Home on Apple Blossom Road (Life in Icicle Falls) (12 page)

April 22, 2003

Dear Emmaline,

Another Easter has come and gone in a blink! Where does the time go? Our day was lovely and the Easter treasure hunt kept Colin and Mia busy for a good hour. Bethie and I made this one as hard as we could, sending them back and forth between our houses and the orchard. We probably won’t have many more in the future, as the children will soon be moving on with their lives. In fact, I need to stop referring to them as children, don’t I? Colin will graduate this year, and next year Mia will be done with high school.

It’s been a joy to watch them grow up into such fine young people. Colin is so good with his hands. He loves working on cars and he’s a big help to Gerald in the orchard. He’s always reading up on ways we can improve the quality of our fruit and increase our harvest. He’s a smart boy, but he’d rather be outdoors fishing or working on his car than inside doing schoolwork. His father is insisting he get a college education, but we all know he won’t be following in Dylan’s footsteps. Colin wants to work the land like his grandfather. Mia is our little schoolbook smartie. She’s doing so well in school, getting straight As.

As for the rest of the family, Dylan’s practice continues to grow. Bethie is up to her neck in tulle and satin, working on wedding gowns for three June brides, and Mark is thinking of running for the city council come fall. Goodness, what a bunch of overachievers we have in this family!

I should bring this letter to a close. I’m making split pea soup with my leftover ham bone and I need to get started.

Don’t you and Joey worry about J.J. I’m sure he’ll find another job soon.

Love,

Justine

Chapter Ten

“I
wonder what ever happened to Emily,” Colin said as he and Mia walked into Pancake Haus.

“She moved to Wenatchee. Christie heard that her husband left her for another woman.” In a way, Mia felt sorry for Emily. She was probably reaping exactly what she’d sowed all those years she lived in Icicle Falls, but heartbreak was a crummy crop, even when you deserved it.

“Leave it to the women to have all the dirt,” Colin said.

“You asked.”

“It was just an idle comment. I don’t really care what happened to her. I’ve stayed in touch with everyone I wanted to.” Almost everyone. He’d started to call Mia countless times after they split, only to abort the attempt.

The breakfast crowd was long gone. A few people lingered over late brunches and the small selection of lunch items Dot kept on the menu. They walked past a booth where a couple of women sat enjoying lattes and Belgian waffles, and made their way to the counter, where Dot herself was filling plastic tubs with clean coffee cups, a carrot stick dangling from her mouth. Been There, Done That, Don’t Ask, said the slogan on her sweatshirt under a picture of the cartoon character Maxine, to whom Dot bore a strong resemblance.

“About time you two got here,” she said after they’d exchanged greetings. “I’ve been expecting you for hours. Justine must really be putting you kids through your paces.”

“She definitely is,” Mia said.

Colin pointed to the carrot. “Getting your beta carotene for the day, Dot?”

She took a chomp and shook her head. “Tilda made me quit smoking. Every time I want a ciggy I shove a carrot stick in my mouth. Let me tell you, it’s not the same. I think I’m going to try e-cigarettes.”

“Yeah, Tilda’s gonna be impressed with
that
,” Colin said sardonically.

Dot gave a long-suffering sigh. “Well, let’s get to your clue. I’ve got it in my office. Come on back.”

Dot’s office was small and cramped, with paperwork piled everywhere.

“This looks the same as when I was working here,” Mia said.

“Yeah, a mess. A messy desk is the sign of an orderly mind.” Dot pawed around under the piles of papers and finally came up with the pink envelope. “I’m dying to hear what your clue is. Justine was very mysterious.” She passed it to Colin, and he pulled out the pink paper and read, “‘Roses are red, violets are blue. Someone has a clue for you.’”

Dot chortled. “Ha! That Justine was a clever one.”

“You know what it means?” Colin asked.

“Well, I can guess. Can’t you?”

“Lupine Floral,” said Mia.

Dot chomped off another bite of carrot and nodded in Colin’s direction. “Make him buy you some flowers when you’re there.”

“You’d better take that lunch break now,” Mia told Colin as they left.

“Let’s hit Lupine Floral first,” he said. “There can’t be that many clues still to go.”

“Okay, if you want to be in trouble with your girlfriend, it’s your funeral.”

“Order roses for my grave,” he cracked. “One more stop, and then we’ll get lunch. I’ve gotta admit, I’m ready to eat.”

Yet again, Lorelei summoned him on his cell phone. “Okay, I’m still at this place called Zelda’s and I’m really getting hungry.”

“Me, too, but we have one more stop.”

“How about we make it just you and me for lunch?” Lorelei suggested.

“Can’t. Mia and I have another clue to work on.”

“You couldn’t take an hour off?”

