Expresso Messo: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 6)

by Constance Barker

  “Plane? Maybe you should start from the beginning,” Hildie said.

  Mildred nodded and walked over to Toe’s table. She smiled at him and took a seat, then focused on the rest of us in the shop. I glanced at Essie whose laser eyes were fixed on Mildred.

  “My daughter was going to Hawaii. She’d planned it with a friend you see but her friend suddenly couldn’t go. She swung by my place to see if I could come with her.”

  “And that’s it? Your place looked like it had been ransacked,” I said.

  Eli looked at me and I could see the question in his eyes. I shrugged. He knew me by now. If there was a mystery going on I wouldn’t sit back and do nothing. I had to investigate. That meant going into places and looking around.

  “I was looking for my ID. You need that to fly you know.”

  “Your ID was under the couch cushions?”

  Mildred smoothed her red locks. “No silly. But my daughter has a flair for the dramatic and was looking for my purse as I threw some clothes and all my shoes into a suitcase.”

  “You didn’t lock your door,” Toe said.

  “Oh my, in the rush to pack and get out of there I must have forgotten.”

  “Don’t worry, your neighbors had a good eye on the place,” I said. “That is except for when your daughter came to get you.”

  “And that’s where you’ve been all this time? On a beach getting a tan?” I didn’t want to sound disappointed but I couldn’t help a note creep into my voice. All the worrying I’d done, the obsessing over her disappearance had been for nothing. There was nothing sinister about the mess. Nothing criminal about the forgotten breakfast.

  “Yes, it was a glorious time. I needed a break. It gave me time to think and re-evaluate my life.”

  “You left your cell phone on the table.”

  “So that’s where it was. I thought about calling someone when we landed but I couldn’t find my phone. Then once we got to the hotel and saw that view it totally slipped my mind. All your cares just melt away there.”

  “You look wonderful,” Hildie said.

  Essie gave her sister a withering look but Mildred didn’t notice. The woman was practically glowing and it wasn’t just the bronzed skin. The trip had done her a lot of good. She seemed happier now, not so weighed down by life.

  “Thank you. I feel great. Lying on the beach sipping cocktails really gives you perspective,” she said. “I had time to examine my life. Everything that’s happened recently and I’ve come to a few decisions.”

  “Okay, fine I’ll ask,” Essie said. “What decisions?”

  Mildred stood up and twirled for us to show off the new outfit she was wearing. “I didn’t have a lot of time to pack so I had to buy stuff when I got there. Best way to travel. I have a new wardrobe and a new lease on life.”

  If I could afford to travel like that I would love to but I suspected Mildred’s daughter bought most of the new clothes she would be wearing around Sweet Home in the next little while.

  “There will be no more sad dates at Reva’s and no more second hand men,” Mildred said.

  The second hand men comment caught my attention. So there were infidelities going on in town. I thought that had ended when Carl Jefferies was killed. I’d rather not know who was stepping out with whom. I didn’t want my opinion of anyone to change and knowing if someone was cheating would change the way I looked at them.

  As I watched Mildred I was glad I was wrong about her disappearance. She can drive me crazy sometimes but I was happy the daffy lady was okay. Better than okay if you asked Mildred. She had a glow about her now that I decided was more happiness than it was the tan. The tan would fade but if she truly had examined her life and decided to change things for the better the happiness would stay with her. It might be too late for her to find a Valentine but I hoped she found a companion soon.

  Being engaged has made me want to see everyone paired off it seemed. I would still love to see Jules with someone but only if she really wanted a relationship. Right now she was happy with the way things were.

  I was thrilled Eli was home. Now that he was back I could put my Valentine’s Day plan into motion. The surprise for him would be that it would happen before Valentine’s Day. The few restaurants in town were always so packed on the actual day. I wanted to celebrate the day before.

  “We’re glad you’re okay,” I said.

  “Thanks for your concern everyone. I just wanted to pop in and say hi. I’m going home to unpack.”

  She twirled around and left as dramatically as she had arrived.

  “I should get to the station, see what’s been going on while I was away,” Eli said.

  We held hands as I walked him to the door. “Okay but tonight you’re all mine,” I said.

  He grinned, nodded and kissed me on the cheek. I watched him leave then ran over to Jules.

  “Operation Celebration is on,” I said.

  “Are you going to tell us what’s going on now?” Hildie asked.

  I filled them in on the arrangements I’d made for the celebration dinner with Eli. Hildie sighed.

  “That sounds like a great night,” she said.

