CHAPTER 16
I WAS GLAD TO HAVE SUNDAY MORNING OFF. I’D certainly packed a lot into my Saturday. I’d gone from the charade at the production office to the square dance and ice-cream social with no time to catch my breath. But a good night’s sleep had done wonders. The two dogs and two cats trailed me across the house. I was surprised at the scent of brewing coffee and to find Barry working on the shelving unit. He looked up from his work when I stuck my head in. Instinctively, I felt my hair and checked my outfit. The hair felt like a mess, but the gray knit pajama pants and the long rose-colored tee shirt were fine.
“I hope I didn’t wake you. I was just hand sanding,” he said, putting down the sand paper and coming to join me. He laughed at the parade behind me. I opened the door in the kitchen and the menagerie took off outside.
“I thought we could spend the day together,” he said.
“Can’t do it. I have to work this afternoon.” With all the time I’d been away from the bookstore, I’d fallen behind in the final prep for the chocolate event. Sunday’s were always pretty peaceful, and I was planning to get caught up.
The coffee finished brewing and I poured us each a cup and we took it to the built-in table. Barry seemed disappointed, but recovered. “You don’t have to be there until late afternoon, right?” I nodded. “No problem then. We can do what I planned, just end it a little early.” He told me to finish my coffee and get dressed, so we could get going. He wouldn’t give details.
My hair was still wet when we left. And he still wasn’t telling where we were going as he backed the Tahoe out of my driveway. He headed north on Corbin Avenue. I thought at first he might be heading to Porter Ranch, but then he got on the 118, heading west. By the time we were passing through the barren rocky mountains in Santa Susana Pass, I knew where we were headed even before I saw the Simi Valley sign.
Our first stop was the new outdoor mall, where we had brunch at a restaurant with a patio. I had to admit it was very pleasant. Though it seemed Barry was trying too hard and kept pointing out all the shopping options.
“Okay, I agree, it is a very nice mall,” I said. “And your plan has us looking at a condo after we eat, right?”
He stopped with the sales pitch. “Sorry for tricking you, but I knew if I asked if you wanted to go, you’d never say yes. All I ask is that you look at the development and give the place a fair chance.”
“Sure,” I said. We weren’t really that far away, but it looked foreign. This valley was much smaller and the mountains surrounding it were drier looking and more barren. I missed the green of the Santa Monicas. The whole area seemed rawer, with smaller trees than the San Fernando Valley.
The condo was in what they called a gated community, which meant it was surrounded by a fence. Inside, there were streets with cute-sounding names and different types of dwellings that had the same kind of architectural design. People were already living there, but a lot of it still seemed vacant. Someday I was sure the little slips of trees along the streets would be tall and shading, but for now, the light was blinding.
There was a grassy area in the middle of the community with swimming pools, a playground and a clubhouse that featured a restaurant, a small theater and rooms for different activities. “It’s got everything,” Barry said brightly. He had his arm around me in an affectionate manner. “If there isn’t a crochet group already, you could start one.”
Finally we looked at the town house he had his eye on. Inside, it smelled of new carpet and plasterboard. We walked through the living room, the deluxe kitchen and the eating area attached to a small den. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms and two baths. Barry pulled me inside the master bedroom and showed me the view of the mountains.
“This could be our place. We could fix it up just the way we want it. Think about all the memories we could make.” I knew he really wanted me to like the place. It was nice, but he was just moving too fast.
“Have you talked to Jeffrey about the condo?” I said, moving on to look in the room Barry said would be his.
“Not yet. I wanted your okay first. But I checked it out for him. The schools are nearby and they have a drama club,” Barry said. Barry was less than thrilled with his son’s aspirations to be an actor, so if he was finding out about the drama club, he was pulling out all the stops.
“What about Jeffrey’s girlfriend?” I asked, and Barry threw up his hands.
“He went on one date,” he said.
“That you know of. You’re gone a lot.”
“He’ll adjust. I’m sure there are plenty of girls around here.” The saleswoman had left us alone to discuss. “So, what do you think?” Barry said as we headed back downstairs.
“I don’t know,” I said with a noncommittal shrug. Barry’s face fell and suddenly I remembered what Dinah had said. “Did you put a deposit on this condo?”
“Of course I didn’t,” he said. We walked outside and stopped on the perfect little street while he tried to qualify me. Was it the particular condo, the development or where it was located that was a problem?
“It’s just not a good time to make such a big change,” I said. “Samuel is still living at my place. And I’m so close to Shedd and Royal and my friends.” He looked so disappointed that I felt terrible. I hugged him to try to smooth things over and then said I’d think about it.
He knew better than to keep talking up the place on the way back. I knew he was really trying to win me over when he didn’t even object to the line of conversation when I asked him if he thought Bob could be a murderer.
“Babe, anybody could be a murderer. But Bob—the big question I’d ask is why.”
Barry said he wanted to finish sanding the unit when we got back to my place. I just picked up my car and went to the bookstore.
As expected, it was quiet. The vendors who’d agreed to take part had left information on what they were going to offer and what they were going to need. We were certainly going to have a variety of chocolate things. Luxe, the lifestyle store where my fellow Hooker Sheila worked, was providing chocolate tea. Caitlin’s Cupcakes was bringing in vampire cupcakes, also called red devil’s food. Trader Joe’s was offering a tasting of single-origin dark chocolate. They all just needed display space. Only Alain Des Plaines needed access to an outlet for his hot plate.
I went to check on the signs around the store. “I can’t believe it,” I said out loud. The graffiti from before was back. I wiped it off again and went to the kids’ area to talk to Adele.
She was sitting at one of the tiny tables crocheting a flower to put on the purse she’d made using Rhoda’s impatient crochet method.
“Adele, the kids were at it again. I found scribbles on the signs.”
“Pink, I handle story time. I’m not the bookstore police. I don’t know what the kids do when they’re not in here.” She gestured around her area. “As you can see, nobody did anything here.” She was right. The only thing that seemed out of place was some red thing that looked like a strawberry sitting on the table. I picked it up and asked her what it was.
“I’m supposed to wear it when I read the Strawberry Patch books. The publisher sent it, but I don’t know. I think it’s a little too much.” She finished the flower and held it against the cream-colored purse. “Wait. It gets better. I’m going to put this in the middle of the flower. She reached in her pocket and emptied her hand on the table. A pink pearl rolled toward me and a small red tube hit the table. I grabbed the pearl just before it fell off. Adele picked up the red thing.
“I didn’t mean to grab this, but as long as I did, you’ve got to see it,” Adele said, pressing something on it and pointing it at the table. A heart with the word
She picked up the pearl and set it in the middle of the flower. With the flower and the pearl, the purse went from ordinary to adorable. It was all in the finishing touches.
I went back to the main part of the bookstore, and a few minutes later, Adele came out and said she was leaving. It looked like it was just going to be me and our cashier, Rayaad, along with the few customers wandering the store. Even the cafe was slow. Bob was at his computer, probably cooking up an alien battle.
I was surprised when CeeCee and Nell came in the door. Nell pointed toward the back and said she was
