Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [12]
“I don’t even have to ask when Aaron’s rent was due, do I?”
Ann Marie paused the beat of her pencil. “It was due yesterday. You need to jump on this, Harrison.”
“Fine,” I said, focusing on my breakfast instead of my worries. It was too late. Not even Millie’s fine baking could pep me up after Ann Marie’s pronouncement. I didn’t have much time at all before things started to fall down around my ears, according to everyone around me.
Ann Marie had to notice my suddenly slumped shoulders. She stopped tapping her pencil altogether and smiled softly at me. “It’s not as bad as all that. You’ve actually got six days to find another tenant before your electric bill is due.”
“Wow, six whole days,” I said. “Listen, I know you’re just trying to help. I’ll see if I can round up Belle’s list of potential tenants and find out if any of them are still interested. Thanks for dropping by.”
She took the hint, swallowing the last of her coffee and waving good-bye to Millie.
I was still staring at my muffin when Millie came by to top off my coffee. “Don’t let the monkeys get you down,” she said.
I smiled in spite of my gloom. “Where did you come up with that one?”
Millie said, “My Uncle Timothy used to say there were kind people on this earth, and then there were monkeys, folks who never evolved past throwing bananas at each other. It’s not the people who try to bring you down, it’s the monkeys.”
“He sounds like an odd bird,” I said.
“And proud of it, truth be told. You should meet him. He’s as full of spit and vinegar as anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Next time he’s in town, bring him by.”
Millie studied me a moment, then said, “Yes, I believe you would get along just fine with my uncle. Now don’t you have a candleshop to run?”
I glanced at my watch. “No private lessons today, so I’m not in any rush.”
Millie said, “Well I am, I can’t stand around here all day and listen to you.” She softened her words with a flick of her towel. “I’ve got baking to do.”
“Don’t forget, I want to be one of your tasters.”
“Oh you’re on my list, all right. Now shoo.”
I walked out of The Crocked Pot as Tick walked in.
“Morning, Harrison. It’s a stunning day, isn’t it?”
“You’re feeling better, aren’t you?”
“I found a wonderful new allergist. I believe he’s cured me.”
“That’s excellent news,” I said. After Tick went inside, I took a deep breath of the cool autumn air. It was my favorite time of year, bar none, and I wished, for just a moment, to have the leisure to enjoy it more instead of spending the day inside At Wick’s End. I’d always thought being my own boss would give me freedom from punching clocks and nosy supervisors. Instead, I found that I worked harder for myself than I ever had for any employer. I was, without a doubt, the toughest boss I’d ever dealt with. Well, there had to be perks to running my own show. Eve was slated to work the evening shift, and I’d always worked alongside her. Not tonight. Come 4:00 p.m., I was going to take the rest of the day off.
I peered in Heather’s new age shop as I walked past it, wondering if she’d come to grips yet with losing an old love. Since my parents had died in a car wreck on my twenty-first birthday, I hadn’t lost a soul I was close to until my Great-Aunt Belle was murdered.
To appease my conscience for cutting out early, I decided to open At Wick’s End half an hour early. Eve came in three minutes after I flipped the sign to open.
“You must have hit it by accident,” she said as she flipped it back.
“No, I thought I’d get a jump on things,” I said as I set it back.
“We never opened early,” Eve said with a snort. “Belle always said if we did, soon enough folks would expect it every day.”
“Well, I don’t think one day is going to start any bad trends, one way or another. Chances are nobody’s going to show up early anyway. I just felt like opening. Eve, did you ever used to work the store by yourself,