Triple Dip Debacle: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 7) (2 page)

The next few days were a blur. I helped Brandon clean his apartment until it glowed. I could tell he was nervous about his mother staying there and I wanted to make sure everything was in its proper place. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his mom, but she was overbearing and he was steeling himself against the onslaught to come. I told him that she would be so busy with Stormi and wedding planning that she probably wouldn’t browbeat him too much. That seemed to relax him somewhat.

Then at the Frozen Scoop Ice Cream Shoppe, I would have to pacify Stormi, who was equally petrified of her mother’s interference.

“She’s going to ruin it, I just know it!” Stormi was making herself miserable the day before Dottie’s arrival. It was later in the day and Paige stopped by to get herself and Bruce a strawberry smoothie to take next door to his financial planning business.

“You know no such thing,” Paige admonished.

Stormi stared at Paige. “You do know who we’re talking about here…Dottie Rogers. The woman takes no prisoners. She’ll steamroll my wedding planning and I’ll never know what hit me.”

I poured the strawberry concoction into two to-go cups. “Stormi you’re going to make yourself sick. Simply tell Dottie it’s your wedding and this is what you want.”

Now Stormi stared at me. “Have you met my mother?”

She had a point. “I’ll help to explain it to her.” Uh-oh…did I have a death wish?

“Oh really, would you?” Stormi squealed. “That would definitely help.”

No backing out now. “Of course.” I brought Paige the smoothies who gave me one of those ‘you be crazy’ looks.

As Paige left she held the door open so ol’ Charlie could wheel his automated wheelchair into the shop. He pulled his slow moving sign affixed a wobbly pole on the back of his wheelchair down so he could get inside the door. Once inside he let the sign go and it bounced lazily up and down. It was almost hypnotic.

“How is Charlie today?” I asked.

“I’m just fine. How are you girls?” He asked as he wheeled up to the counter.

“I’m doing fine, but Stormi is fretting about her mother.”

Charlie turned to look at Storm. “Why is that pray tell?”

Stormi wiped her hands on her apron. “Because my mother likes to take over and I’m afraid that’s what she’ll do regarding my wedding.”

“Just tell her it’s your wedding not hers.”

“That’s what everyone says, but it’s not that easy.”

“What’s hard about it?” Charlie asked. I handed him his usual, coffee with cream.

“Charlie, you know my mother right?”

Charlie took a sip of his coffee. “Yes’m I do. Miss Dottie. Strong willed woman. Ample shape if I remember correctly.”

Stormi did a double take. So did I.

“Ummm, yeah, well anyway, yes she’s strong willed and that’s what will ruin my wedding!”

“Hmmm…” Charlie looked like he was mulling the situation over. “Want me to distract her?”

I thought Stormi’s jaw would hit the floor. Not what we were expecting!

“You…you want to do what?” Stormi stuttered. She was in over her head!

“You mean take her mind off the wedding planning?” I asked.

“Mmmm hmmm. I could sweet-talk her into a date. Keep her busy so she wouldn’t have time to mess in your affairs.”

Stormi’s mouth was open but nothing was coming out. Neither one of us had ever seen this side of ol’ Charlie. There was still a tiger growling in the old boy’s tank.

Now we both knew that Stormi’s mother would not take Charlie up on his offer of going out on a date. Not that Dottie didn’t love Charlie as we all did, but a romantic tryst…not going to happen.

Charlie took a sip of his coffee. “Of course she’ll have to drive.”

There’s your chance Stormi…go for it! But she stood there like a lump. She must still be in shock. I knew I had to throw her a life preserver.

“Well now Charlie, Miss Dottie won’t have her own vehicle when she’s here,” I turned to Stormi. “Didn’t you say a friend was bringing her down?”

Stormi nodded. Snap out of it girl!

“Well darn.” Charlie didn’t seem too upset by the news.

Finally, Stormi found her voice. “How about you keep her occupied when she comes to the Frozen Scoop?” Huh? What the frick?!

Charlie mulled it over. “I think I could handle that.”

Now I’m speechless.

“Well girls I must be on my way home. Have a good evening.”

I walked over and opened the door for him to leave, almost being hit in the face with that darn slow moving sign atop the flimsy pole. After he left I turned to Stormi.

“You want Charlie to sweet talk your momma here in the shoppe? You know she won’t give him a second thought.”

