Body Bags & Blarney (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

On her way home from the
bakery, Vivienne drove the opposite of her usual travel route on Main Street in
order to stop at Carriage House Antiques. She pulled her red Toyota Matrix into
one of the many open parking spots in front of the historic old building and
her eyes darted to the simple ‘Going Out of Business’ sign that was placed in
the front display window along with some antique pitcher and bowl sets. She
hurried into the warmly-lit business that Nathaniel and Tristan had worked so
hard to keep open, brushing away some of the lake-effect snowflakes that
swirled in the early evening air and stuck to her hair.

“Vivienne.” Nathaniel
smiled as the bell over the front door chimed.

“You can’t close up shop.”
Vivienne closed the door behind her and stomped her snow boots on the thick
welcome mat. “Main Street needs you guys here.”

Nathaniel emerged from
behind the glass display case of costume jewelry that he had been marking down
with sale prices. ”Their eagerness to purchase our goods say otherwise.”

Vivienne unzipped her
jacket and crossed over to where he was standing. “I had no idea things were so
bad. What happened?”

Nathaniel pulled out a
wooden stool from behind the counter and tapped it. “Have a seat and give me
your jacket.”

Vivienne removed her
jacket and sat down as Nathaniel hung it up on an antique brass holder near the
counter. “I’m sure if we take a look at the problem we can find a solution that
doesn’t involve closing the doors forever.”

Nathaniel gave her a small
smile. “You always have a way of finding the rainbow in the dark sky, that’s
why I treasure your friendship so.” He walked over to the front door and turned
the sign facing outward from open to closed. “The good memories outnumber the
bad.” He stepped behind the counter and sat down on another stool to face her.
Dressed in a fashionable sweater vest and khaki pants, the overhead lighting
from the antique lamps gave his ginger hair an almost ethereal glow.

“Hey, that sounds an awful
lot like you’ve already given up.” Vivienne frowned at him. “Since when do you
guys ever back down so easily?”

Nathaniel sighed. “Since
our books show that our business is down nearly seventy-five percent from the
previous year.”

“I find it hard to believe
the two of you didn’t have a contingency plan set up for lean times.” Vivienne
replied. “You’re both far too smart not to do that.”

“Oh, we did.” Nathaniel
replied. “But the medical bills from the last few months just sucked that well
dry. Our insurance covered most, but with the high deductible and out-of-pocket
expenses, our cushion has lost all the padding.”

Vivienne still felt angry
when she recalled the details of the vicious attack on them back in December.
Although Natalie’s spell had whipped town tempers to a boiling point, she was
certain more than a few people had joined in a little too eagerly. “You just
have to hang on until after the downtown renovations are finished. The tourist
trade is going to explode when those buses start arriving for afternoon lunch
and dinner stops along the wine trail.”

“We’ve been over and over
every possible way out of this financial mess with Dowling Tax & Payroll.”
Nathaniel answered. “There is no quick fix and we’re sinking faster with each
passing day. Tristan finally accepted the fact that we’ve run out of options
and he agreed that we have to close shop.”

“Speaking of, where is
he?” Vivienne asked.

“He had to pick up some
groceries for dinner tonight.” Nathaniel looked at his wrist watch. “He should
be back any minute now. You want to join us?”

“I wish I could, but Joshua
already has a pot roast in the oven. Some recipe that he’s been eager to make
for months.” Vivienne never could tell him that pot roast was not one of her
favorite meals. They had been exploring living together in her home for the
past month and she was doing her best to keep things smooth. “Can I take a rain
check?”

“Sure.” Nathaniel reached
into the display cabinet and retrieved an enameled butterfly coat pin from the
crushed velvet lining the glass shelves. “I’m going to miss summertime here
most of all. Hanging your legs over the dock at sunset with a glass of blush
wine, just listening to the water lap on the shore.”

