Peace of pie, p.27
Peace of Pie, page 27
Bryony went into Lillian’s office, which was also unlocked, and dropped into the desk chair. She had shown the location of the cash to Todd last week.
There were only two explanations for the missing money and merchandise.
Either Todd had left the door unlocked and someone robbed them, or Todd stole those items from the shop. The second explanation made the most sense. Who else would think to look for the lock box behind the paper products on top of the supply shelves?
Profound disappointment flooded her heart and mind. She had not only come to rely on Todd as a co-worker, she liked him.
The front door opened. She had left it unlocked when she arrived. Now what?
Bryony peaked out of the office to see Todd locking the front door from the inside. She set her posture, moved forward while readying herself for one of the toughest conversations of her life, and planted her feet behind the counter.
He turned and smiled. “Hey, Bryony. You should keep this locked when you’re alone in here. No telling who might come in.
Walking toward her with a little swagger in his step, he wore his skinny black jeans, leather jacket, and boots. Bryony maintained eye contact, her lips pressed together.
By the time he reached the counter, his smile had faded. He stopped a few feet away from her and arched one eyebrow. “What’s up?”
She could smell his soap, something herbal and so clean it heightened her sense of betrayal. How could he? She had been congratulating herself, at least in part, for his transformation. Maybe he would have been better off without it, without her, without responsibility. Turned out he couldn’t handle it, any of it.
Todd reached out and put his hand on her arm. “You look terrible. What happened? Did something happen to Lillian?”
Bryony moved away from him. “Did you close up last night?”
He drew his hand back and clasped it with his other hand. “Yeah, why?”
“The door was unlocked when I arrived. Stock is missing. The cash box is gone.”
“What?” Was that guilt or panic on his face? “I locked the door, Bryony. I remember locking the door.”
“Then how did somebody get in here?” Bryony hated how her voice sounded, hard, dead.
“How should I know?” His eyebrows knit together now, and his face reddened.
She had to cut to the chase before Lillian arrived. Bryony would do everything she could to help Todd, but he had to acknowledge either being irresponsible or committing theft. “Whatever happened, I will help you work it out,” she said, her voice softening a fraction of a decibel. “Tell me, Todd. Did you leave the door unlocked, or did you take the money and the new merchandise?”
“You think I stole that stuff?”
She forced herself to be calm. He would either admit to leaving the door unlocked or confess to stealing, show contrition, and return the goods and money. “You say you remember locking up, but when I arrived, the shop was unlocked, and we had been robbed.”
“So, you think I did it.”
“I think somebody did. Or you left the door unlocked. Which was it?” Focused on the only two possibilities that made sense, she needed to understand what he had done in order to help him.
He threw his hands up in the air. “That’s just great!”
Bryony froze. Something wasn’t right. He appeared anything but contrite.
“Screw you, Bryony. Screw you, and screw this place. I’m done.” Todd turned and stormed to the door. He struggled for a second to unlock the deadbolt before pulling the door open and walking out into the early morning darkness.
Lillian walked in behind him, her head turned, her arms full. “What’s wrong with Todd?” she asked as she unloaded bags onto the nearest table.
Bryony walked toward her. “Brace yourself. I have bad news.”
“What happened?” Lillian pulled off her gloves.
Bryony sighed hard. “When I arrived this morning, the door was unlocked. The cash box, holiday mugs, and thermoses were missing. When I asked Todd about it, he quit. Should we call the police?”
“I don’t think the police will be necessary, Bryony.”
“Good.” Bryony took a deep breath. “I’d much rather deal with this directly with Todd.”
“First, you’ll have to deal with me,” Lillian said. “I left the door unlocked this morning when I took the merchandise over to Berry’s Gifts. They’d had so many requests, I agreed to sell them over there, too.”
Bryony’s stomach clenched.
“And I moved the cash box to the bottom desk drawer after I replaced some petty cash I took out last week. I was in a hurry and didn’t want to get back up on the ladder. I planned to put the box back up on the shelf first thing this morning.”
“You did?” Bryony slumped into a chair.
“I did.”
Bryony blew out a long breath. “I really screwed up.”
“I take it Todd won’t be working today,” Lillian said.
“I think not.” Chances were, he wouldn’t be working today or any day after today. She didn’t blame him.
“You put on the coffee,” Lillian said, more Mom-voiced than ever before in their entire relationship. “I’ll start the bagels.”
“I have to call Todd first.” Bryony pulled out her cell phone. She had to at least try.
“He won’t answer,” Lillian said. “Teenagers don’t seem to know how to talk on the phone anymore. Text him. And don’t write a whole explanation. Just text, ‘So S-R-Y. I was W‑R‑N‑G.’”
“S-R-Y? W-R-N-G?” Bryony asked.
“When I text the grandkids’ babysitters, I take out the vowels and double letters. ‘I apologize’ should be conveyed in the first language of the one receiving the apology.”
“I should have started studying this when we hired him.”
“You should have investigated before jumping to conclusions.”
“Don’t rub it in.” What a royal mess she had managed to make.
