“Next weekend?”
Annie nodded. “I know that’s cutting it close, time-wise, but that’s all right. I want a good old-fashioned Texas cookout, with barbecue, baked beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob … if we can get our hands on it this time of year. I’m going to invite a lot of people, Alice. A lot of people.”
Alice almost clapped her hands in excitement.
Then Annie added, “And you’re going to bring the jewelry and the home decor products.”
Alice stared at her, the grin frozen in place. She didn’t even blink.
“What?” she said, finally.
“I want to have a huge Princessa jewelry and Divine Décor party,” Annie explained.
“When?”
“At the cookout, of course!”
Alice gulped and stared at Annie from wide, unblinking eyes.
“Both of them? At the same time? Together?”
“Something like that, yes.”
Alice blinked one time. “But Annie!”
“But what?”
“I … I … Annie, I can’t just throw two parties at once!”
Annie ate a forkful of her crab salad and calmly chewed it while Alice continued to gape at her.
“Why not?” she asked after a bit. She sipped her lemonade and calmly held her friend’s gaze.
“Because! I can’t sell two different product lines at the same time.”
Annie set down her lemonade and dabbed her lips with a napkin.
“I fail to see why not. We can set up the Princessa jewelry line on the porch and the Divine Décor in the living room.”
“Annie! This is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. Get real!”
“I am getting real.” Annie leaned forward. “Listen to me, Alice. You said attendance at the parties has dwindled, that sales have dropped dramatically. Didn’t you tell me so just yesterday?”
Alice shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and Annie hated making her feel awkward, but she wanted to help get her friend back on her feet.
“Yes,” Alice admitted, “my finances are pretty tight right now. But, Annie, you’ve hosted several parties for me before. How many can one person have?”
Annie shrugged. “What does it matter? The point is, I want to make this a big party. We’ll invite not just other women in the area, but the men in their lives.” She smiled. “You know most men will buy things for them, often when women won’t buy it for themselves.”
Alice nodded.
“OK. I’ll grant you have a point. But, still … I just don’t—”
“We’ll have some good food, and some live music for entertainment, and you can demonstrate products.”
“Annie, I am sure there is some rule about not selling both products at the same party.”
Annie crimped her lips. “I doubt that!”
“It’s probably considered conflict of interest or something.”
“If you were trying to sell two competing brands, that might be something to consider, but wall hangings and earrings are not the same thing. In fact, the two products complement each other, if you really think about it. Each serves a decorative purpose, one personal and the other more domestic in nature.”
Alice sipped her lemonade and seemed to consider this logic.
“Well,” she said, noncommittally.
“Did you sign a contract that prohibits two parties at once?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember any details that say anything like that.”
“Well, there you go, then,” Annie concluded. “Why don’t you take a look at your contracts, check out the details and ease your mind?”
“Hmmm.” Alice said. “All right, then. I’ll find out.”
“And if there is nothing to forbid such goings-on, we can have the two-for-one party.”
Alice tapped a finger on the side of her glass and offered Annie a long, steady look as if waiting for clarification.
“Annie,” she said finally, “why do you want to do this?”
“Why? Because I want to help you get your business going again, of course.”
“I don’t mean that. Well, it’s just … oh, I don’t know what I mean, exactly.”
“How about this: I’m doing it because we’re friends, and I hate to see you under stress. I want to give you a helping hand, if I can. Throwing a huge barbecue with burgers and hot dogs is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This is a perfect opportunity.”
“Annie, this is a lovely, generous gesture, but it’s … well, I mean … Annie, are you sure?”
“Positive,” Annie said firmly.
There was another brief pause, and then Alice said, teasing, “No lobster or clams?”
Annie shook her head.
“No seafood. This will be a Texas-comes-to-Maine cookout!”
“I see.” Alice stared at nothing for a while, and then she smiled and met Annie’s gaze with tearful eyes. “All right. And if there is nothing preventing two parties at once, then let’s do it.”
Annie added, “And if you can’t sell but one product line at a time, we’ll do that.”
Alice reached out and squeezed Annie’s hand.
“You’re a great friend, Annie. Betsy would be so proud.”
Annie could feel a grin nearly split her face. Those words were high praise.
“Thank you, Alice. Now, one more thing.”
Alice sipped her lemonade, and then said, “And that is?”
“In the interest of your pocketbook, I’d like to incorporate a bake sale into this party.”
Alice nearly choked on the drink, and her eyes grew bigger than ever.
“Annie, have you lost your wits? A Princessa jewelry party, a Divine Décor party, a barbecue, and a bake sale?”
“Why not? It’ll be loads of fun. And you know your baked goods will sell like hotcakes. Forgive the pun.”
Alice sat speechless, staring at Annie, her food and drink forgotten.
“It’s not a long-term solution to your current dilemma, I know,” Annie continued, “but it can help right now. It will give you some breathing room.”
Alice nodded, her eyes growing watery once more.
“But, Annie—well, I’m just overwhelmed. I can’t even eat my bread pudding.”
Annie laughed softly. “I have never been so overwhelmed that I can’t eat bread pudding.”