“Oh, Nathaniel.” Vivienne
choked up. “I don’t want to even think about you guys leaving Cayuga Cove. It
just isn’t fair.”

He held the butterfly pin
toward her. “I want you to have this.”

“No, I can’t accept that.”
Vivienne stood up. “You need to make money and giving away merchandise isn’t
the way to make that happen.”

“It’s only costume
jewelry, worth maybe twenty-five dollars at the most.” Nathaniel insisted.

“I don’t care if it’s only
worth twenty-five cents.” Vivienne walked over to the coat stand and pulled her
coat on. “I’m going to figure out something to help you stay here.” She pointed
to the pin. “Mother has a birthday coming and that pin would look stunning on
her. I’ll give you thirty for it.”

Nathaniel smiled.
“Vivienne, the price is only twenty-five.”

“The customer is always
right.” She blinked.

“Well, at least in their
mind they are.” Nathaniel smiled back. “Let me get the box for that.”

“Thank you.” She retrieved
the cash from her purse and handed it to him.

Nathaniel retrieved a
black velvet box from under the counter. He placed the pin inside and snapped
the lid closed. “You have an uncanny knack for getting your way, don’t you?”

“I suppose that’s true.”
Vivienne gave him a little smile. “Which is why you shouldn’t give up hope just
yet.”

“Got a magic wand stashed
away in your home?” Nathaniel asked with a serious tone.

“What?” Vivienne blinked
in surprise.

“You know, like Glinda
from the Wizard of Oz?” Nathaniel picked up a pen from the top of the display
case and waved it around with a smile.

“Oh.” Vivienne recovered
and gave a little chuckle. “Don’t you know the secret?” She teased back.

“What secret?”

Vivienne counted them off.
“You need special wands for certain tasks. The ‘good hair’ wand, the ‘this
dessert isn’t fattening’ wand, and of course the ‘make the sports game end so
it doesn’t interfere with my television shows on later tonight’ wand.”

Nathaniel laughed and for
a brief moment the visible tension on his face disappeared. “Can I borrow some
of those?”

“Of course, darling.”
Vivienne batted her eyelashes as she answered in an exotic accent, much like
she imagined a gypsy fortune teller would sound like. “Now that you know the
secret, the world will be your oyster.”

The bell over the door
chimed as Tristan stepped in with two paper bags from the Monarch Grocery in
his arms. “Vivienne, what brings you over to our neck of the woods?”

Vivienne regained her
composure. “Hi Tristan. I was visiting with your handsome hubby here and
picking up a birthday gift for my mother.”

Tristan gave her a little
smile. “I’d almost forgotten what a customer actually looks like.”

Nathaniel reached and took
one of the bags out of Tristan’s hands. “The oven is pre-heated for you, just
like you asked.”

“Thanks.” Tristan pointed
behind him. “I’m guessing you saw the sign in the window?”

“I’m so sorry to hear
about your troubles.” Vivienne empathized. “It’s just so unfair.”

“Well, it is what it is.”
Tristan sighed. “You want to stay for dinner? Nothing fancy, we’re just having
some baked chicken and smashed cauliflower.”

“Nathaniel extended the
invitation earlier, but I really need to get home.” Vivienne explained once
more. “Joshua made a pot roast and he’d be crushed if I cancelled.”

“You’ve got a keeper with
him.” Nathaniel smiled. “Tall, handsome, and he cooks.”

“Does he do the dishes
after?” Tristan asked.

“He even pre-rinses the
baked on crud.” Vivienne added. “He even knows which dishes are hand wash
only.”

“Be still my heart.”
Tristan joked back.

“I really wish you guys
would reconsider closing your shop.” Vivienne let out a little sigh. “The town
just won’t be the same without you in it.”

“No matter what happens,
we’ll stay in touch with you.” Nathaniel added. “I promise.”

“I better head out or I’m
going to be late for dinner.” She waved goodbye and braved the cold evening air
that blasted her as she opened the front door. “You boys be good now.”