“Go make it right,” Lillian said. “And don’t forget to start the coffee when you’re done texting him.”
Bryony texted Todd immediately. She thought about texting Cal, but she didn’t want to wreck the beginning of his Christmas vacation. Besides, Rachel might still be with him. If so, he would confide in her his great luck in dodging the small town bullet know as Bryony. The idea of them being together, talking about her, celebrating his escape, crushed her.
She flipped the coffee maker button to on.
Cal had said more than once he couldn’t forgive people who hurt his students. Bryony had never dreamed she would be one of the people on his list. Todd had been their initial reason for coming together. And now Todd would be the final blow to anything beyond a passing friendship. Cal would move back to Cleveland in June to be with Rachel. Bryony would open a pie shop, maybe, if Lillian would forgive her.
She checked her phone. Nothing back from Todd yet.
Maybe she should talk to Charity about her old job. People were not her strength. She would prefer to face down a long line of million dollar mistakes than to ever again be the reason for the look on Todd’s face when she had all but flat out accused him of theft or dereliction of duty.
For a brief moment, Bryony Green had found her place in the sun, but now she needed to retreat back to fluorescent lights and safe little spreadsheets. She’d never met a row of numbers she couldn’t whip into shape, and miscalculations were easily repaired because math errors weren’t devastated by her fallibility.
CAL CHOOSES WISELY THIS TIME
“Did you sleep okay?” Cal asked.
Rachel stood at the sink filling the electric tea pot. “I can sleep anywhere.”
“Thanks for last night.”
She turned around to offer a slightly sarcastic smile. “You’re welcome.”
“No, really,” Cal said as he stepped farther into the kitchen. “I am forever grateful for everything you’ve offered. Your understanding, your insight, not to mention how much you’ve helped my father.”
Turning away from him to shut off the faucet, Rachel shrugged her shoulders and said, “I knew you were too good to be true.”
“Now you’re making me feel really guilty.” Enervated by the previous night’s insomnia, Cal sat at the table and ran his fingers through his hair. He guessed she had not slept much either.
After the Henderson’s party, they had driven back to his house, both of them straining to have a congenial conversation. Finally, Rachel had broken through the pretense with a direct question about his interest in Bryony. She had seen the look on his face when he introduced them. A few well-worded questions had him confessing all. He had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Bryony Green.
Rachel had listened with compassion and understanding. She said she was happy to find out now, before something more serious started between Cal and herself. She said she didn’t want to be anybody’s second choice, and he shouldn’t settle for less than what he really wanted. Cal had expressed deep appreciation for her understanding. When she said she wanted to turn in for the night, he had offered her the bed, saying he could sleep on the couch, but she had insisted that the couch would be fine for her. She was used to napping on one at work during her breaks.
“You know,” Rachel said as she brought two mugs to the table. “I sensed you were backing off, and I should have been more thoughtful, but you’re such a keeper, Cal Forster.” A bit of vitality crept back into her voice.
He reached out and took her hand. “Thank you, Rachel. So are you.”
They worked together to prepare breakfast, and by the time they returned to the table, Rachel had completely recovered her usual joie de vivre. As they ate, they talked like old friends, compared notes about favorite sites in and around Cleveland, and discussed Cal’s father.
Cal Sr. had come around to resembling the man he had been after he stopped drinking and before he retired. He lived every day as if the world mattered to him and he to the world. Cal realized his father did not need his son to ease the disappointment in his life. Rachel and her gang of aides and nurses had done that. The relationships these women provided had saved him.
“Enough about him,” Rachel said as she sopped up the last of her egg with a bit of English muffin. “Let’s talk about you.”
“What about me?” Cal asked.
“What are you going to do about Bryony?”
“I’m not sure,” Cal answered. “She said she needed to focus on her own life. Basically, she indicated that I was a bit too much for her.”
Rachel laughed. “You’re too much for anybody, Cal, but worth the effort.” She stood and gathered their plates. “Besides, I saw the way Bryony looked at you.” She carried the dishes to the sink, calling over her shoulder, “Try again.”
“What about you?” Cal asked. Given the rapid shift in her mood and the content of her shared thoughts, he assumed he was safe in asking. “Any prospects out there?”
“Not really,” she answered.
“Have you tried a dating app? ‘Awesome widow seeks equally awesome life partner with whom to share life’s adventures.’”
“I don’t need awesome,” Rachel said. “I’d settle for a reliable boyfriend. Preferably someone under the age of seventy who does not currently require my professional services.”
Of course! Cal should have seen this all along. Rachel had never been meant for him. “Mind if I set you up with my friend, Rudy?” he asked.
Snorting a laugh, Rachel answered, “What have I got to lose?”
Thirty minutes later, they hugged in the driveway. Cal handed over a thermos of hot coffee, and Rachel left with a wave and no ill wishes. He felt nothing but relief that there was no mess to clean up there, not with Rachel, not in his own heart.
He only had the time it took to walk into the house, though, to be summoned to assist with someone else’s mess.
