A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) (13 page)

As a nice change of pace, the next day I
managed to prepare the classroom well before my students showed up
for their second session learning how to hand-mill their own soaps.
Though it was great having the back parking area again, there was
still something a lot more serious hanging over my head at the
moment than where to stow the Miata. Molly honestly considered me
one of her chief suspects in

Earnest Joy’s murder, and I was going to have
to do something about that, and soon.

I was just coming out of the classroom when I
bumped into Diana from the bookstore again. “Good morning,” I said.
“Did you do something different with your hair?”

“
I’m trying out a new
style,” she said as she tilted her head to the side. “What do you
think?”

I nodded. “Well, if my vote counts, I like
it.”

I saw dimples I’d missed before as she
smiled. “It counts a lot. Thanks. Ben, I’m really looking forward
to today’s class.”

“
It appears that the
soapmaking bug has bitten you.”

She smiled. “I’ve always loved crafting, and
it’s a real added bonus when I can use what I make. I can’t wait to
see how my efforts on Friday turned out.”

I looked around, but no one else was there
yet. “Why don’t we check now?”

“
Really? That would be
great.”

I led her back into the classroom, then shut
the door so none of my other students saw that I was already there.
I had no interest in holding court before the session, as I’d done
a few times in the past.

I found Diana’s name on a mold, then tried to
slide her soap out of the cylinder. It wouldn’t budge.

“
Did I do something wrong?”
she asked, concern thick in her voice.

“
Not necessarily. Sometimes
the soap’s a little finicky about coming out. Let’s try something.”
I popped the mold in a mini freezer tucked under one of the
cabinets and said, “Let’s give it a few minutes and then we’ll try
again.”

“
I figured you’d run hot
water over it,” she said.

“
We don’t want to dilute
your pretty soap. So how’s the book business?”

She smiled. “It’s good, but sometimes it’s
nice to get away. I imagine you feel the same way working here all
the time, don’t you?”

“
Absolutely,” I agreed.
“Sometimes I wonder if we own the business or the business owns
us.”

“
Exactly. It’s nice to have
a conversation about running a business with someone who knows what
I’m talking about.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall and said,
“Let’s check that mold.”

I retrieved it from the freezer, and this
time the soap slid right out onto my hand.

She took the oatmeal-toned soap log and
admired it for a second. “That’s really neat. Can I use it right
away?”

“
We’ll go over this in
class, but you need to cut it into disks, then cure it on a drying
rack. Three weeks is ideal, but you can bump it up a little if
you’re in a rush.”

“
Wow, I didn’t have any idea
it took that long,” she said as the classroom door opened and Cindy
walked in.

My youngest sister said, “Ben, there’s ...
oops, sorry, I should have knocked.”

Before she could close the door again, I
said, “Cindy, this is Diana. I’m sure you saw her in class on
Friday. She’s one of our students, and she owns that cool bookstore
I was telling you about the other day.”

Cindy smiled at her, then said, “It’s nice to
meet you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“
You weren’t,” I protested.
“What’s going on?”

“
There’s a phone call for
you, Ben.”

I turned to Diana. “I’d better take
this.”

“
Go right ahead. Do you mind
if I stay in here until class gets started?”

“
Be my guest,” I said. “I
shouldn’t be long.”

When Cindy and I were out in the boutique, I
said, “Don’t say a word. I was just letting her see her soap.”

“
Benjamin Perkins, I wasn’t
going to say a thing.” I didn’t believe her for a second, so I
wasn’t surprised when she added, “Is she doing something different
with her hair? I could swear I smelled perfume, too. Obsession, I
think it’s called.”

I shook my head. “If she’s wearing something,
I missed it. As for her hair, she wanted to try something new. Now
who’s on the phone?”

Cindy smiled. “I don’t have a clue. They
asked for you, and I’m not the nosy type.”

“
Of course not,” I said,
shaking my head. I picked up the phone and introduced
myself.

