22. Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
Brandy
I printed the promotional flyer I’d been working on and decided to take it to Nick for approval as a purely professional courtesy. And that way I can say thank you face to face for the botanical garden he sent.
The flyer looked good. Really good, actually. I know Nick wasn’t on board anymore, but it’s happening even if he doesn’t like it. So maybe if he sees how things are progressing, he’ll get on board.
I put the flyer in my bag, took a deep breath of the gorgeous floral scent, and headed out for the fire station.
Denture on a Thursday morning was doing what it did.
The hardware store's doors were wide open, two people holding bakery boxes were having a conversation on the sidewalk, a preschool group marched in a single-file line up the library stairs, and a group of kids on bikes cut across the community center parking lot like they owned it.
All the no-hands riding, wheelies, and standing made me smile, remembering when I used to live for summer so I could ride around with my friends.
I'd been living here less than a month, and already Denture felt like mine. I loved all of it. Well, other than the gossip train that zoomed around the town carrying all sorts of misinformation. I could definitely live without that.
As soon as I got out of my car, I heard him.
“WOOF!”
I saw him waiting for me by the bay door the way he always did.
“WOOF!” He jumped around.
"Hi, big boy." I looked around, not seeing a car or anyone else, and called him over to me. Which resulted in him bounding toward me. He pressed his head into my hand for a moment, then looked at me with those calm dark eyes.
"How's the mood?" I asked him.
Cap twisted his head, then shook it.
I took that as an answer. “That good, huh?”
I didn’t encounter anyone in the bay, so my companion and I continued to the hall. At the door to the kitchen, Thompson walked out followed by Scott.
“Hi guys, how are you two?” I asked.
Thompson stopped, his eyes shot wide, and his mouth opened. Scott walked straight into his back.
“Hey, what gives?” Scott looked around Thompson, saw me, and instantly his face showed the same level of shock as Thompson's. “Oh, shit, Brandy.”
“Hi. What’s up?” I asked, feeling like I’d busted them in the middle of something they shouldn’t be doing.
“Yeah, well, ah, work calls. Talk to you later.” Scott retreated back into the kitchen.
My gaze went to Thompson, who was standing still staring at me.
“Me too.” He scooted around me and beelined it down the hallway.
“Woof.” Cap barked.
“I agree, definitely something's up with them.” I patted Cap’s head. “Let’s see if your dad is any less odd.”
We continued to Nick’s office. His door was open and he was at his desk in his reading glasses, looking at something in a folder. He looked up when I appeared in the doorway. At least his expression wasn’t the same as Scott and Thompson’s.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey," he said.
We looked at each other for a moment.
Cap walked past me, crossed to the middle of the office, equidistant between my chair and Nick's desk, and sat down. He looked at Nick. Then at me. Then back at Nick.
“The flowers are spectacular. They took me by total surprise. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I felt that I’d stuck my foot in my mouth enough. I needed a gesture.”
“Well,” I laughed, “you sure gestured. My office looks like a botanical exhibit.”
It was Nick’s turn to chuckle. “Good. And again, I’m sorry I judged you.”
I took my seat. “Next time just come talk to me. I’ll tell you the truth.”
Nick smiled what looked like a humble smile. “I will.”
"I wanted to get your approval on the promotional materials before they go to print." I pulled the flyer out of my bag and slid it across to him. "Safety Week and Summerween. Together. Like I said."
Nick picked it up. He read it the way he read everything, methodically, thoroughly, starting at the top and working down. I watched his face while he did. The careful assessment. The slight shift when he got to what I guessed was the Summerween section.
He read the whole thing twice.
"It's good," he said. “So, are you saying with this I have no say if Summerween happens or not?”
Leaning my head to the side, I blinked a longer blink and smiled. “Pretty much. Are the Safety Week details accurate?" I asked.
"They are." Nick tapped the flyer once. "The fingerprint section. I'd add one line about the animal tracking component. Parents don't always know about that one, and it's popular with the kids."
I pulled out my notebook and wrote down his suggestion. "Done. I'll add it before it goes to print."
I finished and looked up and caught him watching me. He held my gaze steadily. No fidgeting. No looking away. No waiting for me to fill the silence with something easier.
"I wanted to tell you, nobody’s ever done anything like what you did with the flowers for me." I held his gaze. "In my entire life, not once." I paused. "Thank you."
“Your husband didn’t do things like that?” Nick asked in a quieter tone than normal.
I grunted. “Him? He’d have to care to do something like that.”
“Sounds like a dick.”
Nodding my agreement, his comment made me smile. “He wasn’t even good with that.” I realized what I’d said as soon as I heard it. “I mean. Well, I mean what I said.”
Nick put his head back and laughed.
“Fair enough,” he finally said.
The office settled into the particular quiet that happens when something has been said that needed saying and both people are sitting with the fact that it was said and neither is quite sure what comes next.
"So," I said finally.
"So," he said.
"I suppose I should get back to work," I said, reaching for the flyer.
"Yeah, I suppose I should too."
I stood. Picked up my bag. Was almost at the door when Jo appeared in the doorway, stopping short when she saw us both. She looked at Nick, then looked at me, and stepped a few steps into the office.
"Am I interrupting something?" she said.
"No," Nick and I said at the same time.
"Right." Jo looked between us one more time with an expression of a woman filing several things away for later.
“I was just leaving,” I admitted. “See you later.” I stepped past her and through the door.
"Actually," I said, turning back to her. “Are you two ladies up for getting a drink tonight?"
Jo's expression shifted to something apologetic. "I’m sorry, I can’t. Tonight starts night rotation for me." She leaned against the doorframe. "And Ruthie's going to bed at seven. She's got a huge order picking up in the morning. She’s planning on being at the bakery at three a.m."
"Damn, poor woman." I shook my head. "That’s dedication."
"That she is." Jo smiled the way she always smiled when she talked about Ruthie. Something like the sun appearing from behind a cloud.
“No problem at all. We can get drinks anytime.”
"For sure."
"Absolutely," I agreed. “Well, have a good evening.”
"You too," she said.
“Nick.”
“Brandy.”
I walked out.
Cap followed me all the way to the bay door and sat while I gave him his goodbye scratch.
"You’re a very good boy, yes you are." I told him.
His tail smacked the floor.
“You stay here.” I walked to my car in the June afternoon sunshine with an approved flyer and a slightly different feeling in my chest than the one I'd walked in with. Starting my car, I got a case of the giggles.
“I can’t believe I said that about Gary’s dick.”