  The bell over the door jingled again and Harvey came in, grinning when he set eyes on Hildie. She pretended not to notice but she stood a little straighter and smiled back at him.

  “Hildie, tell me you don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day yet,” he said.

  “Who wants to know?”

  “How about we get a nice meal at Reva’s then take in an old movie? They’re playing some great classics that night.”

  Hildie nodded. “Sounds fun,” she said. Though she was playing it cool I knew she was excited to have him back and happy that he wanted to spend the evening with her.

  “That sounds like a good night, doesn’t it Toe? Maybe you and Essie should do that too,” I said.

  “Sure, that sounds like fun,” Toe said. He turned to look at Essie. “What do you say?”

  It wasn’t the most romantic way to ask for a date but sometimes if you didn’t push these old codgers the opportunities just flew by. Essie looked like she was about to say no but she sighed and nodded.

  “I’d love to.”

  With my aunts taken care of I needed to worry about me. Their dates weren’t until tomorrow. Mine was tonight and I would look horrible if I didn’t get to the salon soon and beg for Joseph’s help.

  “I’m going to go to the salon,” I said. I turned to Jules. “You know your mission?”

  “Make sure he shows up in a suit.” She saluted and I chuckled.

  “Will you guys be able to watch things here for the rest of the day?” I asked.

  With the hair and then Jules doing my makeup, getting dressed and supervising Reva in my apartment while she made dinner there wasn’t enough of me to go around.

  “Of course, dear. Go get dolled up for your fiancé,” Hildie said.

  I grabbed my purse and walked out with Jules. She needed to get back to the paper but she texted Eli saying she needed to talk to him later before he came to see me. Of course he would be suspicious and want to know what was going on but based on my proposal I was confident Jules would keep the secret. All he needed to know right now was what to wear.

  I hurried to the salon and was assaulted by the chemical smells of hair product. The same woman was at the desk. She looked up at me then down at her book.

  “We don’t have anything available today,” she said.

  “Lily! You visit me again!” Joseph hurried over and grinned at me. “I told you I can work miracles.”

  “I really need one today. I’m going to have a special dinner with Eli for Valentine’s Day.”

  “But that is tomorrow. Your hair will not last until tomorrow.”

  “I’m having the dinner tonight. So it will be an extra surprise. He won’t see it coming.”

  “I see. So you want this miracle today then.”

  I looked around the salon and saw the same number of women as
before but different ones. Today Karen Baumgardner, Moira’s mom, was there having her hair styled. And Martha who drove around in a golf cart that looked like a pumpkin was at the back getting her hair washed. A few other locals were there too chatting with each other and their stylists.

  “Please, Joseph.”

  He looked at his receptionist. “Move my appointments around. Some of them will have to wait. I can’t deny love!”

  Thankful that I would have his help I began to relax a little. He was the only one I hadn’t gotten on board and now that was settled.

  “Let’s go right over to the sinks.”

  I followed him over. With everything going on I’d forgotten about my old nemesis, the wash sink. I didn’t think we’d meet again so soon. Oh well, Eli was worth it and I suffered through another round of neck pain. Then we went back to his station and he stared me down in the mirror.

  “Cut today? Layers perhaps?”

  I shook my head. I still wasn’t feeling over adventurous when it came to my hair. Would layers perk up my limp hair? I didn’t know but I didn’t want to go too different. I’m sure there would be pictures of the night that I wanted to look back on and not regret my hair style.

  “Just a style today, please. I promise if I ever want layers I will come to you.”

  Joseph sighed. “Very well. We will work with what we have.”

  He grabbed a rolling cart filled with various sizes of rollers. He began rolling chunks of my hair, spritzing it with water as he went when he encountered a lock that was already drying. When he was finished I looked like my hair was wrapped around soup cans. He spritzed it all again to make it wet then gestured to the back of the salon.

  “We will put you under the dryer for half an hour to make sure they are completely dry.”

  I grabbed a magazine from one of the stations as we walked over. He settled me in the chair, lowered the dryer over the rollers and turned it on. I couldn’t hear a thing under there so I flipped through the magazine. It was another gossip rag so I tossed it aside and just waited.

  When the dryer clicked off Joseph came over and touched a few of the rollers with his fingers. Satisfied, he lifted the dryer and took my hand, guiding me back to his station.

  I watched as he took the rollers out. My hair fell in soft waves over my shoulders with more body than I’d ever thought possible for my tresses. He brushed and spritzed and teased until I hardly recognized myself. My hair looked stunning.

