“You’re so smart when it comes to relationships now,” I teased, wiping the drying tears from my face. I sat up and kissed Milo’s cheek before sitting upright in my chair again. “I know you’re also right. I just don’t want to add to Elijah’s burdens.” I took a sip of my salted caramel coffee and a bite out of my muffin. I admit I felt better when the familiar, favorite tastes hit my tongue.
“Something going on with him?” Milo asked, furrowing his brow in worry.
I wouldn’t discuss Elijah’s past or his estranged relationship with his family. I knew my parents and brother were curious since the only family he ever talked about was his grandfather who left him the old truck he drove every day and the cabin in Tennessee that Elijah cherished. Therefore, I couldn’t mention the ever-increasing calls from an unknown caller since I suspected they were from a Markham family member. I was very tempted to answer his damn phone that morning, but it would’ve been an egregious breach of privacy.
“Earth to Mae,” Milo said, waving his hand in front of my face. I hadn’t realized I’d taken so long to answer him.
“Mostly it’s the case of the stolen chickens.”
Milo had just torn off a piece of my muffin and popped it into his mouth. It must’ve lodged in his throat because he started coughing and reaching for my coffee. Once he finally had himself under control, he said, “Excuse me? A case of stolen chickens? Like a box of frozen ones from the Sac-N-Save?”
“No, as in live chickens are being stolen from back yards in Blissville.”
“Wait, how many people living in town have chickens?”
I shrugged and snatched back my coffee for a drink. “I don’t know all the particulars, but Elijah mentioned it to me last night before bed. Raising chickens for eggs is a thing now.”
“Huh,” Milo said. “You ever feel like you’re never in the loop when it comes to important things? I mean, I know Martin Sowden likes black coffee with no sweetener and has a foot fetish according to Edna Browner. We have some kinky widows and widowers in this town.”
“Mr. Sowden and Mrs. Browner are a thing?”
“No, Mr. Sowden and Mrs. Ravenor are a thing. Mrs. Ravenor told her neighbor, Mrs. Browner, what Mr. Sowden was into after Mrs. Browner came right out and asked Mrs. Ravenor why Mr. Sowden was in her bedroom the previous evening.”
“She just told Mrs. Browner he has a foot fetish?” I asked.
“No,” Milo said calmly, but the wicked sparkle in his blue eyes let me know he was about to drop a delicious bomb of Blissville gossip. “According to Mrs. Browner, her exact words were, and I quote, ‘Well, Edna, if you must know, he was licking my toes.’ I guess there was a pregnant pause before Mrs. Browner asked her to close her bedroom blinds in the future.”
“Oh, I bet Mrs. Ravenor had a witty comeback for that too.”
“She told Mrs. Browner that she should close her own blinds if she didn’t like what she saw.”
Milo and I had a good laugh then thumb wrestled for the last bite of muffin. I won, of course, but I suspected he hadn’t put his full heart into beating me. “How am I just hearing about this with Mrs. Ravenor and Mrs. Browner?” I asked.
“I just learned about it today. The two ladies had a showdown just this morning. I was trying to show how quickly that kind of gossip spreads but not a peep about the residents’ stolen chickens. How long has this been going on?”
“I think he said a week.”
“A week?” Milo asked. “That’s equivalent to ten years in Blissville-gossip time.”
I snorted. “True. Anyway, I guess stolen chickens aren’t salacious enough.”
“Well, I’ll keep an eye out for chicken hawks or giant roosters running around saying, ‘Boy’s gotta mouth like a cannon, always shootin’ it off.’”
His Foghorn Leghorn impersonation made me giggle. “Let’s get back over to Books and Brew before our employees decide to kill us for leaving them alone during the morning rush.” We both rose to our feet and headed toward the door. I stopped Milo by touching his sleeve. “Thank you, Milo.”
“Always, Mae.”
Staying busy always made the day go by faster and kept my mind off sad things, like my ghost and the stolen chickens, and gross things, like Mr. Sowden licking Mrs. Ravenor’s toes. I had to convince myself that Mrs. Ravenor had only said that to get a rise out of Mrs. Browner so I wouldn’t blush, cringe, or hide the next time any of the them showed up in our stores.
Elijah sent me a text late morning to let me know we were having guests for dinner. He told me not to worry he’d grill out hot dogs and hamburgers. Who did he think he was living with? I replied that I had dinner under control. During my lunch break, I made a quick trip home to put a pork roast in the smoker out back. I decided crockpot macaroni and cheese was easy and would go perfectly with the roast. Luckily, I had everything I needed for it and coleslaw. I set the crockpot on high, whipped up a batch of coleslaw, and returned to my store.
Not long after I arrived, one of my favorite people showed up to do a bit of shopping for her first grandbaby. “Any news, Mama Richmond?” I asked.
“Not yet,” she replied, shaking her head. “I think Meredith is doing this on purpose because she knows how badly I want to get my hands on that baby.”
“Come now, Mama,” I teased.
“Okay, my baby girl is ready to welcome her baby girl into the world even more than I am.”
