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Luke had quickly acclimated to working at Sandy’s Grocery. The experience of being there was so different than the stores back in Indiana. It was easier to get a sense of everything that the store had to offer since it wasn’t a sprawling mega-store like he shopped at back in Indiana, and he saw the same people over and over again.
He’d started to remember their names and what they usually purchased too. It was satisfying to make someone’s day with something as simple as the right brand of soap or oatmeal raisin cookies. He knew the feeling. As silly as it sounded, sometimes finding the perfect melon or a sponge that cut dishwashing time down by half was enough to make his day.
“I’m glad you guys have this cheese again,” a stylishly dressed woman said as she dumped an armful of packaged brie from a local farm onto the counter. “It’s worth the walk over from Whale Harbor.”
Luke smiled and scanned the cheese, which was encased in classy packaging. “It must be good. I should try it.”
“It’s a guest favorite. With some fresh bread and a glass of wine?” The woman sighed dreamily as she handed Luke her card. “Perfect.”
“A guest favorite?” Luke inserted her card into the chip reader.
“Yes, I own a B&B called Literary Stays not too far from here.” She pushed her brightly colored glasses up on her nose.
“Ah okay. I’m new here so I’m still getting a good lay of the land. I came around when I was younger, but it’s been a while,” Luke said. “At least for the summer. Sandy and Daniel are my aunt and uncle.”
“Ah, so you’re Luke! Sandy mentioned you the other week. I’m Monica Watson.” She extended her hand and Luke shook it.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” Monica smiled. “Welcome to Blueberry Bay.”
“Thanks for the welcome! I’ll have to check out Whale Harbor sometime.” Luke bagged up all the cheese. “And maybe try some of this cheese with bread and wine. I don’t know a thing about wine, though.”
“A good chardonnay or a pinot noir would be fabulous. Yves over at Blueberry Bay Wines will give you a perfect recommendation every time.”
“Great, I’ll have to stop by.” He held the bag up to Monica so she could easily grab the handle. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks!”
Monica left, finishing off the short line that had been at the register. She was far from the first person to welcome him to town. It seemed like Sandy and Daniel knew every single person in town and had told them about Luke’s arrival. Everyone had made him feel right at home and were more than happy to offer recommendations to make his time here even better.
“Hey, Sandy?” Luke said to Sandy, who was messing with the computer at the far end of the long register. “I have a free moment to look at the computer.”
“Oh, perfect!” Sandy let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t know what happened. At first I thought the problem was because we dropped the laptop, but it seems like it’s an issue with every computer that has the inventory software.”
Luke took Sandy’s spot at the computer. “What’s happening?”
“Whenever I try to add a new product, it works, but when I try to update the number of the inventory above ten, it resets.” Sandy sighed, running her fingers through the end of her ponytail. “But that only happens some of the time.”
“Did you turn the computer off and on?” Luke asked.
“Yep.” The corner of Sandy’s mouth quirked up. “I’m not tech-savvy, but I’ve got that part down.”
Luke grinned. “Just had to check. I’ll see what I can do.”
Luke dove into the problem. The software was old school and probably needed to be ditched in favor of something new, but he wasn’t going to bring that up yet. Sometimes an issue just needed a few small tweaks to be fixed.
As he always did, he got sucked into the problem, trying new angles and thinking about what the answers could possibly be. Customers came in and out, only stealing his attention for a fraction of a second. But then, Hannah came in.
She was wearing a t-shirt with The Crab’s logo on it and denim shorts, her jet black hair up in a bun. His cheeks flushed even though she hadn’t looked at him yet. He couldn’t deny his interest in her. She was cute and seemed really nice.
If he were back in Indiana, he might have had a chance. But Hannah’s interest in Michael, who had come into the store and introduced himself the other day, was clear. The moment Michael walked in, Luke faded into the background. Luke didn’t blame her. Any woman would have had a crush on a man like that.
“Hey, Hannah,” Sandy said with a smile. “Do you need any help today?”
“Hey, Sandy! I’m just here to pick up some things for The Crab,” Hannah said.
“Ah, right, Daniel put together your order in the back. Let me grab it.” Sandy slipped past Luke to go to the back, leaving Hannah and Luke alone.
