by Jessica Beck
For the moment, I just wanted to enjoy the fruits of our labors, have a donut myself, and then hole up to see how I could possibly manage to do better the next day.
Chapter 4
“How’s it going, ladies?” I asked the mother–daughter team running Donut Hearts for me while I was busy refereeing kindergartner authors on stage. Then again, that comparison probably wasn’t fair to the toddlers.
“We are absolutely killing it,” Emma said with a grin. My twenty-something assistant was usually a happy gal, but at the moment she was absolutely beaming. “We should have one of these festivals every weekend.”
“Bite your tongue,” I told her.
“I know it hasn’t been easy, but you’re doing fine,” Emma said.
“Child, leave the woman alone,” Sharon said affectionately as she continued counting the receipts for the day. “How are you holding up, Suzanne?”
“After that barrage on stage, can it get any worse?”
“I wouldn’t even tempt fate by saying that,” Grace said as she sampled a new recipe we were trying out for peanut butter donut holes. It was a new addition to our menu, and Emma had come up with the brilliant idea of pumping the holes full of reduced grape jam, which gave them a real kick that everybody seemed to be loving so far. “Mmmm, these are great.”
“You can thank Emma for that,” I said. “And by the way, I wasn’t hoping things get any worse. I just can’t imagine it.”
“The crowd seemed to love it,” Emma said. “Anyway, you created the new recipe; I just came up with the filling. We make a great team.”
“You bet we do,” I said. “And I mean all of us,” I added, including Sharon as well.
“Aw, that’s sweet of you, but I haven’t really done much of anything,” Grace said with a grin, clearly joking.
“Don’t sell yourself short. Moral support is important, too,” Sharon said as she finished counting the day’s take. “Wow, I’ve been taking money in all day, and that total still surprises me. I hope Paige has done at least half as well as we have.”
“About that,” I started to say when Emma interrupted me.
“Suzanne, before you say anything, hear me out. Momma and I have been talking, and we think we should split our share of the net profits with Paige. She’s worked just as hard as we have on this festival, and I hate to think that we’re profiting from it all more than she is.”
“As I said before, I’d be happy to share my take of the proceeds, but you’re being awfully free with someone else’s money,” Sharon told her daughter gently.
“No, it’s all right,” I said. “Emma, I was thinking the same thing earlier. We should offer to pool our profits and split them right down the middle. We get half, and Paige gets the other half.”
“But she gets to keep all of her share,” Grace said. “You could always suggest splitting it four ways.”
“Why don’t you have another donut,” I urged my best friend.
“In other words, butt out,” she replied with a grin. “Don’t mind if I do,” she added as she selected a sour cream donut hole.
I turned to my partners. “Then it’s settled. We get half, and Paige gets half. What do you say to that? We three split our profits equally, so nobody loses.”
“We’re on board if you are,” Emma said. Belatedly she turned to her mother. “Right, Mom?”
“Sure. That sounds fair to me,” Sharon said, clearly proud of her daughter for suggesting it. I was proud of her as well. Emma had grown into quite an impressive young lady, and I was honored to have her in my life, both as an assistant and a friend.
“Let’s talk to Paige and get it settled right now, then,” I said.
“You’re in luck,” Grace said with half a mouthful of treats as she pointed towards the bookstore. “Because here she comes.”
“What a day,” Paige said as she joined us. “Suzanne, I skipped lunch entirely. Mind if I buy a donut or two from you?”
“Sorry, but they’re not for sale,” I said with a grin. “For you, they are on the house.”
“Today, anyway,” Emma added with a grin.
“I don’t want to freeload,” Paige said a bit reluctantly.
“We’re going to just toss them out in half an hour anyway,” Emma answered. “Have all you’d like.”
“If she doesn’t want any, she doesn’t want any,” Grace said with a grin as she reached for another donut hole. “By the way, these are delicious. I just love peanut butter and grape jelly together.”
“Is that what those are?” Paige asked as she grabbed one and popped it into her mouth. “Wow, that’s good. All I need now is a glass of milk.”
“I hope a small carton will do,” I said as I headed inside to fetch one from the fridge.
“I’ll come with you,” Paige said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
As the two of us went into Donut Hearts alone, I said, “Listen, I’m sorry things got so out of hand at the panel. Those people were like wolves up there, weren’t they?”
“I personally think you did a remarkable job keeping them in line,” Paige replied.
“Seriously? I thought it was pure chaos.”
“You’d be surprised. I’ve seen worse. Much worse, as a matter of fact.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I said. “Honestly, I’ll do better tomorrow. I’m thinking about bringing a spray bottle full of icy water and shooting them with it when they get out of control.”
“I’m not sure even a paintball gun would work, but you have my blessing to try to corral them any way that you see fit.” She frowned for a moment before she added, “That wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about, though.”
“I’m all ears,” I said as I glanced into the kitchen. There was a pile of dishes in the sink, and more scattered on every flat surface I had. Emma and I had distinctly different styles when we worked. I preferred a neat kitchen, and I cleaned up as I went. She, on the other hand, seemed to relish chaos. Everything was neat in the end, but the work in progress was just about more than I could take when the kitchen was under her supervision.
