Town in a Blueberry Jam

“Ah, Candy,” he continued as they settled into chairs at one of the small round tables near his shop’s front window, “this is my favorite time of year. I love it so! Surrounded by all this freshness, all this goodness and healthiness! Blueberries straight from the fields, delivered right to my door just hours after harvest by a beautiful woman! It is like giving new paints to an artist or a new instrument to a musician. How could a baker ask for more?”

“Well, you know me-I love to keep my customers happy. Just let me know when you need more.” Candy paused and leaned forward a little. “By the way,” she continued conspiratorially, her voice dropping just a notch in volume, “I’m dying to ask you about the pageant on Saturday night. You must have been stunned when Mrs. Pruitt charged the judges like that and started yelling at you.”

At this sudden change in subject, Herr Georg’s expression became guarded, and he drew back in his chair. His gaze shifted back and forth. “Oh, that? Well, yes, yes, it was a very strange night, wasn’t it?” Absently he licked his lips. “I mean, that Vine woman winning? How odd that was. It surprised us all, I think. Very shocking.”

“Yes, it was, wasn’t it?” Suddenly enthralled, Candy shifted her chair a bit closer to him. “So tell me everything. What did you think about that cowgirl outfit of hers? Wasn’t that odd? And that poem? It certainly was creative, yes, but you couldn’t have given her very high marks for that dreadful performance, could you? So how did she win anyway?”

Herr Georg looked at her nervously. “Candy, meine liebchen, you should know I can’t talk about those things. I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“Just a hint. A little tidbit. Please? For your old friend Candy.” She made goo-goo eyes at him, egging him on.

Herr Georg hesitated for the longest time, glancing this way and that, then allowed himself a small smile as he leaned in close. “Well,” he said quietly, obviously unable to resist Candy’s charms, “I suppose it won’t hurt to talk about this just between the two of us. As long as the conversation goes no further than this table.”

Candy made a gesture of locking her lips with a key and tossing the key away.

Herr Georg laughed, then continued in a tone barely above a whisper. “Just as you say, I was horrified, simply horrified, when Mrs. Pruitt charged us like that! It was so unexpected and so frightening! Such fury from such a small, thin woman! I thought she was going to slay each of us right there!”

“I know! Wasn’t she wretched?”

“Shocking. Quite shocking-and most inappropriate,” Herr Georg agreed.

“I can’t believe she just flew off the handle like that. I mean, I was as surprised as anyone that Haley didn’t win. But I guess you were surprised about that too.”

“I, um, yes, ah, yes, yes, as I said before, of course I was.”

“And who can believe Sapphire Vine actually won? I was thinking about it this morning, and the only reason I can come up with-the only way she could have won-is if one of the judges marked the scoring form wrong, or something like that. You know, got the contestants mixed up and put the wrong scores in the wrong place. But that’s crazy, isn’t it? I mean, I can’t imagine that sort of thing happening. But it seems like the only explanation.”

“Hmm,” mused Herr Georg. “Do you really think so? It doesn’t seem possible, does it?”

“Well, no, I suppose not. I mean, these things are carefully monitored, right? It wouldn’t be possible for a judge to screw up like that, would it?”

“Oh no, of course not, of course not!” Herr Georg replied emphatically.

“And if one of the judges made a huge mistake like that and threw the vote to Sapphire, the rest of you would know about it, wouldn’t you?”

“Hmm.” Herr Georg shifted uneasily in his seat and tugged at the end of his white moustache. Clearly he was uncomfortable with this line of questioning. “Well, not necessarily,” he said cautiously. “I mean, we scored the contestants independently, and we didn’t review each other’s scores, so theoretically it’s possible, I suppose, that one of the judges could have been a little, um, mixed up, as you say. But it doesn’t seem likely, does it? Perhaps, as strange as it may sound, Ms. Vine really did win, fair and square. It is possible, I suppose. Don’t you think? Would you like some tea?”

“I’d love some but I can’t. I have to stop at the bank and post office, and then I’m off to meet Maggie for lunch.”

“Ah, yes, I suppose I must press on as well. Ray is due by at any moment. I should get ready for him.”

“Ray’s coming?” Candy rose and looked around. “Are you remodeling?”

“Putting in some shelves along the wall here.” The baker pointed to the far side of the room. “Expanding my offerings. I’ve decided to import German-made candies and cookies and sell them here in the store. Here, I’ll show you.”

He darted behind the counter and pulled a package from a large cardboard box. “You must try these. They are called Waffeletten. Wafer rolls dipped in chocolate. Straight from Germany. Absolutely delicious!”

He opened the bag and held it out to her. “Here, take one.”

“Herr Georg, I just can’t.” Candy patted her stomach. “I ate way too much this weekend. I’m going to be on a diet for the next month, at least.”

Georg nodded, closed up the bag, and passed it to her. “Take them with you then. Doc will enjoy them. Ah, here comes Ray now…”

Candy grabbed the bag from him, mumbled a quick “thank you,” and headed out the back door so she wouldn’t have to spend the next fifteen minutes making small talk with Ray.

The morning raced by, and before she knew it she was pulling up in front of the Stone & Milbury Insurance Agency, where Maggie worked as an office manager.

“We have to hurry,” Maggie said, grabbing her purse and dragging Candy out the front door with her. “I have to be back by one sharp.”

“Where are we going?”

“There’s that new cafe that just opened up on River Road.”

“Oh yeah. Melody’s, right?”

“I’ve heard good things about it. Let’s check it out.”

Melody’s Cafe was a soup, salad, and sandwich bistro with only eight or ten tables crammed into a small wood-floored space, but it was cool inside and tastefully decorated and smelled wonderful. And it was almost full. Candy and Maggie managed to snag the last open table in the back corner and settled gratefully into their cane chairs. Crisp white linen covered the tabletop, fresh flowers added an elegant touch, and fine china and fresh- baked rolls were placed in front of them the moment they sat down.

“Yummy,” Candy said as she and Maggie tore into the bread like wolves into a fresh kill. Their waitress was a pleasant young woman named Stephanie. Maggie ordered a teriyaki chicken salad, and though it seemed a bit decadent and she was seriously trying to cut back on her food intake, Candy opted for the lobster roll and chips. Both ordered a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay from Washington State, which was recommended by Stephanie.

“So,” Maggie said as she sipped her wine and nibbled at a fresh-baked roll oozing butter, “before we get distracted, you never told me how you did at the festival. Did you make out okay?”

“I had an amazing day. Made almost twelve hundred dollars.”

“Wow! I’m impressed.” Maggie patted her friend’s hand. “I’m so proud of you! You’re so resourceful.”

Candy sighed. “I need every penny. I just had to pay a killer property tax bill and make a quarterly payment to the IRS. It looks like Doc’s going to need some dental work. Registration on the Jeep is due next month-I just hope to God it doesn’t need any work to pass inspection. And I have to pay the harvest help. With all these bills I feel like I got the sword of Damocles hanging over my head.”

Maggie’s mouth twisted in thought. “Hmm. Damocles? He’s not that good-looking UPS driver, is he?”

They both had a good laugh as their food arrived. Candy nibbled at her lobster roll while Maggie speared a forkful of salad.

“So tell me,” Candy said between mouthfuls, “how is Amanda doing after her big night onstage?”

Maggie shrugged. “You know teenage girls. One minute she’s bouncing off the ceiling because she won second runner-up, and the next she’s down in the dumps because she lost to Sapphire Vine. It’s all hormones. An emotional roller-coaster. And having Cameron around so much doesn’t help.” She rolled her eyes.

“I talked to Herr Georg. You know, that thing we talked about.”