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Granny and I headed over to Trevor's Saloon. The night ferry was just pulling out of the dock and the streetlights of Main Street were starting to come on. It was so peaceful, couples walking down the street hand-in-hand, eating ice cream and laughing. Granny was practically aflutter. She even put on her good fuchsia lipstick.
"I just can't believe he's here!" she said. "After all these years! I haven't seen him since high school."
"He was pretty special, huh?" I asked.
She waved me away as she lied through her teeth. "Oh, just an old flame." She linked her arm through mine. "But it is nice to have these people in your life who knew you when. I mean, obviously I haven't changed a bit. But you know what I mean."
I smiled. She wasn't fooling anyone.
The wash of cool, recycled air met us as we opened the doors to Trevor's Saloon. The whole place was hopping. The conversation and music spilled out into the street.
Trevor had taken over the place from his uncle and had redecorated it to look like a bar in the old west, hence the name. I hadn't been in since it opened about a month ago, but a lot had changed. I guess that's what happens when you hook up with a marketing maven like Madison. Now, it was like a nautical amusement park. There were bad paintings of sailors in storms hanging on the wall. Fishnets hung from the ceiling. Waves had been painted on all of the furniture. Somewhere, they had gotten a maiden masthead.
Okay, so the masthead was pretty cool.
But it was a far cry from Trevor's original vision.
Granny's posse had staked out a corner at the end of the bar and as soon as they spotted us, waved us over.
I realized that Madison wasn't the only marketing genius at work. The posse was subtly touting their shop's wares to the bakeoff contestants and tourists. Wanda had dyed her hair a pale purple and was wearing a t-shirt from her shop that read: "Mermaids Do It Underwater." The purple matched Marnie's hand crocheted cardigan. I wondered if they coordinated it. I wouldn't have put it past them. Even Holly's messy Gibson girl hairdo had been done up with an abalone shell barrette, which I recognized from a display in her general store. If anyone paid them any compliments, they'd be able to respond, "I know just the place where you can buy it!"
Holly trotted over to grab an extra stool for us, her wooden clogs flapping against the soles of her feet. "I heard you had a very special reunion today," she said with heaps of innuendo.
Granny primped her black beehive. "Now, don't you go spreading rumors of my magnetic personality."
"Pulled that one off the boat straight to your door!" Wanda laughed, slapping her thigh. "If I had a glass of wine, I would raise it to you now."
"Why don't we have glasses of wine?" Marnie asked, flipping her long, grey braid over her shoulder so it was hanging down her back. She pounded on the counter. "What does a wench have to do to get a bottle of grog in this here shanty?"
I left them to flag down the bartender as I spotted Nate across the room, schmoozing with the judges and contestants. I could hardly wait to compare notes and to see if his first impressions matched mine.
By the speed in which he excused himself, I'd hazard we were on the same page. He swiftly made his way through the crowd and gave me a hug. "So glad you're here," he murmured into my ear. "I have absolutely no idea how to talk to baking people."
"You mean 'bakers'?"
"I submit exhibit A why I cannot be left with them unaccompanied by you and the defense rests its case, your honor." He rested his hand on my waist as he walked me over to the bar. Out of nowhere, Johnny popped up from behind the counter holding two bottles of expensive liquor.
"What are you doing, Johnny?" I asked in surprise.
He shook his head to get his curly, blond hair out of his eyes, and then poured the liquids into the metal shaker, and rattled it around like he had taken up maracas. "Just moonlighting while Trevor does his seal impression."
He jerked his chin at a dark corner of the bar. The seal suit had blended into the shadows, but the flash of the camera as Trevor got a selfie with Lorraine gave him away.
Hashtag, gag me with a trout.
"Well, I'm not sure which is a bigger hell," I remarked. "Dressing like a team mascot or being forced to work behind the counter on your night off."
"Aw... my dad was having me make drinks since I was in kindergarten," said Johnny good-naturedly. "This is a piece of cake. And if I can't make it? I just make it up."
"Well, Johnny," said Nate, bravely. "What do you say you pour Paige and me one of your secret recipes."
"Anything you like? Don't like?" he asked.
"We are in it to win it, Johnny. Go wild."
Probably not the best words to use with a guy like Johnny. His whole face lit up as he contemplated the possibilities. Suddenly, he started juggling the shakers. The hum of the bar lowered as everyone turned to look at him. He picked up a bottle of rum, sucked down a mouthful, then blew it out and set it on fire. The bar went crazy. He flipped two glass bottles behind his back and then poured the liquid into a soup bowl.
"I'm calling this one a Johnny Surprise Special," he announced. "Surprise!" he shouted, and then with a flourish, set that on fire.
