St. Marin's Cozy Mystery Series Box Set - Volume 1 : Books 1-3

Chapter 4-1

4

By close on Sunday, my whole body ached, and I was more tired than I thought I’d ever been, but I was giddy, too. The weekend’s sales had given my bank accounts a boost, but more importantly, I was feeling confident that I could do this thing, that I might not have to mooch off of Mart forever.

I stayed behind at the store after everyone left just to straighten up and to enjoy the quiet for a bit. I reshelved all the books that had been left around over the weekend. I checked the picture books in the kids’ section to be sure no dust jackets were torn. I gave Mayhem a good rub on her bed by the register. I fussed with the chairs in the perfectly tidy café just so I could put a hand to everything in the shop.

Then, I dropped into the wingback chair next to the poetry section and cried. Being super tired always made me a little weepy, but I was also immensely grateful for all the ways my friends and the people of St. Marin’s had rallied around my little store. Gratitude made me weepy, too.

I was finishing up my private crying jag when I heard a knock at the window and realized, with a shudder, that everyone on the street could see me since I had left all the lights on. Tomorrow would be fun. “Why were you crying, Harvey?” “Everything okay, Harvey?” Sigh.

Mayhem came to my side as I got up and went to the front of the shop. I shielded my eyes so I could see past the reflection of the Edison bulbs, and I felt my mortification grow. There stood Daniel and Taco. Mayhem must have smelled her friend because her tail started wagging a mile a minute. I, however, wanted to disappear into the bookshelves never to return.

Daniel gestured to the door and then to himself, and I nodded. Might as well let him know I’m okay. Maybe he could spread the word.

I unlocked the door, and Taco trotted on in and gave Mayhem a sniff before they headed to the café to be sure Rocky and I had tended to all the crumbs. Daniel locked the door behind him with my keys that were hanging there and then looked at me. “Big weekend. Just decompressing, I imagine.”

I smiled. That’s precisely what it had been – a release – and I was heartened that he knew that. “Exactly. Most of my strong emotions – good and hard – come out as tears. I’ve just always been that way.”

“I get it. I kind of think you might be healthier than a lot of us since you just let it all out.”

“Well, thanks for that.” I tried to suppress a ridiculous grin. “You okay?”

“Oh yeah, just out walking the canine slug. He usually has a pass up and back on Main before he totally refuses to walk further and I carry him the rest of the way home.”

“Wow. He’s not a lightweight pup. Maybe you should trade him in for a Pomeranian if you’re going to have to carry him.”

Daniel laughed. “Nah, no trade-ins. He’s stuck with me. I have contemplated a wagon though.” He shifted the leash from one hand to the other. “When I saw the lights on here, I thought maybe you and Mayhem would like to walk with us.”

I glanced over at our dogs, who had now taken up resting positions back to back by the front window. “Looks like they’re game. Just let me get my coat. But I should be clear – I’m not carrying anyone. Everyone gets home on their own power.”

“Understood. You hear that, Taco? The lady is not hefting your big butt.” Taco wagged his tail.

Outside, the air was brisk, and I worried for the daffodils that had begun showing their sunny faces in the warm sun of the weekend. Mayhem’s leash rested lightly around my right wrist as I pulled on my mittens. “Ready to go when you are. Were you on your way up Main Street or back?”

“Back. I was hoping you and Mayhem would motivate Taco to go a bit further, but I didn’t want to take my chances that his enthusiasm would wear off too soon and you’d have to see me try to lift him.”

I laughed. “He doesn’t look light,” I said as I eyed the sizable belly on the low-slung pooch.

“He isn’t.”

We walked along in comfortable silence for a bit, and I enjoyed the chance to look into the shop windows and admire the window displays. Even Heron’s farm stand was decked out for spring with beautiful 3-D flowers made from folded paper taped to the windows and attached to wooden dowels in vases in the sills. “Ms. Heron seems nice,” I said almost to myself.

“She is, although I’m not sure most folks would call her nice.”

I gave him a look.

“Oh, I don’t mean that she’s not kind. Just that she’s a force. You know she runs her farm and this farm stand by herself? Sometimes for harvest, she hires local teenagers, but mostly, she does it all – the planting, the weeding, the marketing. I don’t think she sleeps.”

She had looked tired when she’d stopped by the shop today to check on our order of daffodils for the café tables. “That must be exhausting. Just the shop tires me out, and I don’t have to grow the books myself.”

We reached the end of Main Street, and I felt a little sad that our walk hadn’t lasted longer. But I was tired and wanted to get home before the fatigue turned my legs and my brain to mush. “This is my turn,” I said, pointing east.

“Ah, you’re on the water side.”

“I am. That was one of the requirements for wherever I lived – a water view. I got spoiled in San Francisco with water on three sides of the city and the Pacific Ocean and Golden Gate within walking distance of my apartment. Plus, I love this water. I grew up on the Bay. It’ll always be home.”

“I didn’t know you were from around here.”

“Well not here exactly. Just up the road in Cecil County, Chesapeake City.”

“I love that town. Did they build the canal through it, or did the town just grow up around the canal?”

“The canal brought the town, definitely.” I thought about the charming town that I’d hated in high school. No teenager likes for everyone to know everything about you.

I looked up into his face. He was smiling, and his face was so kind. “Thanks for this, Daniel. It was really nice.”

“Agreed. Maybe another evening we can do it again . . . or even take a walk by the water.”

I grinned. “I’d like that. Have a good night.” I gave Mayhem a tug and headed down the street to our house, eager to tell Mart, well, everything. Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite as tired.