| |
NED AND TIFFANY SAT quietly at a private booth near to the stone fireplace in the café. It was one of the coziest tables in the place. Still, they were lucky to have it since it was early in the morning just after eight and the couple that were at the table earlier had just left to go to work.
Dana excused herself from Gerdie and walked over to Ned’s table. “Good morning, Ned. Tiffany. How are you two doing this morning?”
“Could be better,” Ned said. “But thank heaven’s we’re alive.” He placed his cane by the wall.
“I’m really sorry about what happened to your store. Please let me know if you need any help at all.”
“You’re so kind, Dana. Just like your dear old Grandma Rae. Thank you kindly for your offer. But we should be good for now. We have some folks helping out with the mess.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that you’ve got help,” she said softly. “Can I get you anything? It’s on the house.”
“Oh, no. We can’t, Dana.”
“Really, Ned. It’s no trouble at all. I mean you’ve just lost your store, well, your store’s been badly damaged in the accident.”
“I don’t know why people keep calling it an accident,” Tiffany said, powdering her nose as she looked into a small mirror she pulled from her handbag. “That crazy guy drove right into our store on purpose.”
Our store?
Since when did Tiffany and Ned own the Antique’s Store together? For an assistant, she sure was emotionally attached to this whole incident.
“But why would he do that?” Dana noticed that she was fixing up her makeup. Why wouldn’t she have done that at home? It was, after all, just eight o’clock in the morning. Unless...she’d been over by Ned’s. But then, it wasn’t any of Dana’s business but if she was at Ned’s didn’t Ned have a bathroom that she could have fixed herself up in? For some reason, it just struck Dana as odd. It was as if she’d been somewhere else other than home.
She wore a blue blouse with several blue buttons.
Dana noticed that the top button was missing on Tiffany’s blouse but thought nothing of it.
“Who knows?” Tiffany shrugged then replaced her small compact vanity mirror back in her handbag. “Well, your ex wife will be happy now!” Tiffany turned to Ned, her lips pinched thin.
“Don’t say that, Tiffany,” Ned said to his assistant.
“Well, it’s true. She can’t have the store, so she doesn’t want you to have it, either. Some of those things won’t be able to be replaced and you know it, Ned. I bet you she had something to do with this. Setting up that guy to drive into the store. I don’t trust her, Ned. She’s evil.”
Ned’s face was flushed. He seemed embarrassed that Dana was overhearing this conversation if nothing else. Ned was a man of pride, at least that’s what Grandma Rae used to say.
“Oh, um...I’ll take a buttercream cupcake, a black coffee and one of those breakfast toasts.” Tiffany quickly changed the subject after she’d scanned the table’s laminated table menu, as if she’d just realized that Dana was standing there at their table.
The Cozy Cupcakes Café started to add more to their menu than just cupcakes after deciding in a team meeting to expand their café with plenty of treats including breads and other pastries with a healthy dose of nutrients and fiber.
Dana pulled out her pen and her notepad. “Sure. And what can I get you, Ned?”
“I’ll have the same, thank you, Dana.” Ned seemed a bit pre-occupied as he pulled out some papers out of his leather tattered briefcase.
He’ll have the same?
“Sure thing,” Dana said. “Doing some paperwork?” Dana asked glancing at his briefcase. She had to be nosy, didn’t she?
“Oh, I have to fill out some forms for the insurance company. And well, since the store is in ruins, I thought we’d come here and sort it out.” He rubbed his forehead. She could see beads of sweat permeating his skin. He certainly was in quite a state. Of course, he would still be shaken up over that close call and near brush with death. Ned was on the brink of his grand re-opening. Everything had been going fine until yesterday.
“Oh, right. Take as much time as you need.”
“Thank you, Dana.”
Dana really didn’t envy them at all. How awful to have to go through inventory, to have priceless stuff in your store replaced, or sort through mounds of paperwork for the insurance company. She knew they’d have a lot of work ahead of them. Still, she was glad that Ned had a faithful assistant by his side.
Dana left the two and went back to the kitchen through the swinging doors.
“Everything all right?” Katie asked when Dana came back to the kitchen.
She sighed. “I hope so. Tiffany and Ned are having breakfast here.”
“What’s the deal?”
“They’re going over some insurance stuff. They probably have to file a claim soon. They’ll be here a while. I told them to take all the time they need. Good thing they managed to get the private booth in the café. Could you imagine having to replace all those antiques?”
“But most of that stuff is probably irreplaceable.”
“I know. I sure hope he can survive this whole incident. I really hope his store pulls through this.”
Dana really did hope so, but there was a dark shadow of a doubt lingering over the whole situation—she felt it in her bones.