| |
The remainder of the weekend passed without incident. I, still angry that Trevor hadn't warned us about the dead-body-in-the-field gag, needed a little more time to calm down before I was ready to go on his tour, so we pushed it off for the following weekend.
The evening traffic to Bitter Beans was great, though. Cold and wanting someplace quiet to talk, the post-tour crowd from both Trevor and Johnny's operations all gathered inside the cozy warmth of our shop. It was a real boon to our bottom line, and Granny made sure to give them some bonus ghost stories as she worked the espresso machine, even timing the hiss of the milk steamer to just the right moment. The tip jar was overflowing. I could tell that Echo didn't entirely approve of all the theatrics and scandalous lore she was dishing out, but since he got a free cuppa, he kept his mouth shut.
But the big test of the commercial viability of this Halloween business venture was the following week – the start of the Halloween Festival.
Beginning on Monday, the ferry was packed with vendors coming across with their supplies and trucks. The Grand Hotel was completely sold out. People were at our door at all hours. Granny and I were working twelve-hour days, closing down in the afternoon for naps, and then coming back in the evening for the night owls.
Granny shook her head with wonder as she packed up a box of goodies from the pastry case. "And here you thought that we wouldn't have enough work for two people. I'm thinking we should see if anyone is available for a short term hire."
Granny had decided against a permanent presence at the festival. There just weren't enough hands on deck. But in a show of solidarity, she bought a table for tonight and Bitter Beans was going to do a limited service — hot coffee and cider, bottled water, and then some of our Halloween-themed cookies. We were hoping to increase "brand awareness", something Johnny was now frequently informing us was important. Personally, I just hoped people would remember us the next time they were waiting in line for the ferry.
My eyes fell upon the stack of newspapers by the door. "I wonder if Lottie would like a job..." I mused, thinking about how she was hustling hard since losing her permanent position.
But I was cut off as the bell over the door tinkled. I stifled a disgusted sigh as Trevor dragged his unwelcome self inside. He was wearing a striped, waffle-knit thermal I had always liked and had the glow of the freshly showered and shaved. He made a big show of examining some of our trinkets, glancing over surreptitiously to see if Granny and I were in the middle of something or what.
Granny raised her eyebrow and picked up a box to take into the back room. "Call me if you need me."
I folded my arms as Trevor approached, just steeling myself for whatever can of chaos he was about to open. "Whaddya want?"
"Come on, Paige. I don't treat you bad when you come into my place," he pleaded.
"I also don't scare people who have been through some trauma by faking that I'm dead in a field," I pointed out.
That seemed to cut to the quick. He bowed his head and placed his hand on his heart. "I just came to say I'm sorry. Truly. It was insensitive and I should not have done it without letting people know."
I took a deep breath. Whether he actually meant it or not didn't really matter. The thing about living on a small island is there isn't really anywhere to go if you've got a feud with someone. So, I sucked it up and decided to take his apology at face value. "Let me buy you a beverage as a peace offering."
He smiled his charming smile, reaching out to place his hand on mine. "You don't need to do that."
I slowly withdrew from his touch. "You can buy me a drink the next time I'm in your place. Now, what can I get you?"
He made the wise decision to not press the extent of my hospitality and said, "Just whatever you've got on tap."
I poured him a cup of brewed coffee from a pump pot. It was kind of cold and toward the end of its cycle, but compared to the swill he percolated in his place, he wouldn't know the difference. But I made sure to put it in a "to-go" cup, hoping he'd get the hint.
He coughed nervously and then pulled something out of his messenger bag. "So, listen, I was wondering if I could put up a sign for my tour in your window."
I leaned back my head, ready to scream at the audacity. I turned to him. "Are you kidding me?"
His eyes got big and he put it away. "No... no... you're right. Too soon." He took the cup. "Listen, Madison said you were going to come on my tour sometime this weekend. Why don't you and Nate come tonight? As my guests."
"I should tell you to take a hike," I replied.
"Please," he said, giving me his big, doofy puppy eyes, the look that once had drawn me in. And, as much as I hated to admit it, it still kinda worked. "I hate to throw this back at you, but you diiiiid promise..."
"FINE!" I replied. "It was a moment of weakness."
"And one I am glad to take advantage of. I'm glad you're going to be there."
I gave him a little side-eye, letting him know he wasn't out of the woods yet for his stunt near the woods, but we were not enemies. "Now, if you don't mind, I have got some work to do."
He glanced around mystified. "The place is empty."
"We're setting up a booth at the Halloween festival," I informed him, firing up the coffeemaker to fill up the portable pots.
"Oh!" he said, with surprise and interest. "That's great! I should do that!"
I shrugged. "You've got the saloon. People have to pass by it to get to the ferry."
"Yeah, but if they wanted some street fries or something to eat as they walked? Maybe I'll see if Madison wants to give me a hand."