A woman’s voice said, “Mr. Perkins, this is
Trudy Lowery, and I’ve got some delightful news for you. I’m happy
to inform you that you’ve won a prize at the raffle held at the
Fair on the Square this past weekend.”

“
Great, I bet it’s something
I really need. It’s a pedicure, isn’t it?”

She hesitated, obviously expecting a little
more excitement than I’d been able to muster. After a slight pause,
she said, “No, I’m sorry, that’s not what you won at all. If that’s
what you were hoping for, perhaps you could trade prizes with the
woman who won the beauty treatment.”

“
No thanks. I’m actually
kind of happy I won the stuffed armadillo instead.” I don’t know
why I’d said it even as I did, but for some odd reason, my earlier
conversation with Diana had lightened my mood enough to be playful
with this stranger.

I could hear her riffling through some pages
when she finally said, “Mr. Perkins, we didn’t raffle an armadillo
this year. In fact, to my knowledge, we never have.”

“
Then I don’t have much
chance of winning it, do I?”

That seemed to confuse her even more. “This
is Benjamin Perkins, isn’t it?”

“
Yes, ma’am, it
is.”

After another hesitation, she asked, “And you
did enter a raffle on Saturday?”

This had gone on long enough. “I entered one
ticket in each of the pickle jars, but to be honest with you, I
didn’t even look at the prizes you were giving away. I’m sorry for
the confusion. So what did I win?”

With new energy in her voice, she said,
“You’ve been chosen to receive a complimentary dinner for two at
The Lakefront Inn.”

Wonderful. The food was excellent there, and
the ambiance was the best there was in Harper’s Landing.
Unfortunately, it was also the place Kelly and I had gone on our
first date.

“
That’s fine,” I said, not
able to hide my disappointment.

The woman said, “Honestly, it’s quite nice.
My husband took me there on our anniversary.”

“
Fine. Okay, thanks for
calling.”

I was about to hang up when she said, “Mr.
Perkins? I’m afraid there’s a stipulation to your prize.”

“
What’s that?” I
asked.

She hemmed and hawed, then finally admitted,
“The dinner’s for tonight. I’m sorry about the short notice, but it
is a stipulation for the prize.”

“
Of course it is,” I said a
little louder than I should have. Kelly wasn’t an option for a
dinner date anymore, and neither was Molly. I wasn’t about to take
one of my sisters or my mother. Maybe I’d give the whole thing to
Bob. His wife deserved a nice meal out, and they could celebrate
their wonderful news in style. “Do I need a coupon or
anything?”

“
No, just show your driver’s
license to the maitre d’ and you’re set.”

“
Do you mean I can’t give it
to someone else?” I asked.

She hesitated, then said, “I’m sorry, but
it’s nontransferable. You’ll have a delightful time, I’m sure of
it.”

“
Dinner for one at a fancy
restaurant? What’s not to like?”

She laughed. “Didn’t I say? It’s a meal for
two, so feel free to bring a date.”

“
If I can scare one up, I
will.” I hung up, wondering what I was going to do. There was no
way I was passing up a free meal at The Lakefront. Though Kelly had
insisted on paying during our date, I’d left the tip and it had
still put a dent in my weekly budget. It looked like I was going to
be taking Mom after all when Diana walked up. “Ben, I have a
question for you.”

Should I ask her to join me? Why not? “Okay,
but I want to ask you something first. How would you like to have
dinner with me tonight at The Lakefront Inn?”

“
I’d love to,” she said
before I could barely get the words out of my mouth.

I quickly added, “I just won a free dinner
from the raffle Saturday, and I have to use it tonight or lose
it.”

Diana frowned. “I must admit, I’ve had more
romantic propositions in my life. You are asking me out on a date,
aren’t you?”

Was I? Kelly had broken up with me, and Molly
would probably never be any more than a great friend. So why
shouldn’t I start dating again? I’d felt a spark with Diana from
the first time we’d met.

I must have taken too long to answer. She
said softly, “Ben, if you’ve changed your mind about asking me,
that’s fine. Just don’t leave me up in the air like this,
okay?”