Todd called, his voice frantic.
They agreed to meet in the parking lot of a cafe on the edge of town.
Once there, Todd laid out the story of what had happened when he showed up for work, on time, at the coffee shop that morning. It didn’t take a shrink to help him reflect on how Bryony questioning him had reminded him of what had happened to his brother. He felt guilty, even though he was innocent. The young man had remarkable insight.
“I did not take the money or the merchandise,” he said. “And I locked the door when I left last night.”
Cal continued to ask questions to help him focus.
“If only I’d been less volatile,” Todd said. “Do employees ever recover from saying, ‘Screw you,’ to their bosses?”
“No worries, pal,” Cal said, and recited the many times he had been almost as blunt.
After another round of processing fear that his reaction had cost him his job, Todd decided on his own to return to BeanHereNow at closing time and discuss the situation with both Bryony and Lillian.
Before they parted, Todd turned his phone on, checked his texts, and found an apology from Bryony. She had sent it before Cal and Todd had started talking.
All shadows of remaining hopelessness disappeared from Todd’s face.
Cal offered to go to the coffee shop right away and smooth any remaining ruffled feathers related to Todd’s reactive behavior. Then, he sent him off with a hearty clap on the back. Todd grinned and loped off to his car.
Having given Todd a helping hand, Cal needed to do the same for himself.
The windows at BeanHereNow were steamed on the inside, and the tables half full of customers. Most were hunched over their phones or computers.
The interaction Cal was about to have with Bryony scared him. He stood on a precipice, ready to fall, hoping there would be no hard landing.
Bryony met him halfway into the customer seating area.
“Have you talked to Todd?” she asked, her voice low, urgent.
Cal took her elbow and led her to a little table off to the side, one they had used in the past.
“He’s fine. He’s embarrassed about his reaction,” Cal said.
“He has every right to be angry. I was wrong.” Bryony blushed but maintained eye contact. “I am so sorry, Cal. I let you both down.”
“I appreciate you acknowledging the importance of your position.” Cal put his hand over hers, and she didn’t pull away. “In the long run, this will be a great lesson for him.”
Bryony lowered her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re being so understanding about this. I was horrible to him.”
“You’ve been great for Todd, and he appreciates you. He wants to know if he still has a job.”
“Yes!” Her head flew up, and she locked eyes. “He wants to come back?”
“I told him to drive a hard bargain, to make you work hard for forgiveness. A raise might be in order.” None of that was true. He was trying to make her laugh.
Tears filled her eyes, and she looked down. “I’m sure we can arrange something.”
“Now.” Cal gave her hand a little squeeze. “Can we talk about us for a minute?
“Us?” Bryony looked up again.
“Bryony,” Cal began. “Todd didn’t steal anything, but you have.”
“I have?”
“You’ve stolen my heart, Bryony. I know you said you needed time to focus on yourself, but do you think you could let me do that with you?” He took his hand away from hers to search his pocket and pulled out the object that had been digging into his thigh for the past hour. He had found it in a dresser drawer at his father’s house last weekend. He held it out now, his high school class ring. “Will you go steady with me?”
She looked surprised, then perplexed. “What about Rachel?” she asked.
“I’m not in love with Rachel.” He could see she knew what he was saying.
Bryony took the ring and examined it. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she didn’t wipe them away. “It’s a little worn down,” she said.
“Like the man before you. Worn with history, worthy of a future, hoping you’ll let me wear on you a little longer.”
She slipped it on a finger many sizes too small. “I’ll have to get a chain for my neck.”
Cal smiled. “I’m so happy to know I’ll have a date for the prom.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Can we really go to the prom together?”
He hadn’t expected that. For a moment he saw the seventeen-year-old in her, and regret washed over him. What might have happened if they had met decades ago?
He embraced both of her hands and leaned forward. “We’ll make it the experience of a lifetime.”
SIX MONTHS LATER
Three scents would forever stay fixed in Bryony’s mind. The first, rain on warm cement. It swirled up from the sidewalk as she left her house at five-thirty a.m. on the third Saturday in June.
The second, buttery crust filled with cinnamon-spiced apples. The minute she stepped through the door of A L’il Coffee & Pie with Bry, the scent of tarts engulfed her. Todd met her at the door, his arms filled with roses.
“Aww,” Bryony said. “You didn’t have to bring flowers.”
“Sure I did,” Todd said. “Mom said roses are mandatory for every significant event.”
“Then split those up and put them into three vases because today is significant for you, too, young man. You’re a manager now!”
“The tarts come out in five!” Todd called over his shoulder as he carried the flowers to a table.
Lillian arrived five minutes later, and the three of them put the finishing touches on the expanded business. Family and a few others were invited to arrive an hour before the official grand opening. Bryony wanted everything to be perfect.
The contractors had done a tremendous job opening the common wall between the former BeanHereNow and the adjoining building. The order counter remained in its original location, and the combined business shared one expanded seating area that covered the fronts of both buildings. A commercial kitchen graced the area in back of the newer half.
