A Spicy Secret

by D. Savannah George

  “You baked again!”

  “I sure did! Another of the recipes we found,” Alice answered as she put on her coat and picked up her tote bag. “Chocolate chip and oatmeal.”

  Annie got in the driver’s seat while Alice threw her things in the back and then climbed in the front.

  “Are you sure trying another of those recipes was a good idea?” Annie asked as they buckled their seat belts and she backed out of the drive. “We discussed this, considering the one you made last week didn’t turn out well at all.”

  “Yes, I know, but I thought I’d try another one, just in case that last dish was a temporary blip in my baking mojo. Besides, I could read practically all of the ingredients and directions on this one. I tried one, and it’s pretty good, if I say so myself!”

  “You better hope you got it right this time,” said Annie. “I don’t need any of your bad baking vibes to rub off on me—not to mention what our friends will say. Though to be honest, I wish we’d recorded the looks on their faces last week. The horror! The disgust! In Stella’s case—the how-in-the-world-do-I-maintain-my-dignity look!”

  “You just wish my excellent baking skills would rub off on you,” Alice said, punching her friend lightly in the arm. “There. That should do it.”

  “I’m not sure I really want it after last week,” Annie said, brushing at her arm.

  All the parking spots near A Stitch in Time were full, so Annie obligingly stopped to let Alice out near the door and drove down the street in search of a space. She found one in front of Finer Things, parked, and leaned into the backseat to retrieve her purse and tote bag. Alice had taken the Tupperware and plastic bag, but left her own tote and purse behind.

  “Of course, Alice’s purse would be on the other side of the car,” Annie grumbled; she practically had to crawl inside to grab it.

  “Hi, Annie!” she heard a familiar voice say as she scooted backward to get out, clutching Alice’s purse and bag and her own belongings.

  When she stood up, Ian Butler, Stony Point’s handsome mayor, stood on the other side of the door, grinning at her. She felt her ears turn red, imagining the sight of her backside sticking out of the car, but thankful it was at least clad in a nice pair of jeans, as opposed to the shapeless khakis she’d worn the previous week.

  “Oh! Hi, Ian,” she stammered. “How are you?”

  “I’m well, and you?” His polite answer belied the mischievous look on his face.

  “Just grabbing Alice’s things to take to the Hook and Needle Club meeting. The injury to her ankle has apparently spread to her arms as well.”

  Ian laughed. “That’s our Alice for you.”

  “Indeed. I’d say she didn’t care about others, but we know that’s not true. She’s just very dramatic—and occasionally forgetful.” Annie paused. “Sorry, but I’ve got to run. I’m late for the meeting.”

  “What are you doing afterwards?” asked Ian. “Care to join me at The Cup & Saucer for lunch?”

  “Why, yes. I’d love to,” Annie replied without thinking.

  “See you in about an hour, then.” He smiled and headed across the street toward Town Hall.

  Annie watched him walk away and noted that he was attractive from the front and the back. Then she chided herself for even thinking such thoughts about the man. Ian was just a friend, nothing more. Or was he? They had gone on a few dates, but lunch at The Cup & Saucer wouldn’t count as a date. A date would be at Maplehurst Inn or Lilia’s Tea House. But The Cup & Saucer? That would be just two friends eating lunch together. Right?

  Who was Annie kidding? She glanced at Ian again, now headed through the front doors of Town Hall. She knew—spoken or unspoken—that they were becoming more than “just friends.”

  Annie finally shook off her thoughts of Ian and walked to the corner of Oak Lane and Main Street and across to A Stitch in Time. The meeting was in full swing when she walked in the door. Her friends sat in their favorite spots and worked away on their various pieces, chatting away and eating cookies. Annie stuffed her scarf and gloves into the pockets of her coat, took it off, and hung it on the rack. She found an empty chair and plunked down in it, placing all of the various bags on the floor next to her feet.

  “Alice, you left your tote and your purse in my car,” she called, pulling out her yarn and crochet hook.

  “I knew you’d bring them in for me,” her friend responded. “Care to try a cookie? As you can tell, these turned out perfect!”