The room gave him an enthusiastic round of applause, which he accepted, bowing this way and that before moving on down the bar to take someone else's order.
I looked down at the flaming punch and then at Nate. "Does it come with a fire extinguisher?"
Nate looked at me like my guess was as good as his. "Maybe we should ask for some marshmallows to make some s'mores?"
"By the time this thing burns out, it is going to be time to go to work."
"I'm pretty sure Johnny just sent all of Trevor's profits tonight up in flames."
"Quite a fancy beverage you have there!" said a voice.
We both turned around and I was so happy to see it was Richard.
"Oh, my cousin is trying his hand at bartending," I explained. We both looked over as Johnny piled twelve paper umbrellas into some bro's beer. "Gotta say, I think he has a real knack."
"I would hire him in Vegas," commented Richard with amusement.
I motioned to Nate. "Have you two met?"
"Indeed, we have. Your boyfriend was welcome company, but I took his lead when he made a run for it and plotted my escape, too."
"Granny's down at the end of the bar!" I offered. The moment his eyes caught sight of her, I could see he was trying very hard to seem polite and not dance across the room, so I said, "Let's go see what she's up to."
We all walked over. The room parted as Nate carefully carried the flaming bowl. Surprise! Johnny's special drink was also great for crowd control.
Granny's face lit up brighter than the fire of our punch when she saw Richard. He leaned over and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek.
"Girls, I'd like for you to meet Richard. Richard, these are my dearest friends." She went around the circle and introduced her posse.
But then everyone's favorite pooper decided to come in and ruin things.
"Doesn't it feel great in here? All this air conditioning? I don't know how you all manage to survive summers on the island without it." Madison sidled onto the barstool next to us. She pointed at our beverage, mocking it. "Hey everyone! It looks like a party!"
Ignoring her completely, because that's the kind of classy ladies that they are, Wanda raised her glass. "To Richard and Cindy, and to having rediscovered each other. High school sweethearts and through fate, they are reunited.
Madison did not take the charming news like everyone else did, however.
"Excuse me!" Madison called. Her arms folded. Trevor, sensing that there was an issue, wandered over, bumping into people as he tried to navigate the dark room in his seal outfit. "I need to say, as the sponsor of this bakeoff, that I am horrified to see that the owner of Bitter Beans would engage in such... shenanigans."
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Granny with confusion.
"Well, one can hardly expect for a judge to be objective when one of the contestants is romantically involved with one of the judges."
Granny looked over at Richard, horrified. She turned back to Madison. "This was not premeditated. We just discovered each other here on the island."
"A happy accident," Richard explained.
"Happy accident or not, any competition you have ever entered clearly states that immediate friends and family are not eligible to enter," Madison informed them, her voice becoming shrill. "And I'm pretty sure I made sure that language was included in the contract."
"Are you implying that Richard would be anything but impartial and professional?" Granny challenged.
Madison folded her arms. "Trevor's Saloon certainly cannot give its 'seal of approval' if you were to win." She then elbowed Trevor and, terrified, he clapped his flippers together.
"It is a taste test, Madison," Richard reminded her. "An average of three judges' rankings."
"You know this woman. You have tasted her cooking. I mean, obviously you enjoy what she makes if she weaseled her way through your stomach to your heart after all these years."
"I have not weaseled my way into anything," Granny replied, slamming her wine glass down.
"And I haven't tasted anything!" added Richard. "We haven't seen each other in forty years!"
I knew that Madison was a frickin' jealous low life out to make everyone miserable for her own agenda, but to insinuate that Granny was somehow rigging the game was a low blow.
"You're just scared your friend Kylie will lose to my grandmother, aren't you?" I accused her, stepping into her space.
"Wait, so a contestant knows you?" Nate clarified.
Madison began getting defensive. She traced the rim of her martini glass. "I am not a judge."
"But you just said the rules—"
"It doesn't apply to sponsors."
A disgusted huff made its way around Granny's posse.
"Forget it," said Granny, throwing up her hands. "It's not worth it." She pointed her finger at Madison. "You've taken this whole experience and made it dirty. Here I was so excited to be a part of this and you had to sully the whole thing. I wouldn't bake for you if the life of Seaside depended upon it. I quit."
I knew how much it cost Granny to take such an action. I realized the other judges had gathered around us to see what the altercation was about.
I noticed a slight smile twitch the corners of Madison's mouth and I wondered if the reason she baited Granny was because the life of Seaside might actually depend on Granny's participation.
But that's when things took a turn and the smile was wiped right off of Madison's face.
Richard stepped forward. "And I will certainly not lend my name and reputation to a competition where my integrity is challenged, and I shall make sure to let everyone know Trevor's Saloon and your unprofessionalism are responsible for this indignity."