“The sooner we solve this, the sooner you and I can go back to Seattle.” And that was what he wanted, to finish with this whole schizoid mess. He was having these crazy thoughts about Mia because Gram’s hunt was making him sentimental. You couldn’t recreate the past, and that was all they had. She was a hotshot at her big company in Chicago now, and he was...living in Seattle.

“Okay, fine,” Lorelei said. “I’m starting without you. They’ve got a drink called a Chocolate Kiss. A chocolate kiss is better than none.”

“Well, you like chocolate, babe,” he said. Lame.

Mia cocked an eyebrow as he ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pants pocket. “Don’t ask,” he said.

Heinrich was nowhere to be seen when they walked in, but his partner Kevin was manning the floor. He was in the process of helping Gerhardt Geissel, who owned Gerhardt’s Gasthaus, choose some flowers.

“I’ll lay you odds he’s buying a Deep Shit bouquet,” Colin said to Mia.

“Deep Shit bouquet?”

“Yeah, as in he’s in deep shit with his wife and trying to get out.”

“When she sees these, she’ll fall into your arms and beg you to take her to bed,” Kevin predicted. “Or maybe to the kitchen table.”

“The only thing we’ve done on our kitchen table for the last thirty years is eat,” Gerhardt said with a solemn shake of his head. “And Ingrid’s already made the bed. Once the bed is made for the day...” he added with another head shake.

Kevin gave him a consoling pat on the arm. “Well, this will at least get you out of trouble.”

“Oh, yeah. Deep Shit bouquet,” Mia whispered.

“One of the only things a guy stands a chance of getting right,” he whispered back.

“Was that said with some bitterness?” Mia teased.

He shrugged. “More like regret. What would you have done if I’d sent you flowers after we broke up?”

“The same thing I would’ve done if only you’d believed me.”

If only
. Those two words summed it all up. Too late now.

Colin walked over to where Gerhardt was paying for a King Kong–size bouquet with enough roses to fill the White House rose garden. “That’s a serious bundle of flowers, Gerhardt.”

“Needs to be,” Gerhardt muttered as he gathered it up. “So how are you two doing on your treasure hunt?”

“Is there anyone in town who doesn’t know about this?” Colin asked.

“Oh, come on now,” Kevin said. “This is better than any of those Real Housewives’ shows on TV. We’re one of the clues,” he told Gerhardt. “Heinrich was beside himself. He’s such a romantic. Heinrich,” he called in the general direction of the back room. “Guess who’s here.”

Heinrich was already on his way out. “Dear boy, I knew you’d be back,” he said to Colin. “It was all I could do not to say something when you were here earlier.”

“But he can keep a secret when he needs to,” put in Kevin. “So can I,” he added, then turned to Gerhardt. “So if you and Ingrid wind up on the kitchen table...”

Gerhardt merely shook his head. “I’d like to stand here all day listening to your
Quatsch
, but I have work to do. And believe me, after what I said about Ingrid’s useless brother, getting her to forgive me is going to be hard work, even with the flowers.”

“Especially if you use the word
useless
,” Heinrich warned.

Gerhardt took his out-of-control bouquet and left, and Heinrich turned his full attention to Mia and Colin. “Now, what can I do for you two? As if I couldn’t guess.”

“You can give us our next clue,” Colin said.

Heinrich was about to retrieve it, but Kevin said, “Wait. Make him show you the proof.”

“Yeah.” Heinrich crossed his arms and frowned. “Prove it.”

“You guys have way too much time on your hands,” Colin said and produced the pink stationery.

Heinrich unfolded it and read with Kevin peering over his shoulder. “That is so cute. A little obvious but cute.”

“The next clue?” Colin nudged.

“Such impatience,” Heinrich said, and went back to his workroom to fetch it.

“While you’re waiting, how about some flowers?” Kevin suggested. “Our Stargazer lilies have a lovely fragrance. Or you could go with the classic single long-stemmed rose, the sure way to a woman’s heart,” he said, smiling at Mia.

Mia blushed. “That’s okay.”

“No, it’s a good idea,” Colin said. “But it has to be pink. That’s her favorite color.”

“No problemo,” Kevin said and went to select a pink rose from the cooler.

Meanwhile, Heinrich was back with their next clue. “Here you go,” he said and handed it to Mia.

“What does it say?” asked Kevin, who was now wrapping Mia’s rose with some baby’s breath and a fern.

She opened it and announced, “It’s driving instructions.”

Now this was the kind of clue Colin enjoyed. “All right!”

“Like pirates on a desert island walking off paces. I love it,” said Kevin.

“Oh, I wish we could help you. Such fun!” Heinrich declared as Kevin gave Mia the rose. “Enjoy the rest of your hunt.”

“And the rose,” said Kevin, who was making change for a ten. “Nothing says love like flowers.”

“Or ‘I’m sorry,’” Colin murmured. Which was he saying to Mia? Never mind!

“Does it sound like it’s far?” he asked as they walked to the car. “Maybe we can stop there before we go to Zelda’s.”

