Brewing Trouble

by Sara Bourgeois

  “I can’t believe it’s all happening so fast. You don’t think we’re rushing anything?” I asked her before taking a bite of the muffin.

  “Not at all. When it’s right, it’s right. Besides, you’re a witch, Lenny. You can trust your instincts.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t call me right away,” Esme said as she burst through the doors to the breakfast room pushing the waiting guests aside in the process.

  “You were at work, and I didn’t want to bother you. I figured I’d tell you today after you’d had some sleep. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” I asked her before handing her a muffin as a peace offering.

  “Probably, but this was more important. Plus, I’m hungry.” She said as she took the muffin.

  “There’s more,” I said to both Aunt Kara and Esme. “I told him about my powers, and I took him to Kizzy’s place.”

  “And he still wanted to marry you?” Aunt Kara asked. “That’s wonderful, Lenny. It means you don’t have to hide what you are.”

  “You mean you told him for real?” Esme asked before eating the rest of the muffin in two bites. “I mean, I tell Brad all of the time, but he thinks I’m joking or nuts.” She said with one cheek full of pastry.

  “I’ve got to open up for breakfast, ladies.” Aunt Kara said as she donned her signature apron. “Grab another muffin before the herd shambles in, and then get out of the way.”

  “Okay, Aunt Kara.” Esme and I say in unison.

  “Oh, and Lenny, will you help me sort through the entries later today? We’re going to have an old-fashioned ice cream social tomorrow afternoon to announce the winner, but I’ve got to go through all of the contest entries from last night.”

  “Sure. How about if I go to work and put together an announcement for tomorrow’s paper, and then we’ll do that this afternoon.” I chirped.

  “Oh, I don’t want to make you go into work on your day off, Lenny. I told everyone about the ice cream social last night at the party.” Aunt Kara said as she walked towards the breakfast room doors.

  “I want to do it. You know how quickly people forget things. Let’s make sure you sell all of the fancy ice cream you’ve undoubtedly purchased for this event.” I said. “Let me walk Esme to her car, and then I’ll get ready for work.”

  Esme and I got a chance to talk as I walked her out to her little black sedan. It was a surprisingly average car for such a delightfully unusual person.

  “I can’t believe you told him you’re a witch,” Esme said before shoving half the muffin into her mouth.

  “I can’t believe how much food you can stuff into your face,” I said and poked her in the arm.

  After Esme had taken off for work, I got into my Jeep and headed into the newspaper’s office. It was only going to take me a couple of hours to put together a write-up and graphics for the ice cream social ad.

  The entire time I was working, I kept thinking that Nikolay would show up at any moment and demand that I investigate his murder further. Thankfully, he must have had better things to do.

  I wrapped up my work and emailed the printer with the final paper. Once that was done, I called Nate to tell him I loved him and to ask if he needed me to bring him anything before I headed home. He couldn’t talk for long because he was hot on the trail of some vandals, but he promised to pick me up for dinner later.

  I drove back to the bed and breakfast with my mind stuck in a daydream about my wedding. I imagined a fall wedding with the trees exploding in shades of red, orange, and gold. Could I pull off a red dress instead of a white gown? My ideal wedding dress would be a cascade of red silk and lace. I think I could pull it off for an outdoor autumn ceremony.

  Heck, I could even make it work for a holiday themed wedding in the winter. A red silk dress and a bouquet of white poinsettias. That would be something. I wondered if Esme would be at all interested in helping me plan a wedding. It didn’t really seem like her kind of thing, but sometimes people surprise you. I’d ask her later when I officially offered her my maid of honor position.

  As I pulled my truck into the bed and breakfast parking lot, I could see a couple of men Aunt Kara hired as handymen taking the old “Tree’s Hollow Bed and Breakfast” sign down from the front of the building. One of them was standing on the tippy top of the ladder, and it made me cringe.

  Inside I found Aunt Kara and an exhausted looking Nick seated at a table in the breakfast room with piles of small slips of paper in front of them. She’d obviously talked Nick into sticking around after his shift to help. Not that it had probably taken much to convince him. I wondered if he’d ever get the nerve to ask her out.