“It’s about the profits we’re making during the festival,” Paige said.
“I was meaning to talk to you about that myself,” I answered.
“Good. I wasn’t sure how you’d take it,” the bookshop owner said. “I was afraid you’d be stubborn about it.”
“I don’t know why you’d think that. I have a pretty good heart,” I said, surprised that she’d even considered the possibility that I wouldn’t want to share my good fortune with her.
“We both know that you have your pride, Suzanne. I know I’m making a lot more than you are on this event, and it just doesn’t seem right to me. Would you be averse to pooling our profits and splitting them down the middle between Donut Hearts and The Last Page? That way we do equally well.”
“I didn’t realize you were bringing in that much money. Good for you,” I said with a grin. “Emma and I had already decided that it wasn’t fair that we were making the lion’s share of the profits while you just squeaked by.”
“There’s more profit in those books than you might think,” she said. “We’re selling them all at full retail price, and they’ve been flying off the tables. Those skirmishes might not have been good for your peace of mind, but they were great for business. Good, it’s settled then. The only question is should we split the profits today and tomorrow as we acquire the funds, or should we just wait until the festival is over?”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat. Let’s push it until tomorrow night.” I glanced at my watch. “The bank closed at noon, but the money should be secure enough in my safe. If you’d rather, we could use the night deposit slot, but I’m not sure how convenient that’s going to be given the fact that we’re just going to be divvying up the profits tomorrow night anyway.”
“You actually have a safe in the shop?” Paige asked, looking around the small room.
“Trut
hfully, it’s a small one that I bought from Nathan at his sporting goods store,” I admitted. “Feel free to use it for your proceeds, too. I never even considered it, but I’m beginning to think we might be a target of any thieves who might have noticed how well we were doing.”
“That’s a good idea,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” Before she left, though, she stopped and hugged me. “Thanks for doing this.”
“It’s been fun,” I said.
She pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Really?”
“Well, mostly, anyway,” I admitted. “Now go get your receipts, and we can stash everything away until tomorrow night.”
“It’s a deal.”
“We saw her leave in a hurry,” Grace said as I returned outside to see them all cleaning up from the day’s events.
“What happened? Was she too proud to take our offer?” Emma asked.
“Let the woman speak, you two,” Sharon scolded the two other women.
“As a matter of fact, she was here to suggest the same thing,” I told them. “She’s going to get her money from today, and we’re going to lock it all up here overnight.”
“I’ll make sure Stephen and his staff keep an eye on the shop,” Grace said as she pulled out her cell phone.
“I’m sure it’s not necessary,” I said.
“Humor me,” Grace said.
As she stepped away to make the call, I turned to Emma and Sharon. “Why don’t you two go ahead and take off? I’ll finish the rest of this.”
Emma’s expression clouded over. “You haven’t seen the kitchen. We’ll stay. Or at least I will.”
“I helped make the mess, so I’ll help clean it up,” Sharon said.
“Honestly, it would do me some good to get back into the donutmaking world, even if it means doing a bunch of dirty dishes,” I said. “Burying my arms up to my elbows in a sink of hot soapy water sounds a bit like heaven to me right now.”
“You wouldn’t rather go home and take a shower, and then a long nap?” Sharon asked me curiously.
“Oh, those will be on the agenda eventually, but doing dishes helps me think,” I said.
“You must have a lot to think about,” Emma said with a frown. “I don’t feel right about leaving you here all alone.”
“Who’s alone?” Grace asked when she rejoined the conversation. “I’m here. Whatever Suzanne has planned, I’m in.”
“You might want to find out what we’re talking about before you volunteer your services,” I told my best friend with a grin.
“There’s no need to. It’s unconditional,” she said.
“Even if it’s tackling a stack of dishes over your head?” I asked her. “I won’t hold you to your offer.”
“Nonsense. If I’m spending the time with you, I’d be glad to do it. We don’t get to hang out much lately.”
That was true enough. Between my killer schedule at Donut Hearts and the hours I reserved for Jake, Grace had definitely gotten the short end of the stick in the past few months.
“Well, if you’re serious, I’d love to have you working by my side,” I said.
“Then it’s settled,” she said, and then she turned to Emma and Sharon. “It’s too late for me, but run while you still can.” She’d added the last bit in a mock whisper, and we all laughed.
“Thanks. We’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early,” Emma said.
“I’m looking forward to it,” I said.
Grace and I had the outdoor sales area cleaned up quickly, and we were ready to head inside. What I would miss in solitude doing the dishes alone, I’d more than make up for with my friend’s company. Knowing Grace, the time would pass so quickly that I wouldn’t even notice the pile of dirty dishes as it shrank to nothing.
Chapter 5
As I’d suspected, the mountain of dishes vanished faster than I’d expected, replaced by an empty sink and clean items back where they belonged. At least I didn’t have to worry about having extra donuts. Between the nibbling we all had been doing at the end of Day One of the fair and the scarcity of goods to begin with, I had no hesitation dumping the remnants in the trash.
