A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [70]
I had to look at her to see if she was kidding or not. “That’s a great deal of supplies,” I said. “I hope you aren’t doing it as a favor to me.”
“Harrison, I’m doing it as a favor to my grandchildren. They love to do anything crafty. Let me jot down the address for you. It will save me a great deal of trouble if you ship the packages there for me.”
I looked at Eve, who’d been watching us, and said, “One of each color sheet wax kit and one of each cookie cutter.”
“No, that won’t do at all,” Ruth said.
“Is it too much?” I asked. “We can scale the order back.”
“Actually, it’s too little. Each of my three grandchildren needs a complete set of everything. I’m afraid I’ve spoiled them in that way.” She studied me a moment, then added, “And no price breaks for me, young man. I expect to pay full retail”
“Actually, I was thinking about charging you extra,” I said.
She started to reply when she saw my grin. “Harrison, you mustn’t tease me like that. I came out to see if the surveyors have made any progress. In the meantime, allow me to take you to lunch.”
That sounds great Eve, we’ll be back soon.”
“So where should we go?” Ruth asked. “My driver can take us anywhere.”
“No need, we can walk from here. I’m kind of partial to Millie’s place.”
Ruth studied the sign. “The Crocked Pot, eh? Well, I’m game if you are.”
“You’re going to love it,” I said as we walked inside. After studying the menu, we ordered, then took a table by the windows up front. We could see the Gunpowder River from our vantage point
“It is quite lovely here,” Ruth said. “I’d forgotten that.”
“Do you miss it?” I asked.
“I suppose so, but really, wherever my grandchildren are is home to me now.”
We ate our lunch, then I walked Ruth to her car. After she was gone, I headed back to At Wick’s End, sorry that my new friend would be leaving soon, and taking Cyrus with her. People seemed to drift in and out of my life with an alarming speed. I was just glad Sanora and Heather had found a way to stay.
I walked in the door of the candleshop and nearly stumbled over the threshold when I saw who was waiting for me, the last person on earth I expected to find paying me a visit. It was Grover Blake.
“Grover, how are you?”
He looked me in the eye and said, “I’m not doing well, but I hope to make it better soon.”
“Anything I can help with?” I asked.
“You can accept my apology for acting like an old fool, and be my guest for barbecue tomorrow.”
I leaned against the counter, trying not to fall down. “Like I said before, I’m the one who’s sorry for the way I acted. I don’t blame you a bit for banishing me. I shouldn’t have pushed you like I did.”
Grover looked at his hands, then said, “Let’s just say we both have a reason to be sorry for the way we’ve been behaving and leave it at that.” With that he stuck a hand out. “Can we shake on it?”
“Absolutely,” I said, taking his hand. He had a blacksmith’s grip, and I was glad I could return it. “Is it all right if I bring Markum with me?” I asked.
“I’ve already invited him. You’ve got yourself a powerful ally there, Harrison.”
“Mrs. Jorgenson is something, isn’t she?” I agreed.
“I was speaking of Ruth.”
“You know Ruth Nash?” I’d only mentioned my problem with Grover in passing, and somehow she’d managed to fix the mess I’d made.
“Ruth and I go way back. She’s quite a woman.”
“She is at that. Maybe we can get her to come, too.”
Grover nodded. “I’d be honored to have her at my table.”
After he was gone, Eve said, “You certainly manage to collect the oddest assortment of friends, Harrison.”
“Eve, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
She looked surprised by my response, but it was true. Sometimes I felt as though my collection of friends was f the best thing I had going for me.
Mrs. Jorgenson came by late in the day. I was surprised to see her, since we had a class scheduled for the next morning. I said,