  When he was done he took off my smock with a flourish. “And another miracle!”

  I wanted to hug him but I didn’t want to ruin what he had just done. I grinned. “Thank you so much. It looks amazing.”

  I paid at reception and left him a tip then hurried outside. Thankfully it wasn’t a windy day but I wanted to get inside as soon as possible. I hurried home where Jules was already waiting for me outside.

  “I closed early in the name of love,” she said. “You’re hair looks amazing.”

  “Thanks. Now I need to work on the rest of me.”

  A crash from inside made us both jump.

  “I had my landlord let Reva in earlier. She started making dinner while I was at the salon.”

  Inside my apartment I put on my dress first and then she did my makeup. With a bit of concealer and some foundation she smoothed out my complexion. Then she gave me a smoky eye look. Because my dress was red she used red on my lips. First a lip liner so the lipstick wouldn’t bleed, then a bright red lip sheen. She took a step back and her eyes were wide.

  “You look gorgeous,” she said.

  Dubious, I walked to the bathroom and was shocked when I saw myself. I barely recognized myself. The dress looked great on me and the makeup she’d done set it off perfectly. With the final touches of jewelry and shoes I was ready for my date. All that was missing was Eli.

  “He’ll be here at five,” Jules said.

  We went to the kitchen to check on Reva. The woman spun around when she heard the click, click, click of my heels.

  “Lily, you look beautiful. Dinner is almost ready! I will put a few final touches then you just need to take it out of the oven in twenty minutes.”

  Jules gave me an air kiss on the cheek so as not to ruin my makeup. “Let me know how it goes.”

  I nodded and walked her to the door. My stomach flipped the closer it got to five. Eli would be here soon and I hoped he liked what I did for him. Reva emerged from the kitchen.

  “Everything is ready. Have a wonderful evening. Dessert is in the fridge and just needs to be served.”

  I nodded. When the door closed behind her I started to pace. It felt weird pacing in high heels but I didn’t want to take them off until after Eli was here. What if something had gone wrong? Maybe Jules got the time wrong. Maybe he would be held up at the station. But he’d taken today off too and had just popped in to say hi to everyone. I grabbed my phone from my purse and pressed the home button to see if I’d missed any calls while I was getting ready. Nothing.

  Finally there was a knock on the door. I rushed over as fast as I could in the heels and swung the door wide. Eli’s smile changed to a wide grin. His eyes twinkled as he took in my appearance. Jules had done her job. He looked amazing in a black suit and red tie. He held a long red velvet box in his hand.

  “Happy early Valentine’s Day,” he said.

  “Happy early Valentine’s Day.” I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips.

  I moved aside so he could come in. I dimmed the lights. Reva had lit candles on the table before she left. The romantic glow of the room and the warmth of the man standing beside me made me almost giddy.

  “I have something for you,” I said.

  “I can see.”

  “No, not just this.” I waved my hand around the apartment. I went to my bedroom and retrieved the present I’d bought for him. I handed him the white envelope.

  He opened it up and his eyes lit up like a boy at Christmas. “I love it.”

  When I’d been worrying about what to get him I thought about what we look back on most in our lives. Experiences. So I’d bought him an experience package to train with a professional football team for a day. They weren’t as expensive as I’d thought they were and he would be able to relive the experience every time he told the story about it.

  He handed me the box. I lifted the lid and it creaked open. I gasped when I saw the glass rose inside nestled on a bed of satin.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said.

  “It will never wilt. Just like my love for you.”

  After all the worrying and drama of the past week calmness washed over me. I was with my fiancé about to eat an amazing meal. He’d given me a gift I would cherish forever. I was the happiest girl in the world right now. I wished the night could go on forever.

  “Did anyone ever tell you how romantic you are?” I asked.

  “Me, no? I can’t help being that way with you. I know how lucky I am to have you.”

  I leaned in and kissed him again not caring how smudged my makeup got. “I’m the lucky one. But we’ll both be hungry if I don’t get dinner out of the oven before it burns.”

  “Do you need any help?”

  About to say no I changed my mind and nodded. This would be how our married life was. Helping each other, cherishing each other, making memories we can look back on with fondness.

  We headed into the kitchen together to start our celebration.

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  These books are all from
my Caesars Creek Series

  A Frozen Scoop of Murder (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book One)

  Death by Chocolate Sundae (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Two)

  Soft Serve Secrets (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Three)

  Ice Cream You Scream (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Four)

  Double Dip Dilemma (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Five)

  Melted Memories (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book Six)