  “Oh good, you’re here.” Aunt Kara said, and I noticed that Jezebel was sleeping on one of the empty chairs at the table. “Do you have time to help us sort through all of these entries?”

  “Sure, just let me put my stuff in my room.”

  By the time I came back downstairs, the woman who helped out the front desk most days was in the breakfast room talking with Aunt Kara. Tammy looked flustered, and when I walked into the room, her eyes nervously darted between my Aunt and me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked nervously. Tammy’s fidgeting was making me anxious too.

  “We’re overbooked.” She let out with a wail.

  I hadn’t had many opportunities to talk to Tammy. We were barely acquaintances despite the fact that she worked where I currently lived, but I’d never seen her this upset about anything before. She was normally a very stoic and poised person. I could only guess that she was having a atrocious day.

  “It’s okay, Tammy. We’ll figure something out.” Aunt Kara said.

  That’s when I realized that I was the problem. My staying in room thirteen was the reason the bed and breakfast was overbooked. I felt horrible because this was such an important weekend for Aunt Kara.

  “I’ll go pack my things,” I said and turned to go up the stairs.

  “No, Lenny. You don’t have to do that.” Aunt Kara said quickly. “We can figure something else out.”

  I didn’t know what else there was to figure out. I’d been here too long anyway. Not only was I not paying rent, but I was taking up a room that could be making her business money.

  “I’ll call Esme and see if I can crash there. After the contest is over, we can figure out where to go from here.” I said. “You need to focus on your event planning and on picking a winner. After I get my stuff packed, I’ll come down and help you sort.”

  “Lenny…” Aunt Kara said anxiously.

  “It’s okay, Aunt Kara. It’s time.” I smiled when I said this because it was time.

  It didn’t take me long to pack up my stuff. Most of my belongings were still in a local storage locker, and all I had in the room at the bed and breakfast were my clothes and personal items. I’d loved my apartment in the city, and I was optimistic about finding a place to call my own here in Tree’s Hollow. I could rent a little place for Jezebel and me until the wedding.

  I brought my bags down to the breakfast room and sat down at the table. Jez gave me a look like she couldn’t believe we had to move again, but she quickly started to purr as I petted her head.

  There were three piles of name suggestions on the table. One pile for absolute noes. One pile for maybe’s, and one more pile for Nick and Aunt Kara’s favorites.

  “The hardest part isn’t going to be figuring out which ones are the best,” Nick said groggily. “The hard part is figuring out what to do with the names that aren’t bad but aren’t great either.”

  “Yeah, I feel bad just tossing those.” Aunt Kara said. “But, I really like these.” She pushed the smallest pile towards me.

  I convinced Aunt Kara to ditch the maybe pile along with the absolute no pile. That left her with a handful of names that she would be proud to call her business. After the sorting was done and the names were placed in a top hat provided by a local costume shop, I carried my luggage out to the Jeep.

  “I still don’t know if you should
draw a name out of a hat,” I said to Aunt Kara as she hugged me goodbye.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve attached a paperclip to my favorite just in case I chicken out on the drawing.” She said with a wink.

  “Oh, great! I think that’s a much better way to go than a random winner. I know you like them all, but you deserve to have your favorite.” I said. “So, who is the potential big winner?”

  “His name is Viktor Popov.” She said, and my heart jumped up into my throat at the sound of a Russian name. “He’s a tailor. His family has lived in Tree’s Hollow for generations.”

  I left with a smile and vowed to look into this Viktor Popov further. I wanted to warn Aunt Kara. But, what would I be warning her about? Just because he was Russian didn’t mean he was involved in Nikolay’s death. It didn’t mean he was the guy who showed up to scare Nathan and me the other night. Right? I mean, if his family had been in Tree’s Hollow for generations, wouldn’t Nate have crossed paths with him at some point?

