The sun shone brightly overhead on this spectacular spring morning, forcing me to shield my eyes as I watched a hawk circle above in the cloudless sky.
As always, I recognized every single face I passed.
It was a small, tight-knit island where everybody knew everybody as well as their business.
Three people stood in line in front of me for the counter, and as I waved and said hello to other bakery-going locals, my belly rumbled at the sight of the pistachio cream croissant with chocolate drizzle.
Let it Rise opened at six in the morning six days a week, and by six-fifteen there was usually a line twelve to twenty people deep for the fresh bread.Granted, most of those people were elderly and woke up at the butt crack of dawn anyway, but their dedication to getting their hands on Kari Cousins’ olive and rosemary sourdough was a testament to just how delicious it was.
I reached the counter in no time, and Kari gave me a big grin.“Naomi, so nice to see you.”
I sighed.“Kari, you temptress, what is that new delicacy you have in the display case?It’s like you know pistachio and chocolate are my weaknesses.”
“One or two?”she asked with a smirk.
“Three, obviously.I have children and the law says I must provide for them.”I rolled my eyes.
Her cornflower-blue eyes lit up as she opened a white cardboard pastry box.“You’re a shoo-in for mother of the year now.”
“I better be,” I muttered.
She plunked the loaded pastry box on the counter.“Can I grab you anything else?”
If there weren’t two registers, I would have felt bad taking up more of her time, but one of her efficient staff was helping the people behind me.“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about a collaboration.Raina suggested we consider offering more options for food in our tasting room besides fruit and charcuterie, and she thought that maybe you might be willing to sell us frozen mini quiches and phyllo wrapped deliciousness that we could advertise as food from the local bakery.Then we pair with our wines.We’ll buy them from you, of course, but it’d be a win-win for everyone.If people love the quiches, we can say, ‘Well, they sell them fresh at the bakery,’ or whatever.”I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone to pay.“What do you think?”
The way her eyes sparkled told me she was already on board.“I’m in.Just let me know what you need from me and when.I’d need about a two-day heads-up so we could ramp up production and freeze them.But that’s not a problem at all.I love this idea.”She reached over the counter and rested her hand on mine.“Thank you so much for thinking of us, Naomi.”
“Kind of a no-brainer, honestly.You’ve got the best pastries in the Pacific Northwest.Why wouldn’t we want to partner with you?”
“Well, in that case, these croissants are on the house.Call them a confectionary contract.”She waved my phone away when I tried to tap it.“Be gone, woman.Your money is no good here.”
I narrowed my gaze at her.“Be careful.You don’t want to upset the other customers.”
Her grin widened, and she winked at Abe Jefferies, who shuffled up to the counter beside me to order his mega cinnamon bun with extra icing.“You making deals, ladies?Deals that benefit the island?”he asked, his voice gravelly as his hand trembled a little reaching into his wallet.
“We’re going to offer some bakery goodness in the tasting room,” I said.“Quiches and phyllo wrapped brie and stuff.Everybody wins.”
Abe handed a ten-dollar bill over to the young employee.“That is a great idea.Spread the bread.”
“We’re all gonna make more dough.”I picked up the box with my croissants.I wouldn’t make it across the parking lot to my vehicle before half of it was in my mouth.
Abe and Kari both chuckled.
“Thanks again, Kari.I’ll be in touch later this week with an order so we’re all ready for Memorial Day when we open.”
Kari gave me a friendly wave.“Sounds good.”
I rested my hand affectionately on Abe’s shoulder for a quick second before making my exit from the bakery.I could hear the cackle of laughter echoing from the patio.And one laugh was very distinct.Jolene Dandy.The Island Mouth.She and several other islanders were part of the Sewing Circle.They met every day, and either sewed, knitted, or crocheted.
They always had a project they were working on, whether it be baby clothes for an upcoming new arrival of a mini-islander, or a quilt for a charity auction.The women were all lovely and harmless, but Jolene had a way of rubbing people the wrong way with her endless nosiness.She couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.Gossip was her oxygen.
Where I’d parked, under the weeping willow with its fresh green shoots, and next to the old tractor tourists used for a photo op, lent the patio dwellers a perfect view of me.I tried to hide myself from the Sewing Circle’s sights, but the demanding “Yoo-hoo!”of Jolene’s high-pitched voice made my spine stiffen and a pool of ice fill my belly.“Naomi, dear!”
I finished chewing the bite of croissant and wiped my mouth before spinning around.
Jolene was standing up and waving me over.
With a sigh that crashed all the way to my toes, I entered the patio through the garden gate.The entire gorgeous space was covered in wisteria and the faint burble of a water feature in the corner attempted to make the place calm.It would be—when Jolene left.
