“You’re in my seat.” Amy’s words were chilly cold.
Pat looked from me to Amy, then let out a dramatic sigh any high school theater coach would be proud of. She slipped out of the booth but stood while Amy sat. She tapped her manicured nail on the table. “You have to help her. Sherry’s my best friend.”
Then she turned and walked out of Diamond Lille’s, her designer stiletto heels clicking all the way to the door.
Amy pushed her purse into the corner of the booth. “What was all that about? I know I should have been more charitable, but I’ve never liked that woman. Besides, the fact that the mayor adores both her and Sherry makes me dubious of her personal worth.”
“I didn’t know Mayor Baylor knew Pat, too. I thought the connection to Sherry was through Greg.” I stared at the menu like I hadn’t read it two or three times a week for the last five—no, make that six—years.
Amy picked up her own menu. “For some reason, Pat showed up at City Hall this morning. The mayor was still obsessing over the fact that our mail was an hour late. He kept her cooling on the couch in the waiting room for at least an hour.”
“What did she come in to talk about?” I set aside the menu. It was Friday and that meant homemade clam chowder and fish and chips. I’d run that morning; I deserved the treat.
Carrie showed up at the table before Amy could answer. “Hey, girls.” Carrie snapped her gum. “What can I get for you, the usual?”
Amy shook her head. “What exactly is the usual?”
“Oh, you nonbeliever. No worries, we can play it your way.” Carrie looked at me, then she listed off my order, down to the vanilla milk shake. Pointing at Amy, she said, “You will have a double-stack cheeseburger, curly fries, and onion rings, because you had a light breakfast, and a chocolate shake.”
Amy pushed the menu toward Carrie. “Ha, you’re wrong. I want a cookies-and-cream milk shake.”
“Whatever,” Carrie mumbled and picked up the menus. “I’ll have your drinks out soon.”
When Carrie was out of earshot, Amy leaned close, taking a look around the crowded diner before she spoke. “I think she had a business situation to talk to him about. I kept hearing Sherry’s name come up in the discussion. Did you know that Pat has forty percent ownership in Vintage Duds?”
“Seriously? I thought Sherry had gotten the start-up money from her folks. At least that’s what Greg said.” I thought about Pat’s words. Were they meant as a plea for me to step aside so Sherry and Greg could live happily ever after again? Kids held a torch for their parents’ relationship longer than either of the married couple. Maybe Pat felt Sherry and Greg were her parental relationship. As sick as that sounded.
Our shakes arrived, and I sipped on the pure, cold vanilla and smiled. Sweet, icy goodness. What else was there to say about an ice cream treat on a hot day? I realized Amy had started talking again and tuned in to her words.
“That was what Sherry told everyone. But the real story, according to what I could hear from Mayor Baylor’s off ice, was that her parents refused her the money, thinking the idea was another one of her get-rich-quick schemes.” Amy shrugged. “I guess Pat got a good settlement in her last divorce, so she helped her friend out.”
“They must be really close.” I picked up a fry from the basket Carrie had popped on the table with Amy’s meal without even stopping to talk. I guess we’d insulted her waitress mojo by questioning her knowledge of our usual order. I wasn’t worried; Carrie couldn’t stay mad long. Her boss, on the other hand, could hold a grudge for years. Lille still gave me the stink eye for keeping time with her last loser boyfriend, even though I hadn’t been interested in Ray, not at all.
Amy broke an onion ring in half. “So you wouldn’t bankroll me in a new storefront? Maybe a surfing shop?” Her eyebrows raised. “That’s not a bad idea at all. South Cove could use a board store, and I could give lessons, and . . .”
I held up a hand. “Not going to happen. I’ve got my hands full owning Coffee, Books, and More, even if Aunt Jackie treats me like a silent partner. No way would I start another business.”
Her smile widened. “Who said I wanted your help with the store? In my daydream, you’re the perfect Daddy Warbucks and it’s a silent movie track.”