I smiled at her and took her hands in mine.
“I’m sorry. I’m just a little out of sorts today. Can I try it
again?”

That brought her smile back. “Absolutely.”
She made no move to pull her hands away from mine.

“
Diana, would you like to go
out with me tonight on a date to The Lakefront Inn?”

She pretended to think about it, started to
shake her head, then began to laugh. “That’s much better. Yes, I’d
love to go out with you tonight.”

Her enthusiasm wiped away my last doubt.
“Then it’s a date. You won’t have any problem getting away from the
bookstore, will you?”

Diana smiled. “For dinner with you at The
Lakefront, I’d close my doors if I had to. I can’t wait.”

“
It sounds like fun,” I
agreed.

Some of the members of my class were milling
about the shop, and I saw that it was five minutes until we needed
to get started. I caught Cindy’s smile and realized she’d witnessed
my entire bungling attempt to ask Diana out. I figured I might as
well take the abuse from her up front, so I said, “Would you excuse
me for a minute?”

Diana nodded happily, and I walked over to my
sister. “Go ahead, get it out of your system.”

Cindy tried to look innocent, but it was
beyond her range as an actress. “Whatever do you mean?”

“
You heard me foul that up.
Blast away.”

Cindy shook her head. “I’d be the first to
admit that you used a technique I’ve never seen before, but she
said yes, so I figure that’s a success, don’t you?”

“
That’s it? That’s the best
you can do?” I knew my family too well to think I was going to get
off that easily.

Cindy said, “Ben, I think it’s wonderful.
From what I’ve heard about Diana around town, I think she’s
actually a better fit for you than Kelly ever was.”

I didn’t even know where to start in replying
to that, so I just shook my head and walked away. Before I could
get to the classroom door, I heard Cindy talking to Kate and
Louisa. “You all are not going to believe what our big brother just
did.”

They were both listening raptly when I
announced that class would begin in one minute. That broke up their
chat as effectively as a bucket of cold water, since Cindy was
assisting me.

I was walking to the front of the classroom
when Cindy called out, “Hang on a second, Ben. You’ve got another
phone call.”

“
Take a message and I’ll
call them back,” I said. “I’m just getting ready to get
started.”

“
It’s Grandpa,” she said.
“From the sound of his voice, you need to talk to him.”

I walked back to the counter and said, “Fine,
I’ll talk to him, but that means you have to start teaching the
class by yourself until I’m through.”

“
No way,” she said. “That
wasn’t part of our deal.”

“
Sorry, but you have to do
it.” I looked around and saw that Louisa and Kate were both waiting
on customers. “It shouldn’t be that bad. I shouldn’t be
long.”

She reluctantly agreed, then said, “What
should I do?”

“
Help them get their soaps
out of the molds, teach them how to cut and cure them. I should be
back before you’re finished.”

“
And what if you’re not?”
she asked. There was a real look of terror on her face.

“
Listen to me, Cindy. You
are a wonderful soapmaker, and you have it in you to be an
excellent teacher. Trust your instincts. Show them some of the
blends you’ve made in the past. They want to learn, and they’re
eager for you to teach them.”

She hesitated. “But I could never do what you
do.”

“
And you shouldn’t. Find
your own style. Remember, I believe in you. Now from what you said,
I’ve got to take this call. Go on in there. Your class is waiting
for you.”

I walked behind the desk, but I didn’t pick
the telephone up until I watched Cindy walk inside. It was a trial
by fire, and not one that I had arranged for her, but I knew if she
could get through the first two minutes, she’d be fine. Paulus was
just going to have to wait. I counted to 120, then I walked over
and cracked open the door.

Cindy was showing Herbert Wilson how to free
his soap, and Constance was adding her own direction. My littlest
sister turned to her and said, “Constance, it looks like Myra’s
having a little trouble in back. Could you be a sweetheart and help
her?”

Constance nodded vigorously. “I’d be
delighted.” After she was gone, I saw Herbert wink at Cindy and I
knew my sister had crossed that particular hurdle.