I couldn't help myself from snorting at the ridiculousness of that statement. "Sure, Trevor. I think that's a great plan. You see if she's up for that."
"She's not as bad as she seems," he defended, but I could see he had to struggle to even say those words.
"If you even have to say 'she's not as bad as she seems' to someone, she's as bad as she seems."
"She really helped me out in a tough time," he protested weakly.
I put my elbows on the counter as I leaned over. "Trevor. I'm thrilled you're happy. And you and Madison definitely deserve each other."
He didn't catch the insult. Instead he just smiled. "Thanks, Paige. I know I can always count on you." He then reached again for his bag. "Now about those posters—"
I pointed my finger at the door. "OUT!"
He laughed, letting the flap on his bag fall. "I was just kidding!" He picked up the coffee. "Thanks. See you tonight?"
I sighed. "Sure. See you tonight."
As he left, Granny came out of the storeroom. I could tell she had heard every word.
"That boy is a snake in the grass."
"You got that right."
"Takes after his uncle," she glowered. But then she stood up tall, deciding this was all beneath her. "The best revenge is a happy life, so let's make that our mission. Now, Richard and I are going to start taking things over to the festival. Are you all right to close up?"
"I'll hold down the ship!" I said, giving her a little salute.
She grabbed the fresh coffee and supplies, and went out the back door. I flipped the front door sign to "Closed", swept up the shop, and switched off the lights. I flashed a text to Nate and by the time I was done, he was waiting for me out front. He gave me a bemused smile as he rapped on the glass with one knuckle. I gave him a little wave and hurried to grab my stuff.
I walked outside and he greeted me with a smooch warm enough to chase away all the October chill.
"Ready to go?" he asked, his arm still around my waist.
"Absolutely!" I replied, kissing the tip of his nose before turning to lock the door behind me.
"So, what's the game plan?" he asked me as we walked hand-in-hand up to the fairgrounds.
"Granny sets up, I'll take over while you charm all the citizens of Seaside for a couple hours with your dashing good looks..."
"Assignment accepted," he said.
"And then Granny will be back to close up." I dropped his hand to snuggle into his side. "Now, normally, I would just go back to my cottage..."
He raised a brow with a curious glimmer in his eye. "Yes?"
And then I dropped the bomb and ruined everything. "But we told Madison we'd go on Trevor's tour and he dropped by the shop to make sure we were going to be there tonight."
Nate groaned. "UGH! SO much potential... I guess we have to face the music, huh?"
I nodded, feeling exactly the same way about the prospect. "I know..."
"Well, if it'll help keep the peace."
"Promise to make it up to you later," I offered.
He took my hand again and brought it to his lips. "That I will take you up on..."
The open field was now covered in bouncy haunted castles, farm stands with pumpkins, and hayrides. The smell of apples and cinnamon filled the air. I laughed at a play pit that had been built for the kids. Instead of being filled with balls, it was filled with dried corn, and they were throwing themselves inside, using their arms and legs to make kernel angels.
I waved at Marnie as we passed. She and Wanda had joined forces, putting together a joint booth, combining Wanda's souvenirs with Marnie's knitting supplies. It actually kind of worked. It merged together into a craft booth with cool things to buy and cool things to make. She was super busy with a customer, but she motioned like she was guiding a plane down the runway that Nate and I should head one row over. We rounded the corner and I spotted the Bitter Beans booth.
Granny and Richard had set up shop in the food aisle. There was the smell of kettle corn and apple cider donuts. My mouth was already watering and I knew that I might end up spending as much as we made working alongside all these temptations.
"Did you get anything to eat?" Nate asked, his eyes drawn to a booth with a saltwater taffy machine pulling the candy.
"Nope."
"Oh... this is dangerous..." he said, spinning as we passed the deep fried hamburger stand.
Granny was talking to a woman named Sandy who dropped by Bitter Beans from time to time. Granny had thought of putting together a gift basket raffle to benefit the new historical museum, and Sandy was filling out an entry form in between wrangling her two kids.
"I just love that you're doing this," the mom said, and then turned to shout. "Oliver! That pumpkin is for trick-or-treating, not hitting your sister!"
A cute little nine-year-old dressed like an old professor skidded to a halt guiltily as his sister, a fairy princess, stuck out her tongue at him and flicked the fake crow sitting on his tweed jacket, setting off the battle royale again.
The mom rolled her eyes. "TOO much sugar..."
"I've got it, Sandy." Granny waved the kids over. She held out two coupons like they were great prizes. "Now, you are the winners of a very special prize. But you must listen to your mother. These are two free tickets to the new museum we are going to build. You come when it is all put together, okay?"
The two little kids took the tickets solemnly and nodded. Their mom smiled. "It will be so nice to have a place to take them on a rainy day. And get to learn a little history."
"I love history!" Oliver said, adjusting his fake glasses and brushing back the bangs of his sandy bowl cut.
"That's because you're a NERD!" his sister shouted before shoving him and running off.
He narrowed his eyes, but Granny was on it.
"And what kind of history do you like?" she asked, bringing his attention back to her.
He shrugged. "I like learning about the presidents. I can name them all! And the states! And the capitols!"
Granny's eyes got huge as she blinked at him. "Oh my. Well. I will make sure we have all sorts of things just for you."
"Really?" he asked, his voice full of hope.
"Absolutely!" Granny replied.
Oliver scrunched his little forehead thoughtfully. "Where will it be?"
"You know Ralph's hardware store?" Granny asked.
A couple of teenagers paused, reading the sign for the raffle. They pooled together their spare change to buy the $1 ticket.
"We go there to get seeds that grow into flowers," Oliver informed Granny.
"Well, we're going to make it into a new museum!"
Oliver's face brightened. "I heard about it!"
"This museum is the buzz of the town!" Sandy said to Granny as she moved on to another form. "It is going to be so much fun!"
But before they could continue their conversation, Nina cried, "CHASE ME!" And then she ran up and pushed Oliver. Even the promise of free tickets weren't enough to distract from that sisterly assault.
"Gotta keep moving. Thanks, Cindy..." the mom said as she handed in her forms and shuffled off to the next booth. "NINA! Stop hitting Oliver!"
Granny laughed as she watched the kids dodge and weave through the crowd. "So much fun at their age." While we had been talking to Sandy, Richard had taken care of the teenagers. Seeing there was nothing left to do, Granny turned to me. "All set up!" she pronounced. "Ready for you and Nate to take over! We'll be back this evening so you can go on your tour."
Suddenly, Johnny bounced up to the booth. "Hey, Granny! Hey, Mr. Granny!" he waved at Granny and Richard. "Nate! Paige!"
"Now, don't go distracting my finest worker, Johnny," Granny cautioned as she scooted out around the table.
Richard took her hand to help her balance. "Because I have called dibs on distracting her boss," he said.
Johnny gave them a little salute of understanding as Granny giggled and grabbed her bag.
"Have her back by 8 o'clock!" I shouted after them as they walked away. "And no funny business!"
It really made me get all warm and fuzzy to see their joy together. And there's something about the lights of the midway and the happy sounds of the music and the rattle of the rides. Watching them stroll arm-in-arm, Richard stopping to buy Granny a balloon, was like watching something out of a movie.
"They're like... really good together," Johnny said.
"They are," I replied, and then remembered I was supposed to be working the table. I climbed around back and slipped a Bitter Beans apron over my head. As I tied it, I asked, "Didn't expect to see you here tonight, Johnny. Business slow at the surf shack?"
"Just handing out flyers at the Halloween festival for my awesome evening ghost tours." He struck a lunge pose and whipped out a flyer like a fencer delivering a blow.
"How's it going?" I asked.
He relaxed and shrugged. "Echo is devoted to his craft and I, for one, respect someone who is that dedicated to the search for truth."
"Trevor's tours kicking you in the tush?" I asked.
Johnny laughed, his eyes getting huge. "You have NO idea. Like, seriously, what is with that dude?" He leaned in. "Do you think he is using supernatural powers to bring in people?"
I shrugged. "Well, Nate and I can find out for you."
"Yeah?"
"We're going to check it out tonight and see what he's up to."
"Ooo! A little corporate spying! A little reconnaissance." Johnny leaned in close. "Do you need disguises?"
"No!" I laughed. "Trevor asked if we would come. We're on the official invite list."
"Cool! Maybe I should go, too..." Johnny mused.
"I think that could be a lot of fun," Nate replied, folding his arms good-naturedly as if challenging me to point out what a terrible idea this would be.
But I wasn't rising to that bait. "I think it would be a hoot, too. All us friends, reunited and getting into the holiday spirit. What could be better?"
"AND I get to see what he's doing and you don't have to bring along hidden cameras or anything!"
"Think of all the money we'll save on our spy gear!" Nate exclaimed.
"I do what I can, cuz," Johnny replied, slapping Nate on the back.
I noticed a couple come up to the booth and get in line behind Nate and Johnny, not realizing they weren't customers. I waved my finger at all the rides. "You two are blocking my table! Stop scaring away the customers and go do something useful. Ride some rides until you puke or something!"
Nate laughed and leaned over the table, grabbing me by the apron strings to draw me in for a kiss. "You sure know how to sweet talk a guy."
"See you back here at eight?" I asked.
"See you at eight!"
"I won't be late!" Johnny shouted, and then danced off to the tune of the tilt-a-whirl to hand out his flyers as Nate tagged along.
I sure did love those boys.