  That thought didn’t give me much comfort. Tree’s Hollow was a small town, but it was possible that Nathan hadn’t met every single person who lived here. We weren’t that small of a town. I could feel a headache start to pound between my eyes as I pulled the truck out of the bed and breakfast’s parking lot.

  When I pulled up in front of Esme’s house, she was laid out on one of those plastic and metal lawn chair loungers as she drank an enormous frosty glass of what looked like lemonade. She was constantly shooing a huge chicken away from the glass and trying to read a book through gold-framed sunglasses.

  “Get away, Fredrick.” She said to the chicken who still tried to get at her lemonade. “Oh hey, Lenny. Come on in.”

  When she stood up to greet me, Fredrick the chicken took advantage of her opportunity to have access to the tall glass of lemonade.

  “Uh, I think your chicken got your drink,” I said as Esme hugged me.

  “Dang it, Fred. I told you no more today.”

  Fred just looked at her, squawked, and then started to drink again.

  “Let me help you drag your bags into the house,” Esme said and left the lemonade for Fred. “Fine Fred, but the next glass is mine.”

  As I walked back out to the Jeep, the light hit the For Rent sign in front of the house across the street just right so that it blinded me for a moment. I recognized the number as a local one which meant the landlord could show the property on short notice.

  “I’m going to call about the house across the street,” I said to Esme as I followed her into her home.

  I set my bags down on the wooden floor of the entryway and looked around. Esme and I hadn’t been best friends forever for very long, so I’d never really been in her house before. It was exactly as I’d expected, though.

  The entryway was just a few feet of hardwood right inside the front door, and the rest of the living room was carpeted in what had to have been special order royal blue shag carpeting. She had two boxy loveseats that were covered in a thick cream colored brocade and gold damask curtains hung from the room’s two windows. In the center of it all was a glass coffee table that had a carved wood dolphin holding it up instead of legs.

  “Ooh! If you move in across the street, we’ll be neighbors.” She said excitedly. “I guess that’s pretty obvious. Anyway, tell me about the proposal first. Tell me everything.”

  Two hours later after I’d told Esme the proposal story six times, she had to leave for work. That left me, Jezebel, and Fred the chicken to hang out for the evening. I thought about calling the landlord about the house across the street in the morning, but I couldn’t wait.

  “I’m going over there with you. There’s no way you’re dragging me to another place that I don’t get to see first.” Jezebel said when I hung up the phone.

  The landlord, Bryce, had said he was finishing something up and he’d meet me at the house in about an hour.

  “Would you rather become roommates with Esme and Fredrick?”

  “Okay, fine. Just don’t sign a lease if the place is a dump. I’m sure there are other rentals in town.” Jezebel said and licked her paw lazily. “If it’s halfway decent, I’m confident that we can make it work. Anything is better than rooming with your weirdo friend and her dumb chicken.”

  “Hey, I’m in the room,” Fred said.

  Jezebel and I both turned to look at the red and white bird. I’d almost forgotten that Fred was Esme’s familiar.

  “Oh great, a talking chicken. Let’s go outside, Lady.” Jezebel said and went to the front door.

  Chapter Eight

  In the end, I let Jezebel follow me across the street to meet the landlord. Bryce was going to find out I had a cat eventually anyway. It was an important matter to get out of the way right off the bat. If he wouldn’t let me have Jez in the house, I didn’t want it.

  He pulled up in a brand-new Lincoln Continental, and I knew right away that he wasn’t hurting for cash. The man who got out of the car wasn’t at all what I expected. Bryce couldn’t have been a day over twenty-one, yet he was wearing an expensive tailored suit and a Rolex. He strolled up the walkway to meet me on the front porch, and I almost giggled because the way he walked reminded me of Jezebel’s haughty saunter.

  Bryce stuck his hand out for me to shake, and I noted that he gripped my hand as if he was afraid he’d break it. Without a word, he pulled a key out of his pocket and put it in the deadbolt.

  “It’s an extra $200 deposit for the cat, Baby.” He said in a fake French accent.

