Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries

by J. D. Shaw

  “Now that’s something useful.”

  “But let’s get that friend request to Joshua.” Kathy reached over her and typed his name in the search box. A few clicks of the mouse later his picture was smiling on Vivienne’s monitor. “It’s sent. Now you’ll have to wait until he logs on and approves it.”

  Vivienne scanned the main page and pointed to the icon that looked like a patch of little flowers. A red number one was highlighting it. “What’s that?”

  “Click and see.” Kathy instructed.

  She did just that and Kathy’s picture appeared. “Kathy Saunders wants to join my friend garden?”

  “Congratulations. I hear she’s fabulous.”

  Vivienne accepted the request and Kathy explained the basics of reading the profile and how to post status messages and share links to interesting web pages. Nearly an hour and half later, she was shocked to see how it consumed her free time at an alarming rate. “I have to go back to the store and get that register programmed.”

  “Is it really after eight?” Kathy checked the designer watch on her wrist. “Let me help you load the dishwasher.”

  “No need to do that. I’ll just deal with them when I get home.” Vivienne shut the computer down. “Thanks for all your help.”

  “Welcome to the twenty-first century, darling.” Kathy smiled. “We’ve been expecting you.”

  Chapter 5

  It had taken four snooze button presses before she was able to part herself from the warm covers of her bed the next morning. She had returned to her store after dinner and managed to not only program the cash register, but she had finished the kitchen setup for the morning baking. It was nearly three in the morning when she briefly considered pulling an all night session like a twenty year old college student. But her thirty-six year old body refused to allow that and she went home to get a few hours of shut eye.

  As she swung her legs over the edge of her queen bed, she shoved her feet into a pair of comfortable white bunny slippers that Nora had given her as a Christmas present last year. The sunlight was streaming in through the lavender curtains of her bedroom. As usual, she walked over to greet the morning from her second floor window. It made her happy to see that the big sugar maple next to the sidewalk was starting to display its peak foliage. The green leaves were now a fiery red and yellow mix that just begged to be collected and waxed for her window display at the store. Mother Nature always provided the best decorations for this time of year.

  After retrieving the newspaper from her front steps, she inhaled the air that was crisp and a bit colder than the day before. There hadn’t been a heavy frost yet, but she was certain one was on the way. Cayuga Lake provided a micro-climate that allowed for temperature fluctuations that were especially productive for grapes. As such, wineries had sprung up all along the shoreline, with more opening each year. The tour buses made regular visits along the wine route, but lacking a winery in the town area they never stopped in town. She began to wonder if perhaps Mona Clarke had the right idea but was just going about it the wrong way.

  With a mug of hot coffee in hand, she slid into the chair in front of the computer and turned it on. This felt strangely different from her usual routine of sitting on the sofa and casually browsing the newspaper for interesting articles about local happenings.

  Following the instructions Kathy had given her, she was excited to see the little flower garden icon highlighted with a red number one above it. She moved the cursor, clicked the mouse, and a picture of her Mother appeared on the screen. Nora Finch wants to join your friend garden, the text underneath it had explained.

  She sighed and took a sip of her coffee. How long had her mother been social networking? She hadn’t even known she could use a computer. She must have taken one of the free classes at the senior center. Why couldn’t she have taken something like needlepoint or photography? As her finger hovered over the mouse to accept the request she paused. Did she really want to give her mother this much insight into her social life? Then again, denying one’s own mother as a friend seemed rather harsh and she was sure it would lead to more arguments than she really cared for in the future. With a click of the mouse she and her mother were now officially friends, at least according to Social Butterfly.

  As she scrolled the status page, she found a link that Kathy had posted sometime last night. It led to the page of the Cayuga Cove Historic Commission and an artist rendering of Main Street after all the proposed improvements. Vivienne navigated to the ‘What’s New’ button and clicked on it. She found that the first meeting to discuss the Main Street Renovation Project was going to be held in the library at seven tonight. In tiny text at the bottom, there was mention that it was open to the public.

  She wasn’t sure she’d have to time to attend given all the baking that needed to get done to fill her cases, but she was going to try her best to be there. The future of her business could be at stake and she probably should be as proactive as possible to make sure it remained her livelihood.

  As she parked her red Toyota Matrix near the dumpsters behind the bakery, she was happy to see that no wayward trash had been deposited from careless trash pickup. The sun was shining strong and bright on another fine morning. It warmed her face as she walked to the back door. She felt energized to start the non-stop baking fest and fill her store with tempting goodies.

  An hour later, she had her four commercial grade convection ovens filled with batches of peanut butter, sugar, ginger, and oatmeal raisin cookies. Thanks to the dual industrial mixers, she was able to churn out batches in record time but still, she was running a little behind schedule and it made her just a little nervous. Did she need to hire an assistant? It was the one question she couldn’t really answer at the moment. Only time would reveal that.