“We always are.” Tristan waved
back.

*
           
*
           
*

After dinner, Vivienne was
nestled in her usual position on the left end of the sofa with a blanket over
her legs, the remote on her lap, and a food magazine in her hands. Tommy and
Sammy had each made a small nest on both sides of her and purred contently as
the national nightly news played on the flat-screen television Joshua had
recently splurged on with his tax refund.

“I’m glad you liked it.”
Joshua said as he walked in from the kitchen. “It was a recipe my mother made
at least once a month growing up.”

“It was delicious.”
Vivienne remarked. She had been completely shocked at how tender the beef had
turned out. It was lean, moist, flavored with just the right amount of
vegetables and spices. “You’ve converted me on the roast front.”

“She used it on venison
mostly.” Joshua added. “It really cut down on the gamey flavor.”

“Darling, I love you to
the moon and back, but I shall never eat venison.” Vivienne wrinkled her nose
in disgust.

Joshua assumed his
position on the other end of the sofa, stretched his long legs over hers, much
to the annoyance of the cats. Tommy gave a little annoyed grunt but held his
ground. Sammy, on the other hand, gave a defiant little hiss and leapt to the
carpet. “I’m so sorry.” Joshua apologized to the orange tiger cat.

Sammy ran under the coffee
table and gave him the stink eye for ruining a perfectly good nap.

“He’s just got a little
temper.” Vivienne looked up from her magazine.

“What happened to that sweet
little kitten that came home on Christmas Eve?”

“He’s a surly teenager
now.” Vivienne set the magazine down on the sofa arm and gently ran her hand
along Tommy’s soft fur. “They grow up so fast.”

Joshua smiled and snagged
the remote. He flipped it to the local news were the weather report was in
progress. “Snow, cold, and more snow. Don’t you know any other words?” He
practically growled at the weatherman on the screen in his fancy suit and
brightly-colored silk tie.

“It has been quite a
winter so far.” Vivienne agreed. “With Saint Patrick’s Day coming this month,
spring is going to have some more ammunition to fight back with.”

“I’m just happy to see all
that green around town. I’ve almost forgotten what grass looks like under all
that snow.” Joshua added as the broadcast went to commercials.

“I’ll remind you of that
in the summer when it needs to be mowed every couple of days.” Vivienne teased.

“Hey, I’ll take mowing
grass over shoveling snow and scraping ice any day and you can quote me on
that.” Joshua flipped through several channels before stopping on one of the
sports networks.

“There’s a planning
committee meeting tomorrow night down at the library.” Vivienne reminded him.
“Father William stopped in the bakery the other day and asked me to join.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I’m so busy with my own
work, but I felt so guilty turning him down.” Vivienne confessed. “So, I ended
up just nodding my head and he took that as a yes.”

Joshua reached over and
patted her legs. “Well, we’ve talked about you needing to be able to say no to
things.”

“I know.” Vivienne pouted.
“I was hoping I could think of some way to call him up and tell him I changed
my mind.”

“Tell him the truth.”
Joshua quipped. “Short and sweet.”

“Easier said than done.”
Vivienne sighed. “I might not feel like taking on all the extra work, but it
would be great for the business.”

“Vivienne, I don’t know
what you want me to say.” Joshua stared at her with his steel-blue eyes.

“I know.” She glanced at
the wall clock. “It’s too late to call him tonight.”

“It’s quarter to seven.”
Joshua laughed. “Just because the man is a priest doesn’t mean he goes to bed
when the sun disappears.”

“You’re not making this
easy.”

Joshua laughed and pulled
himself closer to her. “If these are our major problems this month, we should
consider ourselves quite lucky.”

Vivienne nodded. “You’re
right.” After the chaos during the holidays, their lives had finally returned
to a comfortable normalcy. There had been no magical beings drawn to the
portals, no unexpected spells were cast upon the town, and most importantly all
deaths had been of natural causes.