Town in a Lobster Stew

He ran a hand across his rugged face as his gaze returned to the glowing screen in front of him. “It’s coming. The busy season’s upon us.”

“It sure is.” She tapped the doorway with her hand. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.”

She had just started down the hall when she heard Ben call after her, “Hey, are we still on for Friday night?”

She stopped, retraced her steps, and popped her head back into his office. “We are, as long as it’s something a little more upscale than Duffy’s Main Street Diner, please.”

He grinned at her, but she saw a tiredness around his eyes. “I’ve heard there’s a new Italian place up on Route 1. They actually have tablecloths. And the antipasto’s supposed to be pretty good too. I thought we might try it.”

“Mmm, I love Italian. Sounds good to me.”

“Who knows,” Ben said as his fingers starting moving over the keyboard again, “I might even spring for a bottle of Chianti. Maybe even two.”

Candy laughed. “Mr. Moneybags, huh? Okay, you’re on.”

As she started off again, her smile lingered. After they met last summer, it had taken Ben nearly six months to ask her out. Early on, they had chatted over coffee, rubbed elbows in the office, and occasionally grabbed lunch together, but nothing more than that. Ben had always maintained a respectful professional distance.

Candy didn’t mind that he took his time. She had simply enjoyed having someone else her age, and single like her, to talk to. But eventually his tone had changed. He became more playful, more willing to joke with her, and as he had lightened up she had sensed his interest in her.

She had expected him to ask her out on a date around Christmas or New Year’s, but he waited until Valentine’s Day. They had a wonderful dinner together that night, and had been going out together ever since, though usually just a few times a month, due to their busy schedules and all.

As they started dating, she began to find out more about him. After graduating from Boston University with a degree in journalism, Ben started working for a newsweekly and spent most of the next decade and a half overseas, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, but also in Europe and Asia, traveling from one assignment — and one conflict — to another. He had been married twice, but both had been brief — three years to a British woman whom he’d met in Africa, less than eighteen months to an American journalist based out of Spain. He had no children. Coming back to the United States, he had sought a less stressful job, one where he could settle in for a while and focus on local news. A college friend of his, whose father owned a few weeklies in New England, suggested the job at the Cape Crier. After visiting the town and giving it some thought, he had taken the job, expecting to stay a year or two. He was now in his fourth year as editor.

He was, in many ways, a unique type of a person, Candy thought as she walked along the dark hallway toward her office. Perhaps that’s why he fit in so well here in Cape Willington, where everyone was a little different. Educated and well traveled, he was also essentially a loner, who preferred to live alone, fish alone, hike alone, and work alone. He had varied interests — William Faulkner was an idol of his, as were Ian Fleming and Max Ernst, the British surrealist. He liked to listen to Texas blues music and watch college football, and he loved English soccer. Manchester United was his team. He apparently knew how to play cricket, though Candy had never witnessed him doing so. But he had talked about it a few times over dinner, trying to explain the complex rules of the game to her. She had always found it too confusing, but she still liked listening to him explain it. He had a few close friends who called or visited him from time to time — mostly college buddies and colleagues from his years overseas. But he hadn’t sought out many friends here in Cape — he simply didn’t seem to need them. Candy often spotted him alone, sitting at the back of some coffee shop or café along Ocean Avenue or Main Street, eating a pastrami on rye or sipping at a cup of coffee while reading the Columbia Journalism Review or Sports Illustrated.

Thinking through it all, Candy had a hard time finding much common ground between the two of them. Was he the right fit for her? It was a question she’d asked herself several times over the past few months. But usually, in the end, she decided she was overthinking the whole thing. Better, she decided, to just take it a day at a time and see what developed. In the meantime, Ben was a good guy to hang out with, and they had fun together.

The fact that she was dating again especially pleased her father, Doc, who worried endlessly about his daughter’s happiness. And it gave Candy something to talk about with her friend Maggie.

So, at least for the moment, it was a comfortable relationship, for both her and Ben.

She hurried past the offices of Judy Crockett, the newspaper’s fortyish part-time sales rep, who floated through the day in a constant state of giggly lightheartedness until she picked up the phone and dialed a client, at which point her steely core of arm-twisting resolve kicked in; and Betty Lynn Spar, the great-granddaughter of a sea captain, who took her name and ancestry seriously. Her shouts of “Ahoy!” and “Full steam ahead!” could be heard periodically throughout the day as she scurried about the office handling phone calls and mail, running errands, brewing coffee, greeting visitors, keeping track of ad accounts and payroll, and generally making sure everything was, according to Betty Lynn, “shipshape.”

As Candy passed by the office of Jesse Kidder, the paper’s rail-thin, shaggy-haired, lip-pierced graphic designer and on-call photographer, she paused to stick her head in the door.

“Hi, Jesse. Hey, are you covering the cook-off on Saturday? I’m just wondering if I should take a camera with me or if you’ll be there to save the world from my horrible photography.” As she spoke, she glanced over Jesse’s shoulder at his computer screen, where he was working on a mock-up of the upcoming issue’s front page.

Jesse swiveled to face her, running a hand over his stubbly face. He smiled indulgently. “Your photos aren’t that bad, Candy. You just need to work on your composition. And your light exposure. And your focus. And your depth of field. And your resolution.” He paused, considering what he’d just said. “On second thought, I guess I’d better take those shots. What time do you want me there?”

“You’re a sweetheart! Thanks so much. I’m showing up about nine, but if you’re there by ten or so that should be good. We can get some shots of the contestants preparing their stews, and maybe some close-ups of the ingredients — you know the type of thing I’m looking for.”

He nodded. “I’ll get some crowd shots too — maybe a photo of a cute little girl eating a bowl of lobster stew — you know, human interest stuff.”

“That sounds great. Oh, and you should probably shoot the judges and stay for the awards ceremony if you can, so you can get a few pix of the winner.”

“You got it, chief. What time does that take place again?”

“The judging starts at noon, and it should all be over by one or so. After that, you’re done. I might even throw in a little free food. Deal?”

“Sounds like an offer I can’t refuse. See you there.”

Candy’s office was next to Jesse’s. She blew out a breath of air as she sank into her desk chair and, with mild trepidation, scanned the messages Betty Lynn had left her, all decorated with little drawings of anchors, lighthouses, and life preservers.

Nothing negative. Good.

Mostly she saw the typical things — calls from a local historian, Julius Seabury, who was giving a presentation at the library the following week, and from a woman named Cassandra Rockwell, who had just opened a new consignment shop on Main Street. Margaritte Jordan called about a scrapbooking group she was organizing. A PR person from one of the coastal resorts had contacted Candy about a wellness weekend she was promoting. Finn Woodbury, one of Doc’s buddies, had called about the upcoming auditions for the Cape Summer Theater’s annual summer musical, which would be Brigadoon this year.

The last message was from Oliver LaForce, the proprietor of the Lightkeeper’s Inn. Candy had met Oliver several times over the past few months. He was a humorless, fastidious man who ran the inn with cold precision. The message, as expected, was businesslike and to the point: Please call to confirm your attendance on Saturday. A press badge will be waiting for you. I have some news as well. We’ll discuss at the event.

News? That piqued Candy’s interest. Could it have anything to do with the rumors she’d heard of a guest judge?

She thought about picking up the phone and calling Oliver right then to find out what was going on. But she quickly decided to put it off until later.