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Charlotte was sitting in the chair in the front window, watching the action from her front row seat. When I walked in, she stood and came over to shake my hand. “I just heard from the lawyer. Congratulations, Jack.”
“Thanks Charlotte.” I tried to give her a smile.
“Are you going to keep the name?” she asked. “I kind of like the Snow Ghost Lodge.”
“I like it too,” I said. “But there are four of us involved in this project.”
“Four brothers.” Charlotte pressed her lips together. “Who is the oldest?”
“Not me.” I laughed. “The name is a tough call, with the tragedy and everything that happened. It might be a good idea to get a fresh start.”
“That was years ago.” Charlotte shrugged. “I do see your point, though. Where’s your sidekick?” she asked. “I’ve been looking for her on the movie set, but I haven’t seen her yet today.”
“She’s gone.” I kept my voice flat.
“Gone? I thought she was staying another week.”
I cleared my throat. “Things have changed.”
“Oh. I see.” Charlotte’s voice was quiet. She was my friend now, but we’d started as business associates, and I could tell that Charlotte was trying to keep a professional demeanor, especially in her office. “I was about to go for lunch. Would you like to talk about it?”
I immediately wanted to say no, but I had to talk to someone about what had happened. “I had planned to get drunk with Freddie and get his advice, but Charlotte had actually spent time with Henri, and she was a woman. I had the feeling that her advice would be a little better than fun time Freddie’s. “Sure. It’s on me though.”
“Deal.” Charlotte grabbed her coat from the hook by the door. “Can we go to the G-Spot? I have a craving for a BLT.”
“I’ve heard their service is crap but their sandwiches are delicious.” I held the door open for Charlotte, who laughed as she pulled her hair out from the collar of her coat. We wove through the crowded movie set and ducked under the ropes to exit onto the regular portion of Main Street.
Emma was sitting in the diner when we arrived. She waved for us to join her. We didn’t really have a choice-all the other tables were full with the lunch hour crowd.
Charlotte sat next to Emma and I slid into the bench seat across from them. During the lunch hour rush, there were three servers, including my mom. One of the young girls, Taye’s sister Brooke, took our order and returned with our drinks.
After spilling the coffee this morning, I was going into caffeine withdrawal and my hand shook as I poured the cream into my cup. Charlotte and Emma were drinking sparkling water. Emma stabbed at the ice cubes in her glass with her straw. “How did Henri like the flowers?” There was excitement in her eyes, it was obvious that she loved her job, and took her flower clairvoyance seriously.
Charlotte stared at me while she sipped her water. “You were right. The Black Dahlias are her favorite.”
“I knew it.” Emma shook her shoulders and grinned. “She seems like a cool girl. I’m glad you didn’t show up with a Gerbera daisy girl.”
I didn’t understand Emma’s flower reference, but I assumed that a Gerbera daisy was something a boring, or basic girl, would like. I didn’t say it out loud, but a Gerbera Daisy girl would’ve been a better choice.
It was only a matter of time before Emma dug deeper with her questions, so I decided to cut to the chase. "She wasn’t a cool girl. It turns out that she is a terrible person, but it’s okay, she’s gone.”
“The roads are open?” Emma raised her eyebrows.
“Going East they are.” Charlotte consulted her phone. “The route west is going to be closed for a while still.”
“That surprises me.” Emma sipped her water. “The tulip farm is in Windswan and my friends there say the roads are terrible – black ice in spots.”
“Why is she a terrible person?” Charlotte asked quietly.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to decide how much to tell Charlotte and Emma. “She lied to everyone.”
“Lied?” Charlotte furrowed her brow. “About what?”
Both Charlotte and Emma leaned in closer, their eyes focused on me. I took a sip of coffee and felt my body coming to life. “She wasn’t writing a story on the movie here in town. She was writing a story about how shitty it is to live in a small town.”
“Compared to a Christmas movie, or just in general?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m not sure.” I had read the scribbled article so quickly I could only remember the worst parts.