  I was going to protest at the notion of being called baby by this guy, but I wanted the house, so I kept my complaint to myself. We stepped inside the house, and the interior took my breath away.

  “Yeah, Baby. It’s great, isn’t it?” Bryce said, and I cringed.

  “You’re a knucklehead,” Jezebel said.

  “What was that, Baby?”

  “Oh, nothing. I said I love the floors.” I nudged Jezebel with my foot softly and gave her the look.

  “They’re hand-laid mahogany. The kitchen has brand new professional grade appliances, and both bathrooms have been completely renovated since the last tenant left. Utilities usually run under a hundred bucks a month total for everything, and garbage pick-up is included with your rent. The place has been vacant for a while, so I’d be willing to sign a six-month lease just to get someone in here. If you like it, we’ll go month to month after that. If not, no problem, Baby.”

  “What is the monthly rent?” I swallowed a lump in my throat knowing a place like this was going to be obscenely expensive. It just looked like a regular house from the outside, but inside was pure luxury.

  “Six hundred a month. I was going to charge five hundred and fifty, but you’ve got the cat. I’ll need first and last month’s rent along with a four-hundred-dollar security deposit. Will that work for you, Baby?”

  “I’m sorry, did you say six hundred or sixteen hundred?” I couldn’t believe what I thought I’d heard.

  “Six hundred, Baby. This neighborhood is so quiet, and out of the way, it’s hard to rent this house. I had it fixed up hoping to attract a tenant.”

  Something about his explanation sounded off, but I didn’t care. I was so enamored with the place that he could have said it was in a flight path for fighter jets and I would have still rented it.

  “I’ll take it. Let me run across the street and grab my check book. I’m staying with a friend who lives in the blue house.”

  “Sure thing, Baby. I’ll grab a lease from the car.”

  Jezebel liked the place well enough, but she thought I was nuts for signing the contract so fast. I didn’t care. In my opinion, it was the most beautiful house in the world. It looked deceptively small from the street, but once you were inside, you discovered that it had four spacious bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a finished basement, and a sunroom off the kitchen.

  I called Nathan, and he said he’d be over after work to look at the place. I could tell he wanted to say something about me waiting to s
ign the lease until after he’d had a chance to look at it, but thankfully he never actually came out and said it.

  “But, why is it so cheap?” Nate asked as we stood in the middle of the empty living room.

  “The landlord said it was hard to rent, so he was trying to use price as an incentive,” I answered thoughtfully although something deep inside of me told me it wasn’t true.

  “Alright, well it’s certainly a great house. I’m off tomorrow and Monday, so when do you want to get your stuff from storage?” Nate asked.

  The truth was that I wanted to go right away and get everything. I was now in a hurry to call this little slice of heaven home, but I knew that wouldn’t be a good idea.

  “Monday is good. Aunt Kara’s ice cream social is tomorrow, and I don’t want to try moving in around that.”

  “Fair enough, so let me take you to dinner tonight.” He said and pulled me into his arms for a kiss.

  The next day, I woke up just before Esme got home from her shift at the hospital. I made her a cup of tea and hopped into the shower. For the second, or third, time in a very short period of history, I felt like I was getting ready to start a new life.

  I wasn’t sure what you were supposed to wear to an ice cream social, so I threw on a pink sundress and sandals. Hopefully, the warmth would hold out, and I wouldn’t end up feeling stupid and cold dressed this way.

  Esme was passed out on the couch when I came out of the guest bedroom. So, I fed Fred and left her a note to come by the bed and breakfast if she woke up soon enough. Otherwise, I’d be back early evening.

  Jezebel didn’t want to stay with Esme and Fred, and she didn’t want to sit in the empty house all day. I took her with me to the ice cream social I figured she could entertain herself in the garden or in the passages between the walls even if we didn’t have a room there anymore.

  When I arrived, I parked the Jeep far out in the parking lot so I could leave the closer spaces for guests. The same handymen were out on the lawn setting up cones and wooden parking barrier things like they’d done Friday night. I’d have to remember to come out and move my truck when they were done.