  There had been no argument outside her store this morning, and the space where the bright yellow fire hydrant reflected the sunlight had remained open. As the smell of cookies filled the air, she walked over to the display window and looked out at Main Street.

  Despite nothing being open, the road was filled with cars from all the tenants who rented the apartments above the businesses. Mona Clarke had been right about the lack of parking for customers and once more she felt she had a good point. True, some of the spaces opened up as the tenants left for their jobs, but most remained full for the day and it could be a challenge to find parking for some of the businesses.

  Just how far was one of her customers willing to walk a cake back to their car? What about rain or snow? She doubted people would trudge very far through puddles or dirty snow banks to buy some cookies.

  Another hour of baking passed. Now that the first batches were cooled, she began to fill the glass display cases with some of the goods. She placed paper doilies down on the trays, arranging the cookies in neat rows that would look attractive from the customer side of the case. Thanks to hours as a child spent learning cursive in grade school, she was able to hand script little price and product identification cards that perched on spiral place card holders above each product. It gave the store a special homemade touch that felt nothing like the impersonal corporate coffee shops and bookstores that spread like weeds across America’s retail landscape.

  The air was now perfumed with the scent of decadent chocolate mocha brownies. Some plain, others swirled with cheesecake and peanut butter. As she continued to write up little signs perched on one of her bistro tables, she was startled by a knock on the front door. She looked up and saw the smiling face of Mona Clarke standing outside.

  “I’m afraid I’m not officially open until tomorrow morning at ten.” Vivienne said as she opened the door.

  Mona Clarke smiled at her, dressed in a royal purple jacket that probably cost as much as one of the commercial ovens in the bakery. “I saw the closed sign, but I thought a little sneak peek might be okay for the Mayor’s wife.”

  Vivienne was at a loss for words. She had so much to do, but the chance to get some inside information from Mona was too m
uch to resist. She gestured for her to enter. “What a delightful surprise. Come in.”

  Mona breezed into her store, trailing some sort of floral perfume that completely overpowered the baking smell. “What a beautiful little shop you have.” She gushed, taking in the view.

  Vivienne closed the door and gave her apron a quick pat down to shake off some of the flour that had spilled during her morning baking. “Thank you. I did most of it myself, except for the electric and the plumbing.”

  “It’s just so charming and warm.” Mona walked over the display case and admired the fresh cookies inside. “These look absolutely scrumptious.”

  “Would you like a free sample?” Vivienne asked. “I’ve got plenty on hand.”

  Mona removed her coat and set it on the back of one of the bistro chairs. “That would be wonderful, dear.” She knelt down to check her reflection in the glass of the case, making sure her light blond hair, swept up into a fancy style with a bejeweled clip, was still picture perfect.

  “I was just about to have some tea.” Vivienne sailed into the kitchen area and turned on the electric kettle. “How about some honey lemon?”

  “Don’t go to any trouble.” Mona answered as she sat down.

  “It’s no trouble at all.” Vivienne put the tea bags into two ceramic mugs and returned to the table with two peanut butter cookies on a small saucer.

  “I don’t know if you’re aware of the Cayuga Cove Women of Small Business Association.”

  “I just received one of your newsletters the other day, actually.” Vivienne answered.

  “Wonderful.” Mona folded her hands together on the table, catching the late morning sunlight with her diamond encrusted wedding band. “I’m the Director and we’d love to have you join our little group.”

  “That would be nice.” Vivienne answered politely. “Aren’t you also involved with the Historic Commission?”

  “I am indeed.” Mona reached for a cookie and took a tiny bite as a knock on the front window startled them both.

  Vivienne saw the smiling face of Victoria Clemens peering in. She was dressed in workout sweats that somehow looked better than any of the everyday clothes she wore.

  Victoria gave a little wave and then continued on what must have been her morning power walk to work off breakfast. ‘How many calories could Irish coffee actually have?’ Vivienne wondered to herself. Given Victoria’s trim figure, she doubted a sugared doughnut or deep-fried fritter ever crossed her Botox-enhanced lips.

  Mona waved back and then let out a little sigh. “Unfortunately, we already have the voting member chairs filled.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t interested in joining that.” Vivienne corrected.

  “But the meetings will be open to the public, of course.” Mona added with a little smile. “We’re not expecting much of a turnout for the first one.” She took another bite of the cookie. “These are just divine.”

  “Thank you.” Vivienne retuned a smile. “So why are you expecting a small turnout?”

  Mona paused for a moment, as if she were composing her thoughts in advance before speaking. “Well, I hate to say it but our agendas will probably be quite dull for the general public’s attention. First meetings usually lack a cohesive flow.”

  “I would think quite the opposite to be the case.” Vivienne leaned forward in her chair. “If you’re going to be taking on the challenge of updating Main Street to attract more tourism, I think that’d generate quite a bit of buzz.”

  There was an uncomfortable silence as Mona listened to her words and processed them. “I guess we’ll find out tonight for sure.”

