Molly got a bit of a “too friendly” vibe from Archie as soon as he met her at the entrance to the convention center with her ticket. Too big of a smile and way too much eye contact. Scott would have been on diligent-husband guard in this situation. Archie wasn’t flirting, exactly, just weirdly so happy. Molly had talked on the phone with the man only a few times, but they had exchanged emails frequently for her monthly column. Was he always like this, and she just hadn’t seen it because they weren’t face-to-face?
Archie escorted her to the check-in table, where a registration worker gave Molly a tote bag containing numerous flyers and random magnets and pens that she didn’t want. She almost tried to give it back but assumed it would be rude. At least the bag contained a map of the exhibits—which she certainly needed—along with a wristband for entry. This check-in station felt expansive and bright to Molly. There were so many people, and there was so much to see.
“So, I’ve spent the morning in the Erie Room, and I think we should both check out the Huron Room together, which is just down the steps over there,” Archie said, barely taking a breath, while he stood much too close. “The vendors in the Huron Room are more directed to product sellers such as yourself, so I’d really like your expertise there.” He pointed at her flowery map of the convention center to show her where they would go. She could smell coffee on his breath.
“Makes sense to me,” Molly responded flatly. She was trying to convey a very strong “no flirt” vibe. “So, are you looking for new products for advertisers or to highlight in a story?” She had to stand close to him in order to hear his response, unfortunately.
“Both. I’m looking for new products and companies to partner with to show off their brands, products, and so forth in the magazine,” he said with a huge smile. “I do like to see their wares in person and start a personal relationship with the company staff instead of just looking at pictures online. Like meeting you here instead of just having a relationship online and via email.”
“I do agree that it’s easier to judge a product you can touch than only what you can see in a picture,” she said, hoping he understood she was talking about gardening and definitely not about relating to colleagues.
And so Molly spent an hour and a half perusing the booths with Archie following her around. He didn’t so much as go with her as let her lead him from booth to booth.
Molly felt like everyone was too close to her, not only Archie. Such large—but enclosed—spaces with vast throngs of people she didn’t know made Molly feel claustrophobic and uneasy. High ceilings and bright lights made it worse. The many smells, chatter, and bright colors clashed—together they provided too much sensory input.
But the flowers.
She was surrounded by what she loved.
Molly was dizzy with new information. She visited booths of new brands of environmentally friendly fertilizer and pesticides that she considered stocking in the shop. A man with an extravagant mustache spent an entire ten minutes telling her and Archie about his never-before-released, extra-strong deer-repelling marigolds bred specifically for this purpose. His sales pitch sold her on that product, too. Although Molly ached to have time one-on-one with these vendors, instead of twenty-to-one, she loved every topic, every vendor, every product. She’d be picky about what they’d actually sell at the store, but she saw the same value that Archie did in visiting the Home and Garden show.
In the future, she might make a habit of attending the annual show during the least busy time of the event. May or Theo might even enjoy attending with her. Molly loved people watching, and this place certainly had such a variety of garden enthusiasts. Molly especially admired a child’s stroller decked out with silk flowers for the event.
By the time Archie announced they should head out for lunch, Molly felt like she had spent an entire day there, but one look at her watch told her it had only been the hour and a half they had decided on. Somehow, she felt both exhausted and energized by the new contacts, products, ideas, and inspiration she’d found there. She was glad that she had a notebook to help her remember all of it. The back pocket of her jeans was full of business cards. But her phone had no new texts or calls to indicate Shannon’s whereabouts.
Archie led the way out of the convention center and into a small, upscale restaurant a few blocks away. It struck Molly that he seemed to know his way around the metro center better than she did. The short walk offered sunshine and warm air that cleansed Molly after such a busy, people-filled morning.
Greensward was apparently named after Frederick Law Olmsted’s first design for Central Park, although it was in the heart of Cleveland, nowhere near New York City. The space felt absolutely upscale compared to her old standby, the Scottish Ferret. The tables at Greensward were laid with thick fabric tablecloths topped with glass goblets turned on their heads, silverware folded into starkly white cloth napkins, and votives in metal candle holders. Greensward’s walls featured large, framed, splash art that depicted trees and leaves in matching yellow-and-green color palettes. Within seconds of entering the chilly, air-conditioned establishment, Molly wished she had her zip-up hoodie from the van.
After they were seated, Archie sat studying the menu, which was in a paper folder that Molly expected was reprinted frequently because of how clean it was. He fidgeted with the metal corners while reading. She selected a salmon wedge salad, which was much more expensive than her normal budget for eating out, but it was somewhat close to her beloved fish tacos. Molly took a deep breath and rubbed her cold arms. It was good to sit after so much jostling, even if she was chilly. Archie finally settled on their lunch special of the day, which sounded like a gussied-up sandwich with multiple cold cuts and brined vegetables. The extremely slim waitress practically popped out of the hardwood floor to take their order when Archie closed his menu folder. She returned quickly with warm bread.
“What an event, huh!” Archie said. It wasn’t a question, and it was the shortest thing he had said yet that day.
“It was an enormous show, that’s for sure,” Molly agreed. “You could spend days and days visiting vendors.” Molly was glad for the warmth of the carbs and butter.
“Some people do spend days and days at home and gardens shows. I wish I had more time, but we can’t visit the entirety of every show, unfortunately. They are held in nearly every state in America, sometimes more than once a year. Gardening Tomorrow will rent a booth at a few of them near our headquarters, but most are scouting ventures for us. I’m really glad to get your input for the magazine. Tell me which vendors you liked the most.” Archie spoke so quickly that Molly felt like she was still catching up several seconds after he stopped talking. She blinked at him, unsure how to respond.
At a loss for words, Molly opened her notebook and paged through her scribbles from the morning. Archie watched expectantly, even leaning forward and trying to read her notes upside down. “I did really like those marigolds,” she said finally. Her brief response felt feeble, and she stared at her notes, trying to find something else to report.
“They were quite innovative! What a great, natural way to deter nuisance fauna without harming them—or the plants or soil. They really would make a great feature story that you could write and I expect the vendor would be happy to connect with…”
Soil.
Molly suddenly remembered during Archie’s verbose wanderings that she wanted to know whether he had actually visited the trail or not when Trevor was on it. His hiking boots had looked both muddy and also brand new. But he hadn’t actually said if he’d been hiking or not, just that he wanted to go. She realized he was still talking, and so she nodded and pasted on a thoughtful face. Archie didn’t seem to notice that she wasn’t being attentive. When he took a breath, she said the first thing she could think of to steer the conversation in the direction she wanted.
“So, what do you think of Ohio? Have you been here before?”
“I have been to Cleveland before, but not your small town of Hawthorn Heights. Ohio is a really beautiful state with such a variety of habitats. It’s so interesting that there’s a different USDA Plant Hardiness Zone right in the middle of the state—that’s quite unusual. I have been to Columbus as well, the state capital, for another home and garden show a few years ago.” My goodness, this man could talk. She decided to just cut to the chase and interrupted him.
“Didn’t you mention something about wanting to hike the Buckeye Trail?” Molly asked. Then she thought it sounded too direct and added, “Do you hike often?”
“Oh, it’s something I always tell myself I need to do. I want to be a hiker. I saw that the Buckeye Trail cut right through Hawthorn Heights and thought I should try to hike it while I was in town to visit. It’s a well-known trail and obviously specific to Ohio, something special. I expect you do a lot of hiking with the trail right beside your shop, and I’d really love it if you could show me your favorite part of the trail while I'm here.”
She quickly decided to just ignore the invitation and talk about what she knew. “The Buckeye Trail is beautiful and makes a big circle through the entire state. It’s quite beloved. There are towns that hold annual celebrations or races. It’s very well maintained and marked.” There was an unexpected pause. She wasn’t sure if he thought she would say something else, or if he didn’t actually have a response. Was he mad she didn’t jump at the chance to hike with him? She was composing a question about being on the trail when Trevor went missing in her head, but Archie spoke before she did.
“Such a shame about that young man. Have you heard any updates?” he asked, as if reading her mind.
“I know nothing more than I did last night, really. It doesn’t feel like it was just yesterday afternoon.” She wasn’t getting the information she wanted. Maybe she was being too nosy. Perhaps she should let the detectives decide who was a suspect and who wasn’t.
“I agree that the time I spent at your garden shop seems a lot farther away than just yesterday. I’ve never been part of a police investigation and wasn’t sure if I should have stayed or not. It was a very odd way to meet you, to be sure,” Archie said. The food arrived, and the pair dropped the conversation about Trevor and hiking. Molly felt like the food had taken forever, and her mouth was watering when the waitress put the plate in front of her.
Molly’s salad had the smallest wedge she had ever seen—there was no way it was actually a quarter of a head of iceberg lettuce. However, it was extremely satisfying to cut right through even this small portion. The perfectly seasoned salmon and the house-made blue cheese dressing were a delicious paring. She was halfway done eating it when she realized she hadn’t said a single thing since the waitress had laid down their plates. Archie just kept continuing to talk about the Home and Garden Show without expecting or needing any response from her, apparently. Her mind kept wandering to the two errands she needed to do before actually returning to work: her earring drop off at the police station and then the flower delivery. She checked her watch. Somehow, they had been at the restaurant for an entire hour. She attempted to pay more attention to Archie and made some more agreeable noises between bites.
In the end, Molly ate her meal much quicker than Archie, who just kept talking and nibbling at his sandwich and French fries. She finished eating and checked her watch again. She really needed to get going. Archie managed to notice.
“You really plowed through that salad. It must have been good. My own meal is really terrific, if I do say so.” he told her. She knew he had something else to say and interrupted him before he could go on.
“I should get back to the shop. I have a few deliveries I have to make this afternoon.”
“I can cover the check, if you want to just get going. No problem there. I’m spending the rest of the afternoon at the Home and Garden Show, and they’ll all still be there for a while,” he said with a smile.
“You don’t have to pay for my lunch. I’ll call over the waitress.” Molly looked around the restaurant and only saw other lunchers. The twiggy waitress who had been so attentive early in their meal was now nowhere to be found.
“You can pay for me next time. I’m around all weekend,” he said succinctly, and actually winked. Molly finally agreed to let him pay just so she could leave sooner. She had no intention of sharing another meal with this chatty man this weekend or any time in the future.