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“Give Norman a hug for me.”
He smiled and walked outside.
“I’ll be off now, too,” Mrs. Pollard said, stuffing recipe cards into her purse. “Got an appointment soon with someone who wants to look at my rental house. Can you let Maggie know I have more recipes if she needs one for next week?”
I nodded. “I’ll let her know.”
“Bye!” Hannah yelled.
“Bye, little darlin’,” Mrs. Pollard said, tapping Hannah’s head as she passed by. Once outside, she stopped to pet Norman and chat with Sam, who laughed at something she said.
“That Sam Kindell is a good egg,” Jolly said, watching them as well. “Quiet as they come and likes to keep to himself more than most, but quick to lend a hand if need be.” She squinted at the menu board. “Are you offering pumpkin spice yet?”
Kindell. I hadn’t known Sam’s last name till now. I could kiss Jolly for her gossip-loving ways.
“Not quite,” I said. “Maggie’s waiting till October.”
Jollytsked in dismay. “I’ll have a chai latte, then, please. Maybe throw in some extra cinnamon? I’m craving autumn flavors.”
Chai wasn’t technically on the menu, but Maggie once told me that sometimes the shop made exceptions for special customers. To me, Jolly fit that description perfectly.
“And a chocolate milk!” Hannah shouted. “And a cinnamum roll.Please,” she added when Jolly whispered the word to her.
“That’ll be to go, Ava.” Jolly rooted around in her big handbag for her wallet. “Hannah and I have things to do, people to see while her mama’s at work today.”
“Coming right up,” I said, knowing that forever onward, cinnamon would be pronouncedcinnamumin my head.
Hannah ran to the doorway, pressed her hands to the door, and peered through the glass. “Hi, Norman!” she yelled. A moment later, Norman stood in front of the door, wagging his tail.
Jolly shook her head at the antics, but she was smiling. “Did you know you can see a man’s heart reflected in his dog? Most of the town wants to adopt Norman. And there are quite a few who’d love to get their hands on Sam, too.” She waggled her thin eyebrows. “A brokenhearted divorcé? Lordy be. He’s prime pickin’.”
I swallowed over a sudden lump of emotion. I’d known his heart was broken and could’ve guessed at the divorce, by the way he often looked at his bare ring finger, but my heart hurt for him just the same.
I didn’t want Jolly to think I was one of the people ready to pluck him clean, so I said, “Are men’s hearts reflected in cats, too?”
“Oh, hell no. Cats don’t let anyone tell them what to do with their hearts. Fickle creatures, those.”
I laughed, thinking of Molly as I added ice to a small cup, poured in milk, then added chocolate syrup. I gave it a good swirl and set it on the counter before starting Jolly’s drink.
Jolly turned her back to the door, and leaned in, putting her elbow on the counter. She dropped her voice. “I don’t mean to nag, but I was wondering how much progress you’ve made with Junebear?”
Yesterday, after finding out Junebear belonged to Hannah, I’d been so gung ho to get started on fixing her up, but I hadn’t had the energy last night.
Before I could tell her I hadn’t even started work on the bear, Jolly went on. “We’d love to get her back before Hannah goes into the hospital for her operation.”
Hannah was jumping up and down, showing Norman the lights on her shoes. He wasquabarking in appreciation. “Operation?”
“You haven’t heard? Lord, honey, the way this town talks, I thought you knew. Hannah’d been having headaches. I thought it was on account that she’s always singing so loud, but a brain scan showed a tumor.”
My heart stopped, freezing up for a good second before it kick-started again. “No,” I whispered.
“The doctors are fairly confident it’s benign, but they gotta go in and do some testing before they know for sure.”
My voice cracked. “When?”
“Friday, up in Birmingham at Children’s. We’ll be leaving on Thursday afternoon and spending the night up there.”
I didn’t have very long to get the job done, but I’d work through the nights if I had to. “I’ll make sure Junebear is ready for the trip.”