Lorelei’s ringtone called out from the back pocket of his jeans.

“Gee, I wonder who that is,” Mia said.

“We’re on our way,” he answered. It looked as if there’d be no more stops.

“Hurry up,” Lorelei said. “These kisses are grrreat but I need food.”

He could tell. “I think she’s getting bombed,” he said to Mia after he ended the call. “She’s not a big drinker. Empty calories,” he added.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to help her work them off later.”

“Is that a little bit of snark I detect?”

“No,” Mia said airily and got into the car.

Was she jealous? “How come you don’t like her?” he asked as they drove toward Zelda’s.

“I never said I didn’t like her. I hardly know her.”

“Then maybe you’re jealous.” If she was...

“And maybe you’re delusional.”

Yeah, he probably was.

“So, are you in trouble?” Mia asked.

He shrugged.“Want the rose?” she offered.

“No, that’s yours.” But he hoped to heaven she’d leave it in the car.

She did, God bless her, even though she must have realized it would wilt in there.

Lorelei was ensconced in a booth with her drink. She had her hair down and wore a tight black top, sleeveless and low cut, over her jeans. The outfit’s hot factor was considerably diminished by the frown. “Where have you been?” she greeted Colin.

As if she didn’t know. “Trying to figure out where my inheritance is,” he said, sliding in next to her.

She eyed Mia suspiciously. “All this time?”

“Yeah, all this time,” he said, and now he was frowning, too. “You don’t have to stay here.”

“I want to,” she insisted. “I want to help you.”

“But you can’t,” Mia said sweetly.

Lorelei squinted as if she was having trouble bringing Mia into focus. “Nobody asked...you,” she said, and downed the last of her drink.

“Babe, how many of those have you had?”

“Two,” Lorelei said, and held up three fingers.

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

“No. I was waiting for you.”

Their waitress arrived. “Let’s order,” he said.

Lorelei picked up her menu. “I haven’t decided what I want.”

“You’ve had at least an hour to make up your mind,” he said.

“I...know.”

“How many drinks has she had?” he asked the waitress.

“Three. She’s done.”

“She’ll take the Northwest salad,” Colin said.

“No, I want a veggie burger,” Lorelei declared.

“You had that last night,” he reminded her. “Don’t you want something with no carbs?”

“I’ll work them off when we get back to Seattle,” Lorelei said. “Or later tonight.” She laid her hand on his thigh, making him think of Mia’s earlier snarky comment. Normally, he would’ve been happy to help his girlfriend work off some calories. Instead, here he was, wishing she’d go back home. Multiple personalities, that was it. He had multiple personalities.

“I’ll have the Northwest salad, too,” Mia said. “Iced tea to drink.”

“I’ll have another Chocolate Kish,” Lorelei slurred.

“I’m sorry,” the waitress said, “but three’s the limit.”

“What kind of restaurant is this?”

“She’ll take an iced coffee,” Colin said.

“And for you, sir?” asked the waitress.

Aspirin
. “Just water. And a club sandwich.”

“How many more clues do you have left, anyway?” Lorelei asked as the waitress walked off.

“I have no idea,” Colin replied.

She leaned an elbow on the table and gazed up at him. “I wonder what the treasure is. If it’s gold we should invest in the gym. We could also cash some in and go to Hawaii. Or Peru. We could go zip-lining in Cuzco, babe.”

Mia raised an eyebrow and Colin felt his face sizzling. This habit Lorelei was developing of speculating on his inheritance and how to spend it—with his grandmother barely gone—was tacky. More than that it was... He didn’t want to put into words what it was, but the big one crouched there at the back of his mind.
Greedy
.

Of course, he was out looking for his inheritance. What did that say about him?
Gram, I swear I’d rather have you back than whatever you left me
. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry.

When the waitress returned with their drinks, Colin nudged Lorelei’s toward her. “Have some iced coffee.”

She took a quick sip and then started talking again. “I don’t understand why it’s taking you so long to find this...whatever.” She waved her drink, sloshing it on him.

“It’s just the way the clues are coming,” he said, grabbing a napkin.

“You should take a break,” she said. “Let’s spend a little time wandering around town. Give your mind a rest.”

“Lorelei, I really want to get this done,” he said.

“Fine. Suit yourself.”

Okay, Lorelei was not showing well. There was more to her than shopping and getting tipsy and talking about trips. He wouldn’t pick such a loser girlfriend. She recycled and did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure every year. She ran marathons and half marathons and...spent money like it was water, nagged him every time he ordered dessert when they went out to eat. Which they did a lot. Lorelei was into fitness, but she was also into expensive restaurants and fine wine. Clothes. Jewelry. Yeah, the simple life.

Their lunch arrived, and Lorelei decided she needed to remove the top bun from her veggie burger. He took advantage of her preoccupation to ask Mia, “So where are we supposed to start?”