social visit.
“Suzanne, do you have any fans?”
“I’d like to think that some folks love my donuts enough to call themselves fans,” I said. “I’m sure that you have admirers yourself, Gabby.” She ran a gently used clothing store called ReNEWed, and her business was the closest to my donut shop. That made us de facto neighbors, but it didn’t mean that I still didn’t have to watch my step around her. Gabby had the fastest, and the sharpest, tongue in all of April Springs, and it was never a good idea to cross her.
“Not that kind of fan, you nit,” she said with a hint of aggravation in her voice. “My air conditioning went out at the shop and I’m roasting.”
That was serious indeed. With the heat wave we were experiencing, there was no way a customer would stay in an unairconditioned spot any longer than they had to. “Have you called someone about it?”
“Yes, for all the good that it will do me. Since Tim died, I’ve had a devil of a time finding a decent repairman.”
I knew too well what she meant. Tim had met an untimely fate near my cottage, and every time I walked past the Patriot’s Tree, I glanced up at it with trepidation, remembering seeing his body swaying in the breeze. “Come on in. I think I have a few box fans stored in back, and you’re welcome to use them as long as you’d like.”
“I appreciate that,” she said as she followed me into Donut Hearts.
Emma was just finished cleaning up the display cases, and she was about to say something when she saw that Gabby was with me. “Good morning, Gabby,” she said. “May I get you something? Coffee, perhaps?”
“It’s a thousand degrees in my store. Coffee is the last thing I need right now, young lady,” Gabby replied.
“How about some ice water, then?” I asked.
“That would be more appropriate,” Gabby said. “Emma can get the water for me while you’re retrieving those fans.”
I winked at my assistant as I headed for the back and found the fans in short order. As I carried them back to the front, I heard Emma say, “I belong right here, at least for now.”
Leave it to Gabby to poke and prod, no matter how little time she had for being nosy.
“Here you go,” I said as I grabbed a clean rag. “Let me just dust these off for you.”
“I can do it myself,” Gabby said as she reached for the fans. “Why exactly do you have these on hand?”
“Don’t you remember my last summer experiment?” I knew that she did, since her complaints had been the main reason I’d stopped. The year before, in a summer that was much milder than the one we were going through at the moment, I’d propped the fans near the counter and opened the front door, hoping that the smell of donuts would be enough to draw customers inside. I didn’t know if it would have worked one way or the other, because Gabby had insisted that I was contributing to the growing air pollution that only she seemed to be able to sense.
“Ah yes, how could I forget when all of April Springs smelled as though a donut factory had just blown up.”
I decided to take the high road and let that one go, mainly because Grace would be on her way soon, and I had work to do before she arrived. “Here you go. I hope they help.”
Gabby seemed to take my capitulation with more curiosity than grace, but in a moment, she was gone, along with the box fans, and I got back to business.
As Emma and I cleaned, I asked, “It didn’t take her long to take a jab at you, did it?”
Emma just grinned. “I didn’t mind. I’ve kind of come to expect it from folks around here, to be honest with you.”
I hadn’t realized that Emma had been taking such a beating around town about her decision to come back home to April Springs. “Has it really been that bad?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Emma said. It was clear she didn’t want to
“Suzanne, do you have any fans?”
“I’d like to think that some folks love my donuts enough to call themselves fans,” I said. “I’m sure that you have admirers yourself, Gabby.” She ran a gently used clothing store called ReNEWed, and her business was the closest to my donut shop. That made us de facto neighbors, but it didn’t mean that I still didn’t have to watch my step around her. Gabby had the fastest, and the sharpest, tongue in all of April Springs, and it was never a good idea to cross her.
“Not that kind of fan, you nit,” she said with a hint of aggravation in her voice. “My air conditioning went out at the shop and I’m roasting.”
That was serious indeed. With the heat wave we were experiencing, there was no way a customer would stay in an unairconditioned spot any longer than they had to. “Have you called someone about it?”
“Yes, for all the good that it will do me. Since Tim died, I’ve had a devil of a time finding a decent repairman.”
I knew too well what she meant. Tim had met an untimely fate near my cottage, and every time I walked past the Patriot’s Tree, I glanced up at it with trepidation, remembering seeing his body swaying in the breeze. “Come on in. I think I have a few box fans stored in back, and you’re welcome to use them as long as you’d like.”
“I appreciate that,” she said as she followed me into Donut Hearts.
Emma was just finished cleaning up the display cases, and she was about to say something when she saw that Gabby was with me. “Good morning, Gabby,” she said. “May I get you something? Coffee, perhaps?”
“It’s a thousand degrees in my store. Coffee is the last thing I need right now, young lady,” Gabby replied.
“How about some ice water, then?” I asked.
“That would be more appropriate,” Gabby said. “Emma can get the water for me while you’re retrieving those fans.”
I winked at my assistant as I headed for the back and found the fans in short order. As I carried them back to the front, I heard Emma say, “I belong right here, at least for now.”
Leave it to Gabby to poke and prod, no matter how little time she had for being nosy.
“Here you go,” I said as I grabbed a clean rag. “Let me just dust these off for you.”
“I can do it myself,” Gabby said as she reached for the fans. “Why exactly do you have these on hand?”
“Don’t you remember my last summer experiment?” I knew that she did, since her complaints had been the main reason I’d stopped. The year before, in a summer that was much milder than the one we were going through at the moment, I’d propped the fans near the counter and opened the front door, hoping that the smell of donuts would be enough to draw customers inside. I didn’t know if it would have worked one way or the other, because Gabby had insisted that I was contributing to the growing air pollution that only she seemed to be able to sense.
“Ah yes, how could I forget when all of April Springs smelled as though a donut factory had just blown up.”
I decided to take the high road and let that one go, mainly because Grace would be on her way soon, and I had work to do before she arrived. “Here you go. I hope they help.”
Gabby seemed to take my capitulation with more curiosity than grace, but in a moment, she was gone, along with the box fans, and I got back to business.
As Emma and I cleaned, I asked, “It didn’t take her long to take a jab at you, did it?”
Emma just grinned. “I didn’t mind. I’ve kind of come to expect it from folks around here, to be honest with you.”
I hadn’t realized that Emma had been taking such a beating around town about her decision to come back home to April Springs. “Has it really been that bad?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Emma said. It was clear she didn’t want to
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