Madison's face paled. I didn't think she had been planning on getting a judge to quit, much less name her publicly as the reason why. It was the sort of thing that would get back to the organizers and put a black mark next to her name. I knew for a fact Madison wasn't planning on hanging around Seaside for any longer than she needed to and was going to need a job recommendation.
"Now, let's not be hasty..." she started to say.
But the other judges were looking mutinous, like they were about to quit out of unity and principal.
"I will, of course, expect a full refund of my entry money," stated Granny.
Madison looked over at Trevor's costume. I knew that she had spent a pretty penny on branding her mascot and it was about to become totally worthless if it was aligned with a failed bakeoff. "Well... I can't do that... I mean... I'm sure in the fine print of your contract it says I can't do that."
But out of the blue, Nate stepped forward. "What if Paige took the Bitter Beans slot?" he offered.
I elbowed him in the ribs for putting me in this position. I just wanted the world to swallow me whole as Granny looked from him to me. I didn't want this. I didn't want to be the one who took away my Granny's dream of winning a bakeoff.
But Granny's anger was slowly fading and, instead, it was replaced with a pleased smile. She nodded her head, liking the idea more and more. "That would be amenable." She squeezed my hand and announced loudly, "My granddaughter will be representing Bitter Beans in this weekend's competition." She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Don't you turn this down. You show that harpy not to mess with the Comber girls."
What could I do? I nodded, accepting my fate.
You could almost feel the collective exhale ripple through the room.
"Would you still judge if Paige takes her grandmother's place?" Nate asked Richard.
Madison didn't have the good sense to keep her mouth shut. It was like she was willing to risk anything to take me and Granny down. She raised a nervous finger. "I'm sorry... But he knows her grandmother..."
"Oh, let him judge. He can't override us if her bake is terrible," said Shelia.
But Richard would not be moved. He was still fuming. "I will not judge for any competition where a woman like Cindy would be thrown out by a sponsor and my integrity is questioned."
Victor sipped his tall, blue colored drink loudly through a straw before speaking. "So, we're down to two judges? Is that what's going on? Because we will be required to inform central office that you have seen fit to malign us."
Nate shot a look at Madison, letting her know how much trouble she was in for opening this can of worms. She jutted out her jaw defiantly, but didn't say anything.
Suddenly, Lorraine stepped forward. Her Miss Seaside sash sparkled in the neon beer sign light. "Wait! Wait, y'all. My character on the hit YouTube series The Days & Years once had to become a chef to raise enough money to pay for chemotherapy for her secret child. As you all know, I am a method actress." She placed her hand upon her heart and inclined her head like we were applauding her for that decision. "I trained with a celebrity chef in Hollywood and I am sure he would leap at the opportunity to work with me again. Allow me to make a few phone calls and see if he'll hop on a plane."
She then bowed to imaginary applause and backed out of the room.
Victor inclined his head at Madison. "We shall see what we shall see, shan't we?"
Nate walked over to Madison and folded his arms. "I'm afraid that sponsorship has just gotten a lot more expensive if you want to keep your 'brand' on the bakeoff."
She squinted at him, trying to figure out the perfect comeback. Failing, she replied, "I'll have Trevor write you a check."
Trevor gave out a bark of protest. I think he had been spending too much time in character.
Yvette, the owner of the café down the road, came over to Granny. She had dressed up, maybe thinking this would be a great opportunity to meet someone. She was wearing a tight, wraparound dress and her frizzy, blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. "Oh, Cindy! This is just awful. I'm so sorry we won't be facing off against one another."
There was a part of me that thought perhaps she wasn't as sorry as she was pretending to be. Although we tried to keep our offerings separate, there was a bit of friendly rivalry between Yvette's café and Bitter Beans.
Granny patted her hand. "Not to worry. Paige will represent Bitter Beans just fine. After all, she's a chip off the old block." She gave me an encouraging smile, but then her eyes fell upon Richard and she heaved a sigh. "Richard, you shouldn't have gone off and been so chivalrous."
His soft, liver-spotted fingers wrapped gently around hers. "It wasn't just for you. I couldn't take that sort of a blow to my reputation after such an accusation. If Paige ends up winning, the whispers would have followed me around the circuit. It was an act of self-preservation."
I wasn't sure I believed him.
"Well," said Granny. She reached up and straightened his bowtie. "The least I can do is buy you a cup of coffee after you're done tomorrow and let you taste what I would have cooked."
He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. "And here I thought I was supposed to be the one handing out prizes."
As I watched them stroll happily out of the bar, I couldn't help but think Granny may have won something much more important than a bakeoff.