“Wow, I can’t believe you do that every day,” Grace said as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel.
“Well, to be fair, I normally do the dishes as I go, and besides that, Emma ran quite a few extra batches through the fryer today. We normally don’t come anywhere close to that amount of sheer production.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” she said. “It’s still a great deal of work, even on a normal day.”
“I don’t mind, really,” I said as I looked around my sparkling kitchen. “Do you have any plans this evening?”
“Stephen and I were going out to dinner, but I can cancel if you’d like. Better yet, why don’t you join us? We’re going to try that new barbeque place in Maple Hollow.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stay a little closer to home tonight,” I said. “Don’t you dare cancel your date on my account. To be honest with you, I’ve just about had my fill of people today, between the crowds and those authors. If I’m going to rein them in tomorrow, I’m going to need every second of beauty sleep I can muster. Don’t forget, I still have to make the first run of donuts tomorrow, just as I did today.”
“Can’t your second team handle that?” she asked.
“They could, but I was gone long enough not to want to give up a single day of donutmaking,” I answered.
“But you don’t have anyone to eat dinner with,” Grace protested. “Everyone else you’re close to is out of town.”
I had to laugh at my friend’s concern, no matter how sweet it might have been. “Believe it or not, I’ve been known to have a meal or two by myself on occasion in the past,” I answered with a smile. “Thanks for thinking of me, but after I grab a quick bite at the Boxcar, I’m heading home, taking a shower, and going to bed.”
“I can’t say that I blame you,” Grace said. “Okay, it’s fine with me if that’s what you want to do.”
“I cannot tell you how much your approval means to me,” I answered with a laugh. “Thanks for helping me with those dishes. It was fun.”
“Only you could call that much work fun,” she replied.
“Admit it. You enjoyed yourself, too,” I goaded her.
“Fine, I’ll admit it, but only to you. Whenever we do anything together, it’s a guaranteed good time.” She glanced at the clock in the kitchen. “Time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? I have just enough time to run home, take a quick shower, and get ready for my date.”
“Don’t let me hold you up. Thanks again.”
“It was my pleasure,” Grace said. “Are you coming, too?” she asked as she hesitated at the door.
“I thought I might hang around for a few more minutes,” I admitted.
“I can probably stay a second myself.”
“Grace, go!” I was laughing as I pushed her out the door, and after I had it locked behind her, I turned off all of the lights and sat at one of the couches that was mostly out of sight from the world outside. As much as I loved my best friend, it felt good being alone in the shop I loved so much. I made a vow that I’d never leave it, even if that meant that years and years down the road I was known around April Springs as the crazy donut lady. There were far worse fates in my book.
I was about to head out so I could grab a meal when I heard a ruckus outside near the back of my shop. It sounded as though someone, or something, had caused a major disturbance, and I was going to find out what it was about.
Instead of going through the kitchen and out the back door, I decided to head out front and go around the building. That lock in back had been giving me trouble lately, and I wasn’t even sure I could get it to latch back once I had it open. I’d have to have someone look at it, but at the moment, I decided to use the front door instead.
The only problem was that we’d pushed the donut cart we’d been using into the space between my shop and ReNEWed, Gabby Wi
lliams’s gently used upscale clothing shop.
Instead of racing around Gabby’s, I backtracked and went around the other side, where the railroad tracks were nearly buried in the grass, long unused, but something special to me that I still owned the rights to.
As I turned the corner, I saw that I’d chosen poorly. Racing around the edge of the space between Gabby’s place and the now-out-of-business Patty Cakes, all I could see was the hint of a dark jacket. If I’d chosen to go that way initially, I would have run into whoever had been in my alley face to face. By the time I made it back out into the street, whoever it had been was long gone. At a more sedate pace, I went back to the space behind my shop and saw that someone had tipped over one of my trashcans, spilling refuse out onto the space. Some of it had even rolled into the parking lot in back, and I was collecting it and replacing it in my can when I heard an all-too-familiar voice call my name.
“Suzanne Hart, what on earth are you up to now?”
As I retrieved an empty plastic bag dancing in the breeze, I looked at Gabby and shrugged. “You know me. I always schedule my garbage chasing for this time of day. What do you think I’m doing?” Ordinarily I would never have been that short with Gabby, since she’d been known to make more than one of our town’s residents run away in tears, and that was just the men.
Gabby, in her benevolence, decided to let it go. “Did someone knock your trashcan over?”
“Well, I surely didn’t do it,” I wanted to say, but I figured that discretion was indeed the better part of valor. “Apparently” was what I did say.
“I blame it on this fair of yours,” Gabby said.
“Why is that?”
“It’s been bringing in all kinds of riffraff to town,” Gabby said.
Why was she so grumpy? I meant besides her usual general disposition. “Have you lost customers because of the festival?”
“No, not that I can tell,” she admitted, “but I haven’t seen any more than usual, either.”
“We could always have a Clothes and Confectioners fair this fall, if you’re feeling left out.”
“No thank you. I saw that panel of yours. The behavior I witnessed was more childish than I could have imagined.”