“So what do you say?” Dominick asked.
“Thank you?” I replied, turning back to the screen. “It’s a really generous offer.” I bit my lip, aware of how hesitant I sounded. “It’s just… you’re sure that’s not too much? It seems like a lot to ask of you.”
“You didn’t ask,” he pointed out. “I offered. And trust me, it’s no hassle at all. After a day of hitting brick walls at the office, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to actually fix something for once.”
“Sorry the office has been a pain.”
“I’m sure there are good candy days and bad ones, too,” he answered, picking the stress ball up again. “In the meanwhile, I also wanted you to know that I’m going to be bogged down with meetings for most of the weekend, but if you’re free Sunday, I’d love to have you over to my place.”
“Oh!” I said. “Sure! That sounds great.”
“Fantastic. And Xavier?”
“Yeah?”
He winked at the screen. “Make sure you come up with something fun to explore.”
Before I could say anything more, the screen blinked to black again. I realized I had been thumbing the business card so anxiously, it had started to deteriorate in my hands. When I glanced up, Markus was finishing running a measuring tape along the machine. He jotted down a few numbers on a scrap of paper, then turned back to the counter with the lollipop in his hand.
“On the house,” I said. “And thanks so much for helping take care of the machine!”
He nodded, then turned to take off. As he pushed through the door and the tiny bell rang, Rhonda came strolling in as well. She had the daily mail in her hands, and she had dyed her hair bright pink.
“Why do you look so frazzled?” she asked, tossing the mail on the counter.
“It’s too much to explain,” I said, sighing. “Nice hair color, though.”
She posed, throwing her braids back. “I thought I’d give you a run for your money. You can’t always be wearing the brightest outfit in the store.”
I glanced down at my bright yellow cardigan and the vintage Skittles T-shirt beneath it. “I’m comfortable calling it a tie for today. What do you think?”
“Fair as always, boss,” she joked, stepping behind the counter. “Anyway, I think I’m a little late. Did you want to take a break? I can hold things down for a bit.”
I hadn’t actually planned on leaving the store that day, but as soon as she mentioned it, I realized how good of an idea that actually was. After all, Dominick had asked me to take care of something for him, and I had no intention of disappointing him.
“Sure,” I said, stepping around the counter and grabbing my treat for the day on the way. I tore up the small packet of sour gumdrops, then fished out a purple one. “I should be back soon. Thanks, Rhonda!”
There was a chill in the air as I hurried down the sidewalk to Georgia’s store. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that the garden was thinning out as the summer died down. Still, the seating in front of the café was filled, and the streets were busy for a weekday. Even if the neighborhood was changing, it looked as friendly and active as ever.
I pushed into Georgia’s store and scanned the shop for her face. Unlike my shop, hers was extremely well organized, with clear signage hanging above each aisle and just the right amount of merchandise on the shelves. An employee was helping a man with silver hair fit a new pair of ice skates, and some soft rock music was humming through the speakers.
“I told you,” Georgia said from behind the counter, pulling my attention her way. “There’s no room to store the Zing Machine here.”
“Actually,” I said, spinning on my heel, “I’ve already taken care of that problem.”
Georgia raised an eyebrow my way. She was wearing a T-shirt with the store’s logo on it and pricing a few baseball gloves. “You finally cave and bring it to your house? I didn’t even see the delivery guys take it away.”
“Not quite,” I answered, holding out the little plastic bag of gumdrops for her. “Dominick is arranging to have it moved to his grandpa’s place outside of the city.”
“Dominick is storing it for you? Moving a little fast, don’t you think?”
I did think, in fact. But things had been going so nicely with him, I didn’t really want to jinx it. “I’m not worried. There’s a number I can call to have it delivered wherever I want, once I figure out a space.”
Georgia shrugged. “Far be it from me to stand in the way of… whatever it is you two are doing.”
“Dating?” I ask meekly.
“Something like it, anyway,” she teased. “At least one of us is solving our problems.” She stuck a price tag on another glove, then tossed it into a box on the ground. “It turns out that buying a bar is not as easy as you would think.”
