Read Online Whiskers & Smoke by Marian Babson - Free Book Online Page B

Hanson overbought on the item a couple of years ago and hasn’t been able to unload them since. But if you need anything else in the hardware line, he has a good stock at reasonable prices.
    â€œA bottle of California white wine and a large cream soda from Cut-Price Liquors—” She plonked them at my feet. “A pound of frozen pork chops from the MiniMarket; three frozen TV dinners from the Supermarket; a quart of chocolate chip ice cream from Daly’s Drugstore. The vegetable assortment—zucchini squash, tomatoes, string beans and scallions—is from the Roadside Vegetable Shop; the boxes of blueberries, raspberries and loganberries are from—”
    â€œStop!” I cried, as the cornucopia emptied at my feet, threatening to engulf me. “What is all this?”
    â€œIt’s your Welcome Wagon welcome—” Pixie straightened up and beamed at me. “Don’t you have it in England?”
    â€œNo,” I said faintly. Whatever it was, I certainly had seen nothing like it before. “What’s it all about?”
    â€œIt’s the welcome from your friendly local merchants to newcomers moving into the area,” Pixie explained.
“They all—well, most of them—provide samples of their wares free of charge as an introduction, in the hope that you’ll patronize them when you go shopping.
    â€œOh, it pays off—” she assured me. “They wouldn’t do it, otherwise. It’s all marked down to goodwill and it works. You may not have it over there, but it’s big business here. This time of the year, it’s practically a full-time job for me, driving around to all the summer cottages and welcoming visitors. You see, there are a lot of summer lets up in the hills that are just for two or three weeks at a time. You’re one of the very few who are going to be here for the whole summer.”
    â€œI hadn’t thought of it that way,” I equivocated. I hadn’t thought of it at all. I looked down at the pile at my feet. “Shouldn’t we get this stuff into the freezer before it defrosts?”
    â€œNo hurry,” Pixie said casually. “The insulated bags will keep it for another couple of hours yet. Let me foist upon you the rest of the bounty—” She produced a sheaf of envelopes from the bottom of the basket and began pushing them into my unresisting hands.
    â€œFree tickets to the Edgemarsh Movie Palace—they’re running a special Disney Season starting in July. Then—” another envelope—“a free dinner at Gino’s Place. It’s usually for two, but since there’s only one of you and two children who’ll order from the childrens’ menu, you’ll all get a free dinner—”
    â€œBut we’ve already been to Gino’s Place,” I protested. “Celia and Patrick took us yesterday.”
    â€œThat has nothing to do with it. You’re entitled to a
free dinner in your own right. Just give them this voucher as you order.”
    â€œPrr-yee-ow …” Errol staggered out of the shrubbery at the edge of the lawn, wove his way across it, and lurched up the steps to collapse at my feet. His eyes closed and he lay there unmoving.
    â€œMummy!” Tessa shrieked. “Mummy—he’s dead! He went away where we couldn’t see him—and he came back dead!” She burst into tears.
    â€œMum—” Timothy was shaken, fighting back tears himself. “Mum, he isn’t really dead—is he?”
    â€œDead tired,” Pixie said practically. She prodded Errol with the toe of her sandal. He twitched and, after a long moment, sent out a rough perfunctory purr. “The old reprobate!”
    â€œDead tired—but happy,” I agreed. How very different from the home life of our own dear Esmond. At some point I was going to have to do some explaining to the children—but I didn’t feel up to it