Alice laughed with her, a little shaky and tearful. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re willing to do this. It will be a lot of work.”
“Oh, not so much, if we organize it well. And it will be a lot of fun for everyone.”
Even overwhelmed, Alice was able to eat her bread pudding with a big smile.
5
“When are you going to take the music box to Wally?” Alice asked as they left The Cup & Saucer.
“I thought I would run by the library now, just for a minute to let him see if he thinks he can fix it. I don’t want to take him away from his work. You want to tag along?”
“Sure!” Alice said with enthusiasm. “I’d like to pick up something to read.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting a book or two myself,” Annie added as turned toward the library. “Although neither of us is going to have a lot of reading time for the next few days.”
Alice fastened her seatbelt. “I like to read after I get into bed. Sometimes I go to bed really, really early so I can read for a long time. You ever do that?”
“Yes, quite often,” Annie replied. “In fact, Wayne used to laugh at me for ‘going to bed with the chickens’ just so I could read in bed. Not that I did it every night back then, but you know, there is something so peaceful about snuggling down between smooth sheets, under a soft blanket, and opening a good book.”
“Yes, with the lamplight all golden and soft, and the whole house quiet.” Alice sighed. “It’s a lovely way to spend the evening, even if it’s not very exciting.”
Annie laughed as she checked behind them before backing out of the parking space
.
“I guess that depends on what you’re reading! And anyway, at my age, I’d rather have quiet evenings than noisy, exciting ones.”
“At your age!” Alice scoffed. “You sound older than my great-grandma. You really must stop saying things like that.”
“Ah, I’m just feeling the passage of years, I guess,” Annie sighed.
“Well, stop it!” Alice exclaimed. “You’re only a couple of years older than me, for crying out loud, and you’re almost making me feel old.” Then she sighed. “When my business is going well, I don’t often have the chance to spend a quiet night at home, reading. I hope sales pick up again soon. I hope I sell a lot at the party.”
“You will,” Annie encouraged her. “Times are rough right now, but I have faith in you, Alice.”
“Thanks, Annie. I appreciate that. With a friend like you, I can’t stay down for long.”
The local library—white and imposing with its Greek-Revival architecture—beckoned readers with a promise of elegance and a lovely step into the past. At the front desk, a fifty-something woman looked up as Annie and Alice approached. The lenses of her oversized, white-framed glasses glinted from the sunlight pouring through the front windows.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” she greeted with a smile. “How was the Hook and Needle Club meeting today?”
“Hello, Valerie,” Annie said. “It was great, as usual.”
“Yes, it would be great if you could get away from the library sometime and join us,” Alice added.
Valerie Duffy was a busy reference librarian who seemed to be able to put her finger on any book or magazine that had just the information patrons needed to know. These days her skills had broadened to include the Internet and all things computer-related. She laughed at Alice’s suggestion.
“I’d love to sit down and visit with you ladies while I finish that Shades-of-Green afghan I started about four years ago. Maybe when I have my vacation in a few months, I’ll pop in at A Stitch in Time and add a few rows. I might get that afghan finished by the end of the decade.” She laughed again, and then added, “You look like a couple of women with a mission. What can I help you find?”
“We’re looking for a man,” Alice said, wiggling her eyebrows wickedly.
“Oh?” Valerie said. “Well, if you find an extra one, pass him along my way, would you?”
She and Alice giggled like schoolgirls while Annie stood by, shaking her head and smiling. “Actually, we’re looking for Wally Carson,” she said.
“You do know he’s married, right?” Valerie teased.
“Valerie!” Annie said.
All three women laughed, and then she pointed with her ballpoint pen toward the far end of the library. “You’ll find Wally back in the nonfiction room. In fact, follow the sound of that saw.”
“Thanks, Valerie,” Annie said, still smiling as she and Alice walked away. They heeded Valerie’s advice and trailed along the lovely old wood floor through shelves of books, following the sound of construction.
They found Wally examining the edge of a board he’d just cut. The smell of freshly sawed wood and a slight pall of dust lingered in the air. He looked up as they approached him.
“Why, Annie Dawson and Alice MacFarlane!” he said with a grin. “Fancy meeting you in a place like this.”
“Hi, Wally,” Annie said. “I see you’re keeping busy.”
He glanced at the built-in unit he was making for the library.
“Yes, it seems the library always needs more shelves, but these days and in this old place, space is hard to find. But I believe this built-in just fits the bill.” He glanced curiously at the bag Annie held. “You going to fill that bag with books? When do busy ladies like the two of you have time to read?”
“I make the time to read, Wally,” Annie said.
“So do I,” Alice agreed. “Books are our friends. At least that’s what the reading program tells kids in school.”
He grinned.
“But I’m not going to fill this bag with books today,” Annie said. “I have something in here I want to show you.”
“Oh? What is it?” He set aside the board and dusted off his hands on the sides of his jeans.
Alice held the tote bag while Annie pulled out the music box. She unwrapped the tissue paper and handed the box to Wally. He took it from her and stared at it with awe and appreciation obvious on his face.
