“Tell me about it. At happy hour last week, she asked me if I liked my martinis dirty or neat,” she says with a shake of her head.
My eyes widen. “What?”
Cam waves me off as she froths milk. “She heard her mom’s fellow teachers discussing it. That kid is like a sponge.”
I relax a little. She is growing up too fast, and I’m determined to make her spend time being a kid this summer.
“Maybe I shouldn’t invite her friends on any outings if they are all like that,” I huff.
Cam laughs as she passes me a coffee tray with my drinks.
“Good luck with that one,” she says as I tap my credit card on her card reader.
I grab the bag of muffins and the drink tray and head back across the street. I look over to find Hutch on the bench at the park that our street dead-ends into.
I turn and walk over to him.
“You’re out here early,” I state as I nod to the flowers that have magically appeared on the bench once again. It’s the biggest mystery of Hearts Lane. For as long as anyone can remember, flowers appear with a card every morning. It almost always says the same thing and is always signed by the Guardian of Hearts Lane Park.
He holds up his phone, and I watch a video he has playing. The screen shows this bench. The flowers aren’t there, then a breeze blows a branch in front of the camera, and once the leaves are cleared from the view, the flowers are there.
“It’s like this every time. Leaves obstruct my view, and then, bam, flowers,” Hutch grumbles.
“Did you try moving the camera?” I ask.
He nods. “Same thing happens.”
“Maybe it’s a ghost,” I tease.
He glares up at me. Hutch isn’t just my friend and neighbor, he’s our resident mystery detective when it comes to these magically appearing flowers. He has backed off slightly since he started dating Jocelyn, who works in the bookstore beneath our apartments.
“Any luck visiting flower shops?” I ask. Hutch has made it his mission to go to every flower shop in the metro area to see if he can find out who supplies the flowers. He’s already visited all the ones near us.
He shakes his head. “Last week, I went to some across town. Whittaker’s flowers, which was closed, so I’ll have to go back another time. Although it’s so far away, it’s likely not the one. And then I went to The Feral Florist.” He holds up his finger, and I see a scratch. “I managed to get scratched by the owner’s cat but confirmed it definitely wasn’t that shop. The owner only delivers in a ten-block radius.”
“Well, good luck. I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. I’m off to babysit Ava,” I say.
Hutch laughs. “Good luck with that.”
“Thanks, fucker,” I groan as I leave with my breakfast treats in hand and head into our building.
I juggle the drinks and muffins as I knock on the door. It opens mid-knock, and I look down to find Ava standing there.
“Did you get me a sparkly muffin?” she asks excitedly when she sees the bag.
I nod.
Carly pokes her head out from the hallway. “I’ll be there in a minute. You know, you can just come in, right?”
This has been our debate for the better part of three years. She wants me to just come in, and I can’t do it. I feel like I’m invading her privacy.
“Breakfast?” I say, ignoring her comment, as this is our normal morning banter.
“Yes! You’re a godsend,” she says as she walks over and grabs her coffee.
“Mom! Unca Bray got me a sparkly muffin!” Ava says with all the excitement of a small child who has had too much sugar. I can’t help but smile because I love her nickname for me.
Carly smiles. “Well, Unca Bray is off to a great start. What else do you have planned?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
