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On Friday morning, Lauren’s husband, Mitch, strode into the café.
Even after being married for a whole year, her heart still fluttered every time she saw him. Tall, lean and muscular, with dark hair, dark brown eyes and a firm jaw, he was one good looking guy. But it wasn’t just his looks that melted her heart – it was the way he valued her as a person, and admired her independence. And he’d understood that she and Annie came as a package deal.
Even though he hadn’t been used to cats before he’d met her – and Annie – he’d now become a very good friend to Annie, and her fur baby regarded him as one of her favorite people.
“I can’t stay long.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips, not seeming to care that a couple of tables were occupied. “I’ve just gotten a missing person cold case and I’ll be out of the office for a few hours.”
“It’s craft club tonight,” she reminded him. “If you’re working late, you might have to make do with leftovers. If we’ve got any.” She crinkled her brow, trying to remember what was left in the fridge. She and Zoe usually had a quick dinner Friday nights before visiting Mrs. Finch.
“I’ll be fine.” His mouth edged up in a smile. “I can always grab a burger at Gary’s Burger Diner. And tomorrow we’re having pizza with Chris and Zoe. Chris said he should be back home by seven-thirty, all things going well.”
“Good.”
She made him a large latte and popped two super vanilla cupcakes – his favorite – into a bag.
“That should hold you until lunch,” she teased.
He kissed her again and departed with a wave to Zoe.
A couple of minutes later, Bob came into the café and stood directly in front of the cupcakes arranged in the glass counter.
“Brrt?” Annie had woken from a little snooze and ambled over to him.
“I’ll just get something to go today.” He looked down at Annie and then at Lauren. “Got any more of those senior center cupcakes?” He peered at the glass case.
“Yes, I have seven left.” She’d only baked one batch today, deciding to add super vanilla and lavender to today’s rotation.
“Give me three.”
She boxed up the goodies and took his payment.
“Got anything interesting planned for the weekend?” he asked.
“We’re panning for gold.” Immediately, she wished she could take back the words, and realized this must have been how Shirley had felt on Monday at the senior center.
“Maybe you’ll find a gold nugget, too.” He winked.
“We probably won’t find anything, but we thought it would be fun to try.” She attempted to sound matter of fact about the idea. “How about you?”
“Oh, just this and that, you know. I wanted to visit Shirley and take a gander at her nugget, but I heard she’s out of town.”
“Too bad.” She tried to sound sympathetic but was secretly glad.
“If you find anything on the weekend, let me know – I’d love to see a real gold nugget.”
Lauren watched him depart.
“If we find anything, I’m definitely not telling him.” Zoe joined her.
“I know what you mean.” Lauren nodded.
The rest of the day was busy, and by the time five o’clock came, they’d sold out of cupcakes and pastries.
“Craft club tonight,” Zoe reminded her as she stacked the chairs on the tables. Their last customer had left a few minutes ago. “What’s for dinner?”
“I have no idea,” Lauren replied. “Soup?”
Zoe wrinkled her nose. “Ooh – I know. Why don’t you come over to my house and I’ll cook us chicken wings in the air fryer?”
“Brrt!”
It was an offer Lauren couldn’t refuse.
After they finished cleaning the café, they went over to Zoe’s new house, a cute Victorian cottage with a neat and green small lawn.
The interior was painted in tones of cream and beige, which were not Zoe colors at all, something Lauren pointed out.
“I know, but Chris and I have just gotten settled in here – and we love it just the way it is.” She led Lauren to the kitchen at the back of the house.
“It does look a lot like Mrs. Finch’s kitchen.” Lauren admired the 1960s décor, including original pastel green cabinets and a darker green countertop.
“Isn’t it great?” Zoe sighed. “I thought the kitchen might look more like your Gramms’, but maybe the landlord’s wife remodeled it in the 1960s.”
Lauren and Annie sat at the Formica table Zoe and Chris had brought with them.
“Our landlord put most of his stuff into storage,” Zoe said, “so we’re using our stuff – well, mostly Chris’s.” She turned on the air fryer to preheat. “What do you think about Island Jerk wings?”
“That sounds good,” Lauren said.
“I’ve even got a bag of salad.” Zoe pulled out leafy greens from the fridge.
“Even better.” Lauren smiled.
“I haven’t forgotten you, Annie.” Zoe grabbed a tin of chicken in gravy and spooned it into a dish on the floor. “You’ve got your own bowls when you visit me.”
“Brrt.” Thank you. Annie licked the brown gloop and then ate enthusiastically. Afterward, she lapped at the water in the next bowl.
The air fryer beeped when the wings were done. Golden brown and aromatic, they made Lauren’s stomach rumble.
“I love my air fryer.” Zoe grinned.
“You’re really good at cooking with it,” Lauren complimented, remembering the time Zoe burned a steak on the stove because she was engrossed in writing her script at the kitchen table.
“Thanks.”
They dug into their wings and salad, Annie sitting next to Lauren and looking at the spicy chicken curiously.
“It’s a bit hot,” she mumbled around a mouthful.
“But good.”
“Yes.”
After she helped Zoe with the dishes, they set off to Mrs. Finch’s house. They took Lauren’s white compact car and drove around the block in the twilight to their friend’s Victorian cottage.
“Hello, dears.” Mrs. Finch opened the door and beamed at them. “How lovely to see you.”
“I’m still working on my lap blanket.” Lauren patted her knitting bag. “I don’t think I’ll ever finish it.” She’d started the project a few months ago.
“I’m sure it will be ready by winter,” Mrs. Finch assured her. “You’ve already completed some hats and scarves.”
“I’m afraid I haven’t made any progress since last Friday night,” she admitted.
“Never mind,” Zoe said. “I haven’t made any more pottery mugs for a few weeks, either.”
They followed their friend down the lilac painted hallway to the living room, decorated in shades of fawn and beige. They sat on the sofa, while Mrs. Finch sat in a matching armchair. Annie hopped down from the sofa and jumped onto their friend’s chair, gently bunting Mrs. Finch’s hand.
She stroked Annie with slightly wobbly fingers.
“You must tell me about your plans for tomorrow afternoon. Have you got all your equipment for panning for gold?’
“Yes,” Zoe grinned. “A bowl and a classifier, which is like a sieve thing.”
“After we close the café at lunchtime, we’ll grab something to eat and pick up Martha,” Lauren added.
“We’ve decided to try the creek at the park,” Zoe chimed in. “Ooh – I tried calling Shirley but she didn’t answer, and then Joyce said she was out of town for a few days.”
“Oh, I am sorry, dear,” Mrs. Finch replied. “I didn’t know.”
“It sounds like all the attention she got over saying she had a gold nugget was a bit much,” Lauren said.
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Finch shook her head.
Lauren unzipped her bag and picked up her knitting needles, ready to begin a row of stockinette stitch. She was knitting alternate rows of blue and cream.
“It will look lovely once it’s done,” Mrs. Finch assured her. “You’ll see.”
“As long as I don’t make any holes,” she replied ruefully.
“That’s why I preferred crochet,” Zoe remarked. “If you accidentally make a hole, you can pretend it’s part of the stitch!”
They all laughed, Annie adding a cheerful “Brrt!”