“What a beautiful piece of work!” he said. “Look at that carving!”
They walked to a small, nearby study table that had been shoved out of the way for Wally’s work.
“I take it this is a jewelry box?” He set it down on the table and lifted the lid.
“A music box, actually, though I think that little compartment could hold trinkets or jewelry,” Annie said. “The windup key is on the bottom of the box, but it doesn’t wind. There is something inside. We can hear it sliding around. I don’t think that whatever it is that’s in there is stopping the movement, but something certainly is. Do you think you can get into the ‘innards’ of this music box, Wally?”
“Peggy was sure you could,” Alice added. She grinned at him. “In fact, I believe she thinks you can leap tall buildings in a single bound.”
“I left my cape at home today,” Wally laughed. “My Peggy is a special lady, and I hate to disappoint her—and you—by admitting I’m merely human.”
He examined the box, held it up eye-level and stared down every line and angle. Turning it over, he squinted at the smooth wood on the bottom and tested the stubborn key, and shook the box gently, listening to the sound inside. He turned it right-side up and traced the carvings with his fingertip. Finally he shook his head.
“I have to tell you, Annie,” he said, “no matter what my lovely wife told you, I don’t know a thing about music boxes. If I really were Superman with that X-ray vision of his, I’d tell you in a heartbeat whatever it is that’s rustling around in there. I’m sorry.” He finally handed the box back to her. “I know who might be able to help you, though. Mike, over at the hardware store.”
“Mike Malone! Of course!” Alice said, nodding eagerly. “Good suggestion, Wally. Mike is so smart, always reading and publishing interesting tidbits in The Point.”
Mike Malone not only ran the hardware store, he also printed the newspaper for Stony Point. Annie liked the owner of the hardware store, and she shared Alice’s enthusiasm over his abilities, but she was disappointed that Wally couldn’t put an end to her curiosity right then and there.
“If Mike can do it, I’ll be happy to let him. To Malone’s Hardware it is! Alice, are you coming with me?”
“Annie Dawson, you surely don’t think I’d stop tagging along at this point?”
Wally chuckled and returned to the work they had interrupted.
“Good luck, ladies. Tell me what you find.” He picked up the board and cast a teasing look over his shoulder. “And don’t tell Peggy I’m not Superman.”
“Our lips are sealed,” Annie promised.
“Mum’s the word,” Alice agreed.
Before they left, they browsed the shelves for reading material. While Alice looked for a book in the romance section, Annie looked to see if there were any books about music boxes, but found none. She plucked a familiar old Agatha Christie novel off the mystery shelf.
In the car a few minutes later, Annie surreptitiously eyed the two selections in Alice’s lap. She said nothing, but she hoped the books did nothing to fuel Alice’s already over-active romantic imagination.
Mike Malone hailed both women as they walked into his hardware store. A quick glance around showed a store that had every tool, every paint color, every nail or screw that anyone could need—and yet the store was almost devoid of shoppers. Annie wondered if the same lag in customer activity affected Mike’s business as it had Alice’s. She fervently hoped the two of them had simply showed up at a time of day when Mike wasn’t busy.
“Hi, Mike,” she greeted, and Alice echoed it.
&n
bsp; “Annie and Alice! Can I offer you ladies a cup of coffee? I just made a fresh pot.”
Without waiting for a reply, he poured two Styrofoam cups full and handed one to each woman.
“How can I help today?”
Annie handed her coffee to Alice, put her tote bag on the counter and took out the music box. She had not wrapped it in tissue paper for the short drive to the hardware store.
“Can you help with this?”
He looked at the box Annie had set in front of him on the counter. She retrieved her cup from Alice.
“What do you have there? That’s beautiful work.” He started to pick it up, paused, and asked, “May I look at it?”
“Oh, yes, please do!” Annie said. “That’s why I brought it in here. I was hoping you might be able to fix it, or tell me someone who can.”
He frowned and picked it up.
“Fix it? What do you mean?”
“It’s a music box that doesn’t play.”
His face cleared.
“Ah, I see.” He turned the box over, and just like everyone else who had looked at the music box thus far, he tried to wind the key. “Huh! It doesn’t move.”
“Do you think you can open it and fix it, Mike?” Annie asked eagerly.
He jiggled the key once more, and then he took his reading glasses out of his pocket and settled them on his nose. He examined the box as closely as Wally had done and in almost the same way. Finally, he set it down on the counter again, ran the fingers of one hand through his thinning brown hair and tugged on his earlobe. He sighed heavily and shook his head.
“I don’t see a way to get into the box at all unless it would be to take it apart. And that would destroy it.”
“Tear it apart?” Annie plucked the box off the counter and held it closer to her chest like a child. “Oh, no, I don’t want to do that!”
“I didn’t think you’d want to,” Mike said. “And it’s probably an antique, isn’t it? A collector’s item?”
“I think it is, yes. Gram had it on her shelf at Grey Gables.”
“I thought I heard something moving inside when I was turned it over a moment ago. Do you know what’s in there?”
She shook her head. “I wish I knew.”
The Unfinished Sonata Page 4