and by then she’d be stuck.

  12

  Unable to take sitting around the big city hospital for another second, Mandy burst outside and headed to the nearby Wrap It Up franchise owned by Blair Diggs to get lunch for her family. It would be another hour before they heard how her brother’s latest surgery had gone. She squinted as the sun scorched her retinas, tucked her how-to-run-a-restaurant textbook under her arm and sped off with purpose. Not working to get things ready today was making her want to yank her nerves out of her body, one by one.

  Five weeks. Five weeks until the opening and she was back to nagging Seth for equipment. Things trickled in just often enough that she felt bad nagging him, but if things continued being this slow she’d find herself in dire need of one of those makeover shows on which they magically remade an old building into a buzzing business overnight.

  She stopped on the sidewalk outside Blair’s Wrap it Up, doubts niggling at her. What if Blair wasn’t in? And if she was, would she talk to Mandy? She’d been friendly on the yacht and seemed like the one that would be most open and honest with her. But what would she even ask?

  The glass door opened and Seth stormed out. Mandy sucked in a breath and froze as though she could make herself instantly disappear.

  Seth stared at her for a second, then flashed her a smil
e that didn’t soften his expression. “Mandy, hi. Wow.” He stepped to the side so customers inside wouldn’t have a view of him and ran a hand through his hair. “What are you doing here?”

  “Grabbing lunch for my family. My brother just had surgery and--”

  “Nice. Good. Support the franchise. I like the loyalty.”

  “Is there something wrong? You seem stressed.”

  He laughed lightly. “Blair always stresses me out. That girl thinks the world should run the way she wants, rules and agreements notwithstanding.”

  “Oh,” Mandy took a step back, peering into Blair’s store, expecting it to look snazzier than it did. It was slightly gaudy looking and way too bright. Just like the average Wrap It Up. Obviously, she’d stayed within the décor rules.

  “Anyway,” Seth said, his business persona falling into place like a veil. “Glad to run into you.” His eyes landed on the book tucked under her arm with about a zillion sticky notes peeking out of pages she’d marked. “I was wondering how you were getting on with the book. Do you need more time before the opening?”

  “What I need is décor,” she said lightly.

  “It’s been ordered.”

  “When’s the delivery date?”

  “Soon, I’m sure. I’ll send you an e-mail.” He stepped away. “Good bumping into you. Be sure to convince Blair to play by the company rules, if you get the chance. She’s setting a bad example.” He gave an imaginary hat tip and sped off down the sidewalk.

  Mandy watched him until the door jostled her as someone exited Blair’s. She made her way to the bright orange counter which had been plastered with peeling posters for local bands (a rule breaker, for sure--and one that could work to her benefit if she sent Blair a poster for the upcoming Blueberry show and shine). Blair snapped out orders to the two ‘creators’ who were working in tandem to make wraps for a young family.

  “More pineapple! Less cheese! More sauce. This is a California Pleaser, not teaser.” She rolled her eyes, cheeks pink as she turned. “Oh my goodness! Mandy!” She hurried around the counter and clutched Mandy in a full hug that seemed to count each and every one of Mandy’s ribs. “Let’s feed you. You’re too skinny. Although, I have to admit, that outfit wouldn’t look nearly as great if you were ten pounds heavier.

  “Like you’re one to talk,” Mandy said. “You’d get blown clear across the mountains if a high wind came through.”

  “I always knew I liked you,” Blair said, straightening her layers of golden chains. The woman was like an old tree in a rainforest, but instead of moss dripping off her it was jewelry. “Even though you’re a big fat liar.”

  Mandy gave her a small smile and said, “Gimme your specialty.” The last thing she wanted to do was get busted reading the menu--something that still hadn’t been delivered, despite knowing they were sitting in Seth’s office.

  Blair laughed until she clutched her sides. “Very funny. There is no specialty in this place except lies and deceit.” Her upper lip curled. She lifted a well-manicured hand to the side of her mouth and whispered, “The old man thought I should have a hobby. But what good is a hobby when you have a boss--” she shot dagger-eyes at the door through which Seth had exited minutes ago “--telling you exactly how to run the place? How absolutely bor-ring.” Blair snapped her fingers at the wrap makers and snapped out a few commands and within seconds, was passing Mandy a thick wrap.

  “Oh! I forgot. I need four,” Mandy said apologetically. “Sorry.”

  Blair shot her an assessing look, as if she was expecting Mandy to pull out a secret shopper badge or something.

  “Family.” Mandy gave a feeble wave in the direction of the hospital, feeling guilty for ditching her eldest brother, Devon, who’d been itching to get out of the place. “We’re waiting for my brother to wake up from surgery and I said I’d bring lunch.”

  Blair gave her a short nod and shot a few commands at her creators. She shoved the wraps in a bag, and wiggled her ringed fingers at Mandy, leading her to a table near the restroom. “Got a minute?” she asked, not waiting for a reply before sitting with her back to the restroom wall, her eyes flitting around the restaurant briefly. She slid the bag of wraps to Mandy. “You sign the agreement?” she asked, as if they were discussing something illicit.