  “They really did,” said Kate. “These are probably the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. And those came from the same mysterious cache of recipes as that dish from last week? Amazing!”

  The other ladies murmured in agreement.

  “They are delicious,” said Stella, brushing an imaginary crumb off her houndstooth jacket. “Alice, may I save a few for Jason?”

  “Absolutely!” she said jubilantly. “See, I told you Annie. Last week’s mishap was a mere anomaly.”

  Annie passed Alice’s tote to Alice, and Alice passed the cookies to Annie. She took out two cookies and bit into one.

  “Wow, you’re right. This is very tasty,” she said, avoiding Alice’s look of triumph.

  “Now that Annie is finally here, we can begin our meeting,” Mary Beth said, putting down her knitting and looking around the room. “What is everyone working on? Kate is rather anxious that we not let down Reverend Wallace and the mission trip.”

  Each woman in turn showed the progress she’d made on her work. They raved over Mary Beth’s pretty yarn, and teased Annie about her tiny square. “I think the people in Haiti are the same size as us,” Peggy said, a grin pulling at the corner of her mouth.

  “Very funny. I’m using two granny-square patterns, and this is just one of the forty-eight squares,” Annie replied. “Once I’ve crocheted two or three squares, I can pretty much make the rest without even thinking about it. I figured it would be easy enough to make twenty-four of two stitch patterns and then stitch them together.”

  Peggy was the last to share her project—a green and white quilt made of light cotton in a simple triangle pattern. Everyone agreed it would be very pretty once completed.

  “I’ve been wondering about something,” Peggy said. She wore a white cardigan over her pink Cup & Saucer uniform and a pair of comfortable-looking white tennis shoes. “Isn’t Haiti a tropical island, so wouldn’t it be warm there? Do they even need blankets?”

  “Good question, Peggy!” Kate set her crochet aside and faced the group. “I talked with Reverend Wallace at length about the trip. Yes, Haiti is an island, but it does get cool at night. And I looked it up—average high temperature is ninety-five, and average low is about seventy-two. It may not seem like much difference, but apparently seventy-two can feel cold when you’re used to it being much warmer.”

  Annie remembered what a shock it had been to her system when she moved from Brookfield, Texas, to Stony Point, Maine. It rarely got below freezing in Texas, let alone have all that snow or the cold wind from the ocean. Someone had told her that the temperature in Stony Point had once fallen to negative thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit. She shivered just thinking about it. And Texas certainly got much hotter than Maine—high temps in her new hometown would be around eighty degrees, while ninety-five was more the norm in Texas. So she could relate.

  “Plus, the orphanage uses any funds they get to purchase medicines and food,” Kate added. “Everything’s donated; their government has been corrupt and ineffective, so it doesn’t support the many orphanages on the island.”

  “I would guess there’s not much money left over for articles like blankets or other bedding, or anything else for that matter,” Stella said, looking over the top of her glasses.

  “That’s exactly what the Reverend told me,” Kate replied. “He said many of the children have nothing of their own. He called me a couple days after I visited him and told me that the orphanage director—whose name I have completely forgotten—was thrilled with the thought of giv
ing each child a blanket they could keep. It would be both useful and personal.”

  “What about Annie’s idea to make blankets for the people working there?” Mary Beth asked. “And how many would they need?”

  “I knew you guys would have questions, so I took some notes.” Kate got up and went to rummage around behind the counter and pulled out her notebook, flipping to the correct page. “Let’s see, the director—oh, his name is Father Bruno—said about twenty people work there at any given time, but most of them are temporary volunteers. They could use a variety of blankets and share as needed.”

  “So the workers would use a blanket during their stay, and the kids could take a blanket with them if they get adopted or find another home, is that right?” Gwen asked. Her knitting needles flashed as she worked on a butter yellow blanket.

  “Yes, exactly. And since it doesn’t get very cold there, they don’t really need heavy winter blankets like we use here in Maine. So hopefully no one is arm-deep in wool.”

