Sasha set two carafes of coffee on the table. “Yeah, once I explained that we weren’t paying businesses a hundred-dollar stipend to attend like Sherry had, several of the attendees were too busy.”
“Wait, Sherry paid people to come?” Greg laughed. “No wonder she had such a strong turnout.”
“Anything to show she’s the better woman.” I grabbed a sleeve of coffee cups and set several stacks on the table.
The bell over the door rang, and Darla appeared. “Hey, doll, I know I didn’t ask, but can I have a few minutes on the agenda to talk about how much money we made for the women’s shelter?”
“Of course.” I glanced around the shop. Everything was ready for the Business-to-Business meeting to start. Aunt Jackie had set out plates of cookies we’d bought from Pies on the Fly rather than the typical cheesecake we had served in the past.
Darla claimed a chair and reached for a cup. “We should do that again. Everyone had so much fun.”
“Not everyone.” Greg poured her coffee.
Darla’s face broke into a large grin. “Now, Greg, you were amazing as Jill’s mobster boyfriend. You have a knack for acting.”
“Well, let’s do something physical for the next fund-raiser. Like a race.” Greg grabbed a cookie as he turned a chair around backward and leaned over the cane backing.
“Funny you should mention a race. How about a 5K fun run/walk?” Aunt Jackie stood by the counter, reading a letter.
I walked over to stand next to her. “What’s that?”
“You got this letter yesterday, but I forgot to give it to you. I assumed it was shop business so I opened it this morning.” She was rambling, a habit she had when she was excited.
“And it says?” I prompted. Checking the clock, I saw we only had minutes before the group would be starting to arrive.
“Dear Ms. Gardner, since you are the newest member of the historical commission’s preservation team with the new addition of the South Cove Mission Wall to the California rolls, we’d like you to sponsor this year’s Mission Walk in June.”
“Wait, does that mean the commission has approved the wall?” I grabbed the letter away from my aunt, but except for contact information and a list of prior Mission Walk sponsors, the letter wasn’t very informative. “I need to call Frank.”
The bell over the door rang again. Aunt Jackie took the letter away from me. “You need to run this meeting. Go play hostess. I’ll call Frank Gleason and figure out what’s going on.”
Greg stepped closer, putting his arm around me. “Congrats. What do you do now?”
“Honestly, if it’s true, I have no clue.” I smiled at Darla. “You want to help me coordinate a fun walk?”
“We’ll talk after the meeting. There are so many things we need to set up . . .” Darla pulled out a notebook and started scribbling. “This will be so much fun.”
“Or something.” I watched as the regulars piled into the room and took their seats. Bill and Mary entered the shop laughing at something Josh Thomas had said. Behind Josh, Kyle walked in, carrying the school desk I’d forgotten all about buying from the antique store. I ran over to hold the door and pointed him to the children’s section of the store.
The desk looked perfect, but I still took a few of my favorite children’s books and displayed them on top.
“All ready for a day at school.” Kyle appraised the area. “At least the fun part of the day. I loved storytime.”
“Thanks for bringing it over.”
Kyle blushed and nodded. “No trouble at all. Got to run. I’m watching the shop this morning during your meeting.” He dropped his voice. “All by myself. Can you believe it?”
As he disappeared out the door, Sadie entered, waving at me and holding hands with Dustin Austin. They’d had their first public outing as a couple at the mystery dinner, so I guessed they must have reached an accord about the speed of the relationship. Sasha poured coffee and greeted each newcomer.
Somehow the meeting I’d always dreaded had turned into a gathering of friends and family. And for once, I knew I could get through two hours without losing my good nature. Esmeralda’s fortune for me had been spot-on. Friendships are precious, maybe not metal all the time, but still important.
Josh Thomas approached me. “I’ll be expecting my check for the desk before I leave. One more thing, you did put my agenda items on this time, right? I faxed you an updated list last night. We really must do something about the speed limit . . .”
Maybe not all relationships were treasurable. I stopped listening to his tirade and took in the gathering around me. Yep, everything was back to normal.