  Mandy nodded, her hands folded over the cool wraps almost as though she might have to flee at any moment. “I open in five weeks. Did you have issues with delivery? Like the stuff you needed to open your place?”

  Blair paused, thinking. She shook her head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. You’re not freaked out by the news about Lexi’s joint, are you?”

  Mandy shrugged weakly. The papers were still dragging Seth over the coals, but last she’d heard Lexi still had two chains in her name and all ships were still pointed straight ahead like they’d always been.

  “Well, good. You shouldn’t be. We have enough independence in our contracts and if you’re a half decent manager, you’ll survive.” She glared at the textbook Mandy still had tucked under her arm and Mandy felt her armpits prickle. She was such a stupid newbie. Blair continued, her lips curving into a frown, “I hope you added a clause about keeping everything if the chain goes belly up. That it won’t be counted as franchise assets that could be seized to pay off debts.”

  Mandy leaned back in her chair. “Of course,” she said offhandedly, feeling somewhat confident that John had added something like that, but making a mental note to check.

  Blair nodded like an evil leader who had just hatched a plan to overthrow a monarchy. “I had a good feeling about you, Mandy Mattson.” Blair pointed a thumb toward the restrooms, raised an eyebrow and lowered her voice. “Between you and me and the john back there? I just hope you get your doors open in time. If your doors are open, you’ll have more rights.”

  Mandy leaned closer, all ears. “What do you mean?”

  Blair pursed her lips. “Well, I guess with you technically not being in business yet, Seth wouldn’t have to give you notice.”

  Mandy’s ability to breathe ceased and she clutched the wraps, feeling them give-way under her fingers.

  “Notice about what?” she choked out.

  Blair leaned even closer so Mandy was forced to inhale her Chanel No. 5. “Seth got busted.”

  “What?” Mandy sat back, then hurried to lean in again. “But I just saw him leave your store!”

  Blair waved her hand. “Don’t worry. They’ll never get enough to pin him. He’s a smart cookie.” Blair shifted on her hard chair. “The deal is, when you have a franchise, you can only expand at a certain rate. It’s to prevent scams. Suddenly, he’s been signing with a ton of noobs. Anyway, he sent a letter to us owners, giving us a heads up about the charges and reassuring us all that it was just a mix-up.”

  All the blood drained out of Mandy’s body and she gripped the table for support. She had no idea what any of this meant or how it was going to impact her opening.

  “Oh, relax.” Blair laughed at her expression, her large gold earrings swinging. “They won’t find him guilty of anything other than a little unethical behavior, such as not having an impartial third party do his market analyses. It’s all good. He might be signing with people, but unless he opens them all at once, he’s in the clear.”

  “He said all of that in the letter?” Mandy asked, embarrassed by the way her voice squeaked. Some businesswoman she was proving to be. Tough as Jell-O--that was what she was.

  “Private eye,” Blair said with a wink. “Don’t tell anyone I said anything. The papers won’t know for weeks yet, but investigators are working on him. Tons of yummy stuff is popping up.”

  The door jingled and Blair stood, a smile on her face. She gave Mandy’s shoulder a squeeze and leaned down and said in a flash, “Learn what I didn’t, kid. Depend on yourself. Nobody else. And never take what anyone says at face value--not even your own mother. And always make sure you have a key to the back door.”

  “What back door?”

  “Cal
l me if you need anything and get your doors opened lickety-split,” Blair called to her before greeting the new arrival in the flashy suit.

  On trembling legs, Mandy made her way out onto the street, her worries, instead of being laid to rest, flourishing in the hot midday sun.

  “Things are fine. They’re fine. Just keep knocking things off your to-do list, that’s all. Keep moving forward. You’re in this far. No point in turning tail now,” Mandy muttered to herself quietly.

  There was so much to do in the twenty-eight days until her opening that it made her head throb, and her appetitive take a massive hike. She was wearing the same old jeans and sweater she’d worn yesterday because it had been the closest outfit between her and the door this morning when the fridge installer had buzzed her at five-thirty. One thing after another had piled up like a freight train, snaffling up her time until she’d spent the whole day here--no makeup, teeth un-brushed. She felt gross. Exhausted and gross. She sat on the dusty old couch she’d dragged in from the alley and stared at the still mostly empty space. Things were trickling in, but there was still so much to do and Seth wasn’t being nearly as helpful as she thought he should be.

  The front door creaked open and Beth Reiter’s head peeked around the corner, a draft of cool, damp air swirling in, her still-new wedding band winking in the light. “Wow,” she said, slightly awed. “This place.” She shook her head. “Liz was right.”

  “About what?” Mandy asked, narrowing her eyes.

  “About you becoming a big businesswoman. To own a place like this. I mean, it isn’t some dinky diner, it’s like, a real chain. A real restaurant.” Beth looked at Mandy as if seeing her for the first time. As if Mandy had become some sort of amazing celebrity. Not some overextended woman about to collapse into failure.

  “Thank you,” she said finally.

  Beth shook her head and smiled. “You’ve always looked the part, too. Well, not today, but usually. I just never--”

  Everyone in town was suddenly treating her as if she was some big thing--which was what she had wanted, but she was also still just Mandy. The whole ‘big businesswoman’ awe thing was starting to make her uncomfortable.