29. Annabelle
Annabelle
My apartment is a chaotic mess of cards incoming from the printer and outgoing to customers.
Lately, the only time I can be creative is when I’m elsewhere, so I head out to The Grind, even though we’ve got heavy snow, with thick wet flakes splatting on the roads and instantly turning to slush.
Since it’s a weekday morning, I’ve practically got the place to myself.
I sit at the best table and drink my fancy coffee while I lose myself in a few hours of work.
A cup appears in my line of sight. I look up to see Ted Ender sliding into the seat opposite me, trying to hand me a latte.
“I asked Angie what you usually order,” he says, triumph on his face. Today, he’s wearing a long wool coat, dress pants, and leather shoes. His hair is slicked back, clearly never touched by a hat. He’s handsome. He smiles nicely. He smells good.
He takes up too much room.
“So there you go,” he says, pushing the cup closer. “Vanilla latte with extra foam, and those pink sprinkles from the kids’ menu.”
I sigh and close my sketchbook. “I told you—”
“I know,” he interrupts. “But I’ve been doing some research. I have numbers you need to see.”
“You want me to see them. Doesn’t mean I need to see them.”
Ender hands me a small flat folder. It’s branded with his company logo in gold letters. “Say no to me if you wish, but at least be informed when you do.”
“What’s this?”
“Your building needed a new HVAC system at least two years ago. The roof is shot. Expect to resurface your parking lot in less than a year. You’ll be forced to increase the rent. Your tenant isn’t going to like that.”
I knew about the HVAC and the roof. I didn’t think about the parking lot. What else has he found? My stomach is hollow, dread clanging in the emptiness as I examine the rows of numbers. Cost breakdowns. Estimates from local contractors. Interest rates on the loans I’d need to make it happen.
Ender runs his finger along the table edge as if feeling for cracks. “You could pour more money into a building you never wanted and didn’t ask for, or you could sell it to me and walk away clean.”
“Those aren’t my only choices.”
“Do you have other offers on the table? Let me know what they are. I’ll match them.”
I close the folder and put it on top of my sketchbook. I ignore the latte Ender bought and drink the last of mine. All the sweetness is gone, leaving bitter dregs.
Ender stands and slips his arms into his coat sleeves. He drops a business card on the table, then grips the back of my chair and leans down to murmur, “We both know you don’t belong here.”
Before I can think of a biting response, the door opens and Grant comes in, bringing a blast of cold with him. He spots Ender and makes sure to shoulder check him as he passes.
“Hey!”
“Ender,” Grant grunts, as if just now noticing him. “Back again?”
“Still here.”
“I heard the city councils of Manistique and Gilly Point both told you to go fuck yourself.”
“They never said that.”
“That might not be what you heard, but that’s what they said.”
“Whatever.” Ender addresses me one last time on his way out. “Think it over, Annabelle. I’ll be in touch.”
Grant gets a coffee and joins me at my table. He nods at the folder. “I’d ask what Ender wanted, but I already know.”
“He must be pretty desperate to track me down in this weather.”
“We’re easier marks in the winter.” He drinks coffee and watches fat snowflakes drift lazily down.
“All it takes is one, you know?” he says softly.
He’s still looking outside. “That’s what Ender wants.
One building. One business. One street. It starts small.
Grand opening specials. Lower prices. Undercutting local establishments until they have to sell or die.
Pretty soon, downtown looks like every exit ramp between here and Ohio. ”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“I hope not. We’re trying to protect what makes Echo Creek worth stopping for.” He turns to me, but his eyes are a thousand miles away. “Our library sits on lakefront property.”
“It does.”
“The Up and Away Café serves perch that were caught this morning.”
“Also true.”
“Farpoint Books has a book club that only reads Michigan authors. I go to the bank and see three people I know, and two of them ask how my parents are doing. Last week, I was caught speeding down US-2. The cop who pulled me over is a guy I used to tutor in algebra. He let me go with a warning.”
“Nice.”
“You haven’t seen summer yet. Screen doors open.
Cherries in season. A line at The Twisty Whip all day long.
You can go down to the boardwalk at nine at night and still have enough light to read by.
The lake is like glass. Fishing boats are returning to the docks.
Someone’s got a frisbee, someone else has a cooler of beer.
Maybe a little bonfire if you don’t get caught.
It’s July, and the money’s coming in, and everyone feels more alive. ”
I cover his hand with mine. Give it a squeeze. “You really love this town.”
Grant takes his hand back. He smooths out his beanie that’s sitting on the table, then crushes it in his hand and jams it in his coat pocket. He picks up his coffee cup and looks out the window. “It’s home.”