Candy Crush by Tami Lund Page B

actually,” she said,
surprising herself because she really did want to hear about his
day, bad or not.
    “Well, that takes all the wind out of my
sails. And here I really was spoiling for a fight.” He stood up and
pulled his suit coat off the back of the chair. “Okay, come on,
let’s go eat and drink and I’ll tell you all about it.”
    They walked side by side to the pizza
parlor. Progress was slow because most businesses on Main Street
were just closing up shop, and they had to stop frequently to chat
with the various owners or managers. By the time they arrived at
the Pizza Parlor, Gabriella had a pretty good idea of why Brandon
had such a bad day. He held the door open and she walked inside,
with Butter on her leash. He then led her over to the same booth
they’d occupied two evenings prior. Gabriella noticed the place was
much busier than it had been on Tuesday.
    When they sat down and Brittney bounced up,
Brandon ordered a beer for himself and a glass of merlot for
Gabriella. She cocked an eyebrow but didn’t comment.
    “So are you having a bad because everyone is
upset about flowers?” she asked, after Brittney returned with their
drinks. Brandon ordered lasagna and bread sticks and told her one
portion would be large enough for them to share and take home for
lunch the next day.
    “Yes,” he answered and scowled. He took a
long pull from his beer and sighed. “I can only think of one other
thing that would be more relaxing than this, and I’m pretty sure
I’m SOL on that front, so beer it is.”
    A heavyset woman wearing black slacks and a
quilted jacket adorned with large, brightly colored flowers stopped
in front of their table. “Brandon, I missed the last DDA meeting,
but I just saw the minutes” –
    “Yes Margie, so did everyone else. And I’m
off the clock right now, so can we discuss this tomorrow morning?”
Brandon asked wearily.
    “You won’t be here tomorrow morning. You’re
going to Detroit.”
    “Margie, can’t you see I’m on a date? Is
this really the appropriate time?”
    Margie looked startled and focused on
Gabriella as if she was seeing her for the first time. “Oh, hello.
You’re the new candy store owner, right? We met at the Chamber
mixer. I own the consignment shop.”
    Gabriella nodded. “Nice to see you
again.”
    “You’re having another date?” Margie
inquired. She sounded perplexed.
    Gabriella furrowed her brow and wondered at
the woman’s tone.
    “Yes. At least I’m trying,” Brandon
snapped.
    Margie looked appalled. “Fine,” she said
stiffly. “I’ll put my concerns in an email and send it to you
tomorrow morning. I expect a timely reply.” She turned and walked
away.
    “Shit. I think we should get that order to
go. And we’ll have to go out the backdoor so I can snag a few beers
as well.”
    “First of all, why did you tell her we’re on
a date? We aren’t dating.”
    “Relax, Sweet Pea, I was just trying to get
rid of her.”
    Gabriella was only slightly mollified, but
she was more concerned about the flowers. “What happened to all the
flowers?”
    Brandon rubbed a hand over his face. “The
nursery we hired to plant them says there was a blight. Not their
fault. But if you drive around to all the other downtown areas
within thirty miles or so, their flowers look spectacular. I know,
because I’ve already done it.”
    Gabriella thought about the two large
flowerpots parked in front of her candy store, and the dead weeds
jutting out of them. Maybe they weren’t weeds after all. She
realized that every storefront on the street had one or two
oversized flowerpots next to the front door, and none of them had
live flowers. Hers she could understand, because no one had tended
to them for two years. The rest didn’t make sense.
    “And how is this your fault?”
    “It’s not necessarily my fault, but it is my
problem. My job is to ensure the main street merchants are happy,
and right now, they aren’t. Hence the shitty day.”
    “What