  The tea kettle whistled and Vivienne jumped up to grab the hot water. “I’m hoping to be there if I can catch up on all the baking left to be done.”

  “Great.” Mona’s tone was flat.

  Vivienne poured the hot water into the mugs and returned to the table. “I think that once the right plan is presented, you’ll find everyone happy to jump onboard for bringing in those tour busses that zoom by along the wine trail.”

  Mona sipped her tea and nodded thoughtfully. “It will have to be sooner rather than later.”

  Vivienne took a sip of her tea. “Why is that?”

  “Well, for one thing those tour companies plan their bus tours about a year in advance. In order to entice them to add us to their routes, we need to be able to present them with our plan by late October.” Mona explained as she took another sip of tea.

  “I didn’t know that.” Vivienne took care to keep mental notes for Kathy who would no doubt want all the details.

  “Not many people do.” Mona sighed. “They think these bus tours just meander about the roads and stop wherever it looks interesting. But the truth of the matter is you really have to pitch your town to their corporate planning board. Even after that, there’s a terrible amount of competition along the wine trail and it’s just getting more crowded with each season.”

  “Is this what you’re going to explain at the meeting tonight?”

  “Yes, along with some other minor details.” Mona pushed her chair back and stood up to retrieve her coat. “I hate to rush off, but I have a rather important issue to take care of this afternoon.”

  “Thank you so much for stopping by.”

  Mona slipped her coat on and walked over the display of teas. “I may have to start a standing order for some of these blends for the meetings. All that speaking can be murder on the vocal chords.”

  “Just say the word and I’ll write it up.” Vivienne stood up from the table and extended her hand.

  Mona gave her a firm handshake. “Let’s add a dozen cookies or so to that order.” She turned to leave and then pivoted back around on her expensive-looking designer heels. “What time is your grand opening tomorrow?”

  “Ten.” Vivienne’s voice cracked as she thought about all the last minute details that were going to have to get completed.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning with the giant scissors.” Mona winked and sailed out the door, trailing her perfume once again.

  Chapter 6

  “You must be crazy.” Kathy raised her voice from behind the counter of her store.

  “I’m telling you, she’s not as bad as she seems.” Vivienne had four cakes baking in her ovens. Thanks to her Mother offering to watch the store, she had been able to slip away for a little break to catch her friend up with her morning encounter.

  “Are you sure she didn’t slip something into your mug of tea when you weren’t looking?” Kathy folded her arms across her chest.

  “Nice as could be.” Vivienne insisted. “She was nothing at all like the woman arguing with Joshua the other morning.”

  Kathy rapped her French-tipped nails on the countertop nervously. “Now I’m positive she’s up to something.”

  Vivienne had made steady progress with her baking schedule and she was quite certain she would be able to make the meeting tonight after all. “Want me to save you a seat at the meeting?”

  “I thought your new friend didn’t think there was going to be a big turnout?” Kathy raised an eyebrow.

  “She’s just an acquaintance.” Vivienne corrected. “Despite what she thinks, I imagine it will be quite full.

  “Oh, it will be.” Kathy started typing on the keyboard of her computer.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m sending out a group message to all the local merchants I’m friends with on Social Butterfly.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard. “I will need you to save me a seat because this meeting is going to be packed.”

  Vivienne wasn’t sure if her friend was doing it for the good of the Main Street merchants or just out of spite for her dislike of Mona. Either way, a healthy crowd turnout was a good thing. More ideas could be brought up and perhaps everyone would walk away with a better understanding of the whole situation. At least, she hoped it would turn out that way. “That’s a great idea.”

  Kathy finished the message and sent it along. “I’m glad you a
gree.”

  “I better get back to the bakery before Nora decides to try her own recipes.” Vivienne glanced at her watch and was surprised it was still only ten minutes to two. The day was cooperating for once.

  “See you at seven.” Kathy waved as Vivienne left her store.

  * * *

  As Vivienne pulled open the glass door to the Cayuga Cove library, she inhaled the scent of old books that always conjured images of trips with her mother for story hours. Nora had instilled a love of books and reading from an early age in her daughter. As an only child, much of her social interaction outside of the school yard had happened in a seated circle on a large braided rug in the common room of the library.

  The librarian would read a book to the children, usually acting out the parts with funny voices and asking the children to provide the sound effects. After a snack of cookies and fruit punch, she and the other boys and girls were allowed to browse the rows of colorful books and choose one to check out. It would transport her to different worlds where dogs could be red or rain clouds could drop scoops of strawberry ice cream.

  Her moment of sweet nostalgia was interrupted when Clara Bunton’s voice startled her from behind. “This had better be worth closing down early tonight.”

  “Stephanie isn’t quite ready to be left alone yet?” Vivienne followed in step with Clara as they breezed past the circulation desk and headed for the set of double doors that led to the conference room. She was still dressed in her pink uniform, but had put a simple white sweater over it to keep the evening chill away.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Harold is a capