Part 24 (1/2)
They stood there quietly, looking at each other, until Hannah dropped her eyes. ”Goodnight, Mike,” she said.
”Goodnight, Hannah.” Mike pulled open the door, but he didn't step out immediately. First he touched her cheek very gently, with the tip of his finger. ”Take care,” he said, giving her a smile. And then he turned and walked down the stairs.
Chapter Twenty-Four.
Hannah awoke to a rough tongue licking her nose and sunlight streaming in her bedroom window. ”What time is it?” she asked her feline bedfellow.
”Rrowww!” Moishe answered, a.s.suming a sphinx-like posture on the pillow next to hers.
Since she didn't speak cat and had no interpreter, Hannah turned to look at the clock. It was seven-thirty, and she'd gotten over six and a half hours of sleep. This hadn't happened since...Hannah's mind balked at going that far back in time. It certainly hadn't happened since she'd opened The Cookie Jar.
She threw back the light cotton coverlet she used during the summer months and smiled. This morning there was time for a luxurious cat stretch that imitated Moishe's ritual stretch. Hannah rolled over on her stomach and extended her arms and legs in random order until they were spread out in opposite directions. When that was concluded, she tucked arms and legs back in and rolled to one side, then the other side, and ended up on her back. And then came the best stretch of all, with all four paws, or in Hannah's case limbs, pointing straight up to the heavens. After that there was a flip to the side, another stretch extending toward the doorway, and Hannah sat up on the edge of the bed feeling better than she had in months. Obviously sleep was the key. If only there were some way to get more of it! Leaving her roommate to take quite literally a spit bath, Hannah headed off to the shower.
Twelve minutes later, cat and mistress left their bedroom and padded down the hall. Moishe was wearing his orange and white fur suit, and Hannah was dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved b.u.t.tercup yellow blouse. Hannah was still wearing her fur-lined slippers and Moishe was doing the same.
”Oh, my!” Hannah said as a welcome aroma drifted out from the kitchen. She'd forgotten to set the timer for the coffee last night, but Mich.e.l.le had made a pot.
”Good morning, Hannah,” Mich.e.l.le greeted her. ”I'm falling down on the job. All I made for breakfast this morning is coffee.”
”Coffee's perfect. It's exactly what I need. Can you think of a better way to start the day?”
Mich.e.l.le didn't waste any time thinking. ”You're right. Sit down and I'll get yours. And I'll have another cup with you.”
”You know, it's just amazing how alert I feel. And I haven't even had my first cup of coffee.”
”Sleep will do that to you. You should really try it more often.” Mich.e.l.le handed Hannah her coffee cup and sat down at the table with her.
The two sisters sipped in companionable silence for several minutes, and then Hannah spoke. ”What are your plans for the day?”
”Mother doesn't need me, so I thought I'd run out to the college and talk to Tim Pearson if I can borrow your truck.”
”Ride in to work with me and you can have it. Just make sure you're back before the Donkey Baseball Game.”
”When is that?”
”It starts at three and lasts until six. Then there's a barbecue and pizza feed in the big tent on the football field.”
”And after that is the auction...right?”
”Right. I know Mother was resisting. Did Stephanie end up talking her into donating something?”
”Yes, she did. Mother gave her a carved umbrella stand. It's ebony and Luanne got it at an estate sale in Edina.”
”Sounds nice.”
”It isn't. The carving is well done, but there are grotesque-looking rodents all over it. Mother's never been able to sell it, so she decided to give it to Stephanie and take the write-off.”
”Smart move,” Hannah said, downing the last of her coffee and standing up. ”Let's get ready to go. I want to take a look at that umbrella stand for myself. I might just bid on it for Moishe.”
Lisa looked shocked as Hannah came in the back door of the shop. ”It's only nine o'clock. You didn't have to come in this early.”
”Yes, I did. I wanted you to see how alert I am before I get tired again.”
Lisa laughed. ”Marge baked her Cottage Cheese Cookies this morning. I'll bring you a couple.”
Hannah poured herself a cup of coffee from the kitchen pot and sat down at the stainless steel workstation. Lisa brought her two cookies on a napkin and sat down across from her.
”Very good,” Hannah said after one bite. ”How did Herb's meeting with the mayor go?”
”Just fine. He's going to start patrolling the cemetery this afternoon. He's going to do a drive-through every two hours in the afternoon and increase it to once every hour when it gets dark out.”
”He's not going to patrol all night, is he?” Hannah asked, hoping Mayor Bas...o...b..wasn't expecting his town marshal to go without sleep.
”Just for the first two nights. And that's because Friday and Sat.u.r.day nights are popular date nights. The mayor figures the news will spread pretty quickly and parking in the cemetery will lose its appeal.”
”But how can the mayor possibly expect Herb to go two nights without sleep?”
Lisa laughed. ”I guess I forgot to tell you. Mayor Bas...o...b..relieved Herb of all his other duties until the city maintenance crew can put up motion lights. They promised him the lights would be up and working by Sunday afternoon. They're sending a man out there this morning to take photos and measurements. They did the same thing with the road past the apple orchard. They put up motion lights.”
”I wonder where the kids will move next?” Hannah mused. ”And I also wonder if Mayor Bas...o...b..owns stock in any motion light company.”
The next two hours pa.s.sed quickly while Hannah baked. She was about to mix up a batch of Mystery Cookies when Lisa came in from the coffee shop.
”Norman's here to see you,” she said. ”Shall I tell him to come back here to the kitchen?”
”Yes, please,” Hannah said, wondering why Norman hadn't simply parked in her spot and come in the kitchen door.
It appeared that Norman had been waiting very close to the door for Lisa's summons, because Lisa left and only a second or two later, he pushed through the door.
”Hi, Norman. Coffee?”
”I'd love some. Thanks. Is it okay if I sit here?”
Hannah nodded when Norman pointed to a stool at the workstation. It was the same stool where he usually sat. Either Norman had suffered some unfortunate memory loss that had erased all recollection of their former relations.h.i.+p, or he was withdrawing again.
”Here you go,” Hannah said, setting his coffee in front of him. ”How about a cookie?”
”That would be nice. Whatever you've got is fine.”
Hannah placed a Mola.s.ses Crackle and a Black and White on a napkin and handed them to Norman. And then, because she was frustrated with what she thought of as a subterfuge, she asked, ”What's wrong, Norman?”
”What do you mean?”
Since he'd dropped his eyes, Hannah could tell he knew exactly what she meant, but she decided to spell it out for him. ”Sometimes you're warm and loving, just like you were before the wedding. But other times, like now, you're cold and distant. You're perfectly polite, but you're treating me like a stranger.”
”Fair enough.” Norman signed deeply. ”I'm sorry, Hannah. It's a personal problem I'm trying to work out. It has nothing to do with you.”