Snuffed Out - Tim Myers [65]
“You never talk about him,” I said. “What was he like?”
For a minute I thought she wasn’t going to answer. After some hesitation, she said, “He was jolly, and he had a way of making me laugh as well. He also had a gift of acquiring money that was quite astounding, though I told him repeatedly I would have rather had the time he stole from us than all the money in the world.” She suddenly realized how much she was revealing and said, “Are you going to braid those, or may I?”
“They’re all for you,” I said.
I’d thought I had made too many tapers for the lesson, but Mrs. Jorgenson used them all. “It’s amazing how they touch and then separate again, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
She held one braid she was particularly proud of and said, “I know I’m just a silly old woman, but would you accept this as a way of my saying thank-you above and beyond my regular payment? Look at me, giving a candle to a candlemaker.”
She started to pull it away, but I wouldn’t let her. “I’m honored,” I said as I took it. “I’ll start burning it tonight.” She looked pleased by my acceptance.
After Mrs. Jorgenson was gone, Eve said, “What was that all about?”
“I’m not quite sure I know myself,” I said.
Eve glanced at the clock, then said, “I don’t want you to think I’m trying to get rid of you, but if you’d like, I’d be happy to watch the shop for the rest of the day.”
“I can’t do that to you,” I said. “I’ve been taking too much time off lately as it is.”
“Please, Harrison, you’re here all the time. It’s only two hours until closing. Go.”
“You’ve talked me into it,” I said. “I’ll be back for the deposit, though.”
“It can wait until tomorrow. See you then.”
“Bye, Eve. And thanks.”
“At Wick’s End belongs to you. I’m just trying to get t you to enjoy it a little more.”
I thought about going by Erin’s for a kayak ride, but then I remembered I owed Wayne a call, and a tennis match, if he was up for it. Wayne was a great deal more to me than my mechanic; he was also one of my best friends in the world. But lately, since taking over River’s Edge, I’d been too busy to do anything with him, and finally he’d stopped asking. He was one part of my old life I didn’t want to change.
I went up to my apartment and dialed the phone number to his garage.
When I got him on the line, he said, “Wait a second, the voice sounds familiar. Don’t tell me, give me a second, I’ll get it.”
“You are such a funny guy. Any chance you can skip out early and get a few sets of tennis in?”
“What happened, did the candleshop burn down?”
“Bite your tongue. No, I thought I’d take a few hours off. We could hit some balls.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Let me check my schedule.”
I waited a few minutes, then he came back on. “Nothing here that can’t wait. My guys have it under control. You want to meet me at the court?”
“See you in half an hour.”
I changed into shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt, grabbed my racket and a can of balls I’d had three months, and headed out. When I got to the court, Wayne pulled up right behind me.
I said, “Perfect timing. How have you been?”
He shook my hand in a grip that could have broken every finger if he’d wanted to. “I’ve been busy, but that’s a good thing. You ready?” he asked after we both stretched a little.
“A moment of silence,” I said, as a part of our ritual. We both stood there as I peeled back the lid of the can, and I was rewarded with the swoosh of air as the seal was broken.
I tossed a ball to him, took two for myself, then jogged over to the other side of the court. My serve was rusty, but I managed to get one in after three straight shots into the net.
The only silver lining was that Wayne hadn’t played since the last time we’d taken the court together either.
We split the first two sets and were both too tired to play a third. Wayne reached in the back of his truck and brought out a cooler.
“Want one?” he asked as he brought out a bottle of water.
“Sure,” I said and we moved to a picnic table nearby.
As we drank, Wayne asked,