  “Nope! But I was arm-deep in flour earlier,” Alice quipped, to everyone’s laughter.

  “I’m volunteering the store as a drop-off point,” Mary Beth said. She handed each member a small stack of flyers copied on different colors of paper. “I’m counting on you Hook and Needle Club ladies to put these up everywhere you go.”

  She paused for a moment and then added, “Didn’t Vanessa and Mackenzie do a great job decorating the collection box and creating the flyers and poster to track our progress?”

  In her haste and embarrassment over Ian, Annie hadn’t even noticed the big, colorful box on the floor next to the register or the tall poster taped to the wall just inside the door.

  “That’s not a hundred and twenty blankets on the tracking poster, is it?” Annie asked.

  “Nope,” replied Kate. “The girls said they didn’t have enough poster board to draw that many. There are forty, so we can color one in for every three blankets we collect. I even brought a bunch of markers so customers can do the coloring if they want.”

  “If that doesn’t get the attention of Stony Pointers, I don’t know what will!” exclaimed Alice. “What talented girls, Kate!”

  Kate blushed. “Thank you. They came up with the concept all on their own. And by the way, the ‘Blanket Haiti’ idea is from a company called Blanket America. They donate blankets to the needy, and they also have a mission in Haiti.”

  “Aren’t those girls astute?” Stella said. Annie knew that was high praise, coming from the woman who wore diamond earrings to an appointment to get her teeth cleaned and who had started and now oversaw the town’s Cultural Center.

  “I’ll put one up at the diner and hand ’em out to everyone with their check,” said Peggy. “I’m sure Jeff won’t mind.”

  “And I’ll make sure John puts some out at the bank,” Gwen chimed in. “He probably can’t ask the tellers to hand them out with the cash, but he’ll do what he can.”

  “I’ll stick one in all of my Princessa and Divine Décor catalogs,” said Alice. “And you know how those get around.”

  “Sounds like we’re gonna blanket Stony Point too,” Kate beamed. “Thank you all so much for your help!”

  “Well, let us know if you think of anything else you need,” Stella said. “Of course, I’ll arrange for flyers to be posted in the Cultural Center as well. Perhaps we can display a few of the nicer blankets we make.”

  Kate clapped her hands. “That would be so wonderful! But how would you do that? Wouldn’t it look weird to just have blankets hanging on a wall?”

  Stella smiled and then said, “My dear, you leave it all to me and my capable staff. Remember, our first big exhibition focused on textiles. I’m certain we can come up with a marvelous display that will help promote the project, and of course, the Cultural Center and our fair town.”

  Peggy glanced at the clock on the wall and began stuffing her quilting supplies into her bag. “Oh no! I’ve got to get to the diner. The lunch rush will be upon us, and I don’t want to be late.”

  Annie suddenly remembered two things: One, she had agreed to have lunch with Ian, and two, she was Alice’s ride. She felt torn; she wanted to spend some time with Ian—alone—but she knew lunch with Alice would be extra fun. On the other hand, Ian knew she had driven Alice to the meeting, but hadn’t invited her along.

  “What to do? What to do?” She didn’t realize she’d said it aloud until everyone in the store stopped what they were doing and looked her way. “Oh, sorry. Just thinking out loud!”

  Everyone laughed and said their goodbyes. Soon only Alice, Annie, Kate, and Mary Beth remained. Annie started gathering up her belongings as well as her friend’s. The Tupperware container was completely empty of cookies. Not even a crumb remained.

  “Um, Alice,” Annie said quietly, sitting down in the chair next to Alice. She hoped the other two ladies wouldn’t hear.

  “Um, Annie,” her friend replied in a whisper, “why are you talking so softly?”

  “Well, Ian saw me getting our stuff out of the car and invited me to lunch, but ….”

  “He didn’t mention having me along, did he?” Alice had a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

  “Not exactly ….”

  “But he knew you’d brought me here, right?”

  “Right.”

  Alice grinned, winked and then said loudly, “Annie, didn’t you say you have some errands you need to run?” Alice could never understand Annie’s stubbornness about Ian, and so she always spurred Annie to see him.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” Annie tried to sound normal, but was certain she sounded like a bad actress in an even worse made-for-TV movie.