Stormi walked over to wipe down the tables. “Hey, I’ll take any distraction I can get, even Charlie romancing my mother.”

“Careful what you wish for…you could end up with a new daddy.”

Stormi winced as she continued to clean the tabletops. “Nah, surely that would never happen.”

“I’ve seen stranger things.”

Stormi looked stricken.

“I’m just teasing!” I confessed. “You’ve got to lighten up or you’re going to make yourself sick. This should be a happy and magical time for you.”

Stormi slumped in one of the chairs. “I know, but ever since I told momma I’ve regretted it. You know she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

I sat down across from her. “I’ll help you explain that she needs to let you make the decisions. She just wants to be a part of it and she’s excited too, but we’ll try to get her to understand that while you want her to help and be a part of it, that ultimately you make all the decisions regarding the dress, cake, venue, decorations and so on.”

Stormi brightened. “You’d really help me talk to her?”

“Of course I will.”

“That would help so much. You know she tends to turn a deaf ear to me and Brandon, thinking her way is the best, but maybe hearing it from someone else would make a difference.”

I didn’t know if it would or not, but I was willing to try for my friend. Maybe even Paige would help as well. I knew it wouldn’t be easy and I did not want to hurt Miss Dottie’s feelings either. It was like walking a tightrope…hoping to get to your destination without falling into the abyss.

That evening I could tell Brandon was anxious as well.

“You’re almost as bad as Stormi.”

Brandon was inspecting his apartment, making sure everything was in order for his mother’s arrival.

“I know it’s crazy to be this nervous about your own mother.”

I patted the seat next to me on the couch. “Come sit with me and unwind.” I poured us each a glass of wine. He sat down next to me and sighed as he took a sip of his Merlot.

“Are you nervous about her staying here, or telling her about us?” I figured I might as well get the subject out there.

Brandon took another sip of wine. “Both actually. I know she loves you, but I don’t want her to hurt your feelings. You know how brash she comes across sometimes.”

That was so sweet of him. He was worried about me.

“Oh don’t fret about me. I know how your mother is and I don’t take anything she says to heart. I’ll be fine. I just want you and Stormi to calm down and quit being so nervous about her visit.”

Brandon nodded and then downed the wine from his glass. “I’ll try,” he said as he poured himself another glass.

I felt Stormi and Brandon were blowing this out of proportion regarding their mother. Oh how wrong I would be.

*****

The next day was D-day or Dottie day. She wasn’t to arrive until early afternoon. Stormi

and I were busy setting up the ice cream barrels in the ice cream case. She remained nervous but our talk the night before calmed her down a bit from def-con 9 to def-con 3. I brought Winchester in to help take her mind off things. He had been a little under the weather the past few days, but with medicine and some pampering, he was back to his chipper self. He was also good at taking Stormi’s mind off her mother.

I also talked to Brandon on the phone that morning. He seemed more relaxed than the night before as well. I hoped they were wrong about this visit with their mother. That it would be tranquil without all the commotion that normally surrounds Miss Dottie. I couldn’t be farther from reality.

It was almost time to open, so as Stormi was in the back I walked to the front of the shoppe to turn my open/close sign to open. As I did, I looked out the window and saw Dottie getting out of a black SUV. She was wearing a purple and red flowered dress over her generous frame. She also wore a red floppy hat that dipped down on the sides.

I wanted to yell to Stormi but I was dumbstruck. What was it about this woman that rendered us speechless? However, it wasn’t just her that caught my attention. A little man departed the SUV on the driver side. He wore a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie. He was shorter than Dottie by a couple of inches and his barely there hair slicked across his dome of a head. Who was he and what was he doing here with Dottie? I had a feeling I really didn’t want to know.

I started to let out a warning cry to Stormi, but it was too late. Dottie flew into the shoppe with the little man right on her heels. She turned quickly and spotted me.

“Tara!” She squealed as she ran over and pulled me into a bear hug. Her floppy hat hanging down on the side stabbed me in the left eye. All of a sudden, she pushed me back with strong arms as my hand flew up to my eye.

“Let me look at you! Oh Tara, pretty as ever. What’s wrong with your eye dear? You don’t have pink eye or a sty do you? I’m sure we can figure something out and get you right as rain.” Suddenly she looked down at the floor at Winchester who, just like me, had lost his voice. “Oh my goodness who’s this little guy? Oh, you’re so cute I could just eat you!“ Winchester started to back away.

