CHAPTER 43
Designer Cookie Boutique was a madhouse on Monday morning and I had no idea why. I suspected something was up when I had to circle the parking lot four times and then stalk someone to their car just to get a space. It wasn't until I went inside that I learned it was "Teacher Appreciation Day", an appreciation that could only be expressed with designer cookies, apparently. I scanned the crowd for my friend Phyllis, owner and creative genius of the Boutique, but she was in the kitchen baking, my bad luck. I'd been counting on her to design the perfect cookie basket for Grace, one that said I was sorry, that I was happy for her, that I wanted us to make up. To make matters worse, the only person manning the counter was an overwhelmed teenage girl who looked like she'd rather be at