  The look on Alice’s face was now positively impish. “Well, dearie me, too bad my ankle is throbbing from this cold. And just when I thought it might be getting better.” She twisted her neck around to look at the other two. “Mary Beth, Kate, do you mind if I stay here while Annie runs her errands? I just don’t think I’m up to hobbling after her.”

  “You know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like,” Mary Beth replied.

  “Oh, thank you so much. I will sit here quietly and crochet on this blanket. You won’t even notice I’m here,” Alice said. “Annie, do be a dear, and get me a club sandwich and chips from The Cup & Saucer on your way back. There’s absolutely no food in my house.”

  “I’d be happy to,” Annie said. “Are you sure you don’t mind me leaving you?”

  “I’m sure. Be off with you!”

  Annie gave her friend a quick hug; then she put on her winter wear and headed out the door.

  6

  Ian sat at a table in the back corner next to the kitchen. Thank heavens, Annie thought. Wouldn’t want anyone to mention to Mary Beth or Kate or the others that they saw me here … at least not right away. Then she mentally chided herself again for being so silly. For some reason, that man sometimes brought out the giggly high schooler in her. Not to mention the embarrassed middle-aged woman who should be slightly more mature. Maybe.

  She wended her way through the packed diner until she got to Ian.

  “Why, if it isn’t the esteemed mayor of Stony Point, Maine,” she gushed, laying on her Texas accent a tad thick. “Are you all alone, honey? Mind if I join you?”

  He responded by standing to pull out her chair.

  “It would be my pleasure,” he said as she got settled. He pulled a mock bow, almost knocking Peggy over as she came out of the kitchen carrying a tray full of food.

  “Mr. Mayor!” she exclaimed rather loudly, cutting through the din of the restaurant and causing all the other patrons to turn their way. “You almost got clam chowder all over your backside.”

  “Clearly your extreme skill in the waitressing arts prevented such a calamity,” Ian said, bowing again, to everyone’s laughter. “However, if it had not been prevented, lunch—as you say—literally would have been on me.”

  “You’d better believe it,” Peggy replied in an aggrieved
tone. “Excuse me while I help my other customers.”

  “If you’re not careful, Jeff will kick us out and ban us from ever eating here again,” Annie told him as he sat back down and the other diners went back to their meals. “At the very least, our waitress might spit in our food.”

  “Nah,” he replied. “Peggy is too sweet to do something like that. And anyway, I just did Jeff a good turn. I provided some much-needed entertainment.”

  “I don’t know if it was needed, exactly.”

  Peggy stopped to take their orders, the now-empty tray tucked under one arm. “Shall I get your usual?”

  “Of course,” said Ian, smiling at her.

  “Me too, but I also need a club sandwich and chips to go,” Annie told her.

  “No problem. Coming right up,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind one ear. She turned toward Ian and added, “But if you get in my way again, it might come right down on that pretty head of yours, even if you are the mayor.”

  “I will endeavor to stay out of your path,” he assured her.

  She smiled at him, whirled around, and went to the kitchen to put in their order.

  “Peggy may seem sweet and mild-mannered, but she’s really focused on getting her job done,” Annie said, unwrapping her silverware from its napkin and placing everything neatly on the table in front of her. “If it had been me, I probably would have dumped that whole tray on your head.”

  “I’d hope not,” Ian said. “And I hope she’s back soon; I’m quite hungry today for some reason.”

  They sat in silence for a minute, the noise of the cozy diner washing over them—the clink of silverware, people talking, the sounds from the kitchen. The dark green ivy growing in the giant teacup planters hung down the wall, almost reaching the floor.

  “So ….” Annie started to talk but then trailed off. She wasn’t sure what to say. After all, she had no idea why Ian had invited her to lunch.

  “So,” he echoed, unwrapping his silverware and putting the napkin on his lap. “I heard a rumor that you and Alice have a new mystery to solve. What is it this time?”