“Now where is my precious daughter?”

With my head spinning, my eye pulsing, and the sudden inability to speak, all I could do was point towards the swinging door that led to the back of my shoppe. Right at that moment Stormi walked through carrying a barrel of Peach Galore. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw us, allowing the door to come back and hit her hind end. She didn’t seem to feel it, as she was as dumbstruck as Winchester and me.

Dottie ran flying around the counter. “Put that barrel of awesome goodness down and give your momma a hug!” In a robotic manner, Stormi did as she was told.

Dottie grabbed Stormi and gave her a hug. She was lucky enough to avoid having her eye pulverized by her mother‘s hat.

“Oh my baby girl is getting married,” Dottie squealed as she rocked her back and forth. I could see Stormi’s eyes filling with fear. I wasn’t much better, standing like a fool at the window unable to move. Suddenly I saw movement outside. It was Brandon and he was coming towards the shoppe!

I started waving at him. He waved back. No you fool, stop!! I started shaking my head and raking my thumb across my neck. He stopped dead in his tracks. I kept sneaking a look behind me to make sure Dottie didn’t see what I was up to. I turned back to Brandon. He must have understood because he skulked away like thief on the run. I sighed. At least that crisis was averted for the time being. Now to take care of the one occurring in my shoppe.

At this time, Dottie was dragging Stormi over to the little man. I had almost forgotten about him. “Stormi, this is Mr. Rodney Pennington.”

Stormi held out her hand. Dottie turned to Mr. Pennington. “This is my daughter, Stormi Rogers.”

Mr. Pennington took Stormi’s hand as if it was a raw fish. He touched the end of a couple of her fingers and that was it. Stormi brought her hand back to her side just in time for Dottie to say, “He’s a wedding planner.”

Stormi finally found her voice. “He’s a what?”

Dottie pulled the red floppy hat from her head and laid it on the counter. “He’s a wedding planner. I hired him to help plan the wedding. This will be so much easier. He can do all the heavy lifting per say, and us girls won’t have to worry about a thing.”

Stormi looked at Mr. Pennington. “Nothing against you sir, I’m sure you’re great at what you do, but I don’t need a wedding planner.” Stormi looked back at her mother. “How could you hire someone without consulting me? This is exactly what I was afraid of…that you would come in and take over and that’s what has happened. Well I won’t stand for it!”

I slowly turned the open sign back to closed.

“Now listen here little girl. I didn’t raise you to be inconsiderate to your elders. I’m doing this because I know you want your wedding to go off without a hitch so why not hire someone who knows how to plan weddings. We’ve never planned one before so I thought it best to bring an expert into the mix.”

“See, that’s what always happens. You think its best so it’s your way or the highway. Well I don’t want a wedding planner. I will plan this wedding myself and it will go off without any problems despite what you think.”

The two of them stood toe to toe, like a couple of bulls sizing up the other. I was waiting for one of them to charge the other when finally Mr. Pennington spoke.

“Now now ladies, there’s no reason to get all riled up.” He patted Stormi lightly on the shoulder. “I’ve seen many a bride go off the deep end and I’ve had to pull her to safety.”

Stormi narrowed her eyes at him as he continued his speech.

“Of course you don’t think you need help right now, but as I explained to your mother, you will. Every bride thinks they have the situation under control until they get overwhelmed dealing with the wedding dress seamstress, the cake decorator, the florist, the venue and so on and so forth.”

As he talked his hands waved dramatically in front of him. I was afraid Stormi might get smacked if she got too close.

Stormi put a hand on her hip. “So you don’t think I can take care of my own wedding?”

“Of course you can’t,” Mr. Pennington replied flippantly. “No bride can. They’re too absorbed in the whole idea of matrimony that they can’t think clearly. They don’t know what they want. It takes an expert like me to tell them what they should have for their wedding day. I can choose the dress, the decorations, and the type of cake and so on.”

“But I want to do that all myself. I don’t want a stranger coming in and telling me what I want. That’s absurd!”

Dottie tried to pull Stormi away from Mr. Pennington with little success. Unfortunately, Mr. Pennington decided to keep opening his mouth.

“Miss Rogers, are you an expert at decorations for a wedding? Or a wedding cake? Or even a wedding dress?”

Stormi opened her mouth but before she could answer, Pennington interrupted.

“No you are not, but I am. I will make your wedding better than you could ever dream of doing yourself.”

Stormi took a hold of one of the ice cream scoops and waved it in his face. Uh-oh.

“I don’t need some expert to tell me what I want. I know what I want and I can do it myself without any help.”

Dottie wedged herself between the two. “Now look darlin, Mr. Pennington is here to help. Why don’t you at least hear his ideas? Maybe you’ll like them.”

Stormi threw her hands in the air, the ice cream scoop moving dangerously close to various heads.

“I don’t need anymore ideas Momma. I know what I want and that’s it.”

Mr. Pennington moved his hand willowy through the air as if to pooh-pooh Stormi’s tantrum.

“Don’t worry about it my dear,” Mr. Pennington directed towards Dottie. “Sooner or later she will come crawling for my help.”

What the frick?

I saw Stormi tighten her grip on the ice cream scoop. She was known to take down murder suspects by lobbing the scoop towards the unfortunate person’s head. Right now Mr. Pennington was in her line of sights. I could only steel myself for the inevitable blowback. But I was wrong. Stormi placed the ice cream scoop back on the counter. I thought she was about to turn around to leave, but then she took one-step towards Mr. Pennington and grabbed his lapel. Stormi started screaming in his face while Dottie attempted to dislodge Stormi’s grasp on his shirt.

“How dare you speak to me like that! Who do you think you are?”

“I am one of the premier wedding planners in Atlanta!” Somehow, I don’t think Stormi was fishing for an answer.

Stormi tightened her grasp. “Listen Mr. Ping-Pong…I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done! But you’re not touching one measly thing about my wedding!”

Finally, Dottie was able to get Stormi to let go of Mr. well, Ping-Pong. “Stormi! I’ve already paid Mr. Pennington $15,000 to plan your wedding and I can’t get a refund!”

I saw Stormi’s entire body sag. This is what she had been afraid of all along. Paige and I were wrong. Dottie had come in and taken over, and now there was no way Stormi would allow her mother to lose all that money. I could not believe that Dottie would be so thoughtless not to consult her daughter first. Then to bring in this self centered jerk who in no way shape or form knew how to talk to a nervous bride. His selfishness and ego driven ways was enough to send me flying over the counter to knock that smirk off his face.

Stormi flew into the back room. Suddenly I heard the tinkle of the bell on my front door and Trixie stuck her head inside.

“Are you open? I saw the closed sign but figured you might have forgotten to turn the sign over.”

I walked over to her. “Yes Trixie, come on in.”

As soon as Trixie walked in, she stopped short when she saw Dottie behind the counter. Now Dottie and Trixie were never the best of friends. I have no idea why, but their interactions were what one would call…frosty. Maybe their personalities clashed, or perhaps there was some buried secret the two of them knew about the other. A trust that neither one wanted to have with the other but fate put them in that position. My imagination runs wild sometimes, but there was something hidden between them. Something from long ago. I hated to think there were more mysteries where Trixie was concerned. Her life seemed to be one secret after another.

Mr. Pennington walked over to a table and sat down. He punched his iPad as if it was Stormi’s face. I walked with Trixie over to Dixie.

“Hello Trix.” Dottie liked to greet Trixie with a shortened version of her name, something she loathed. So Trixie returned the favor.

“Hello Dot.” I could see Dottie’s lips curl inward. Good grief…this day had only started and the bodies were piling up.

“Now everyone needs to calm down,” I interjected.

“I’m calm,” Trixie said. “What’s going on?”

“Stormi’s in the back and she’s upset,” I answered.

Trixie looked at Dottie. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

Dottie put her hands on her hips, reminding me of Stormi. “And just what does that mean?”

Trixie sat down at one of the stools next to the counter. “You seem to have that affect on people is all I’m saying.”

Dottie pointed a finger at Trixie. “I don’t need your sass today. We’re trying to plan a wedding here.”

Trixie looked at me. “I thought this was a place to buy ice cream…which is why I’m here.” Trixie nodded her head towards Mr. Pennington and looked at Trixie. “And I assume the stooge over there is with you?”

Dottie straightened up. “I’ll have you know he is no stooge! That is Mr. Pennington, the premier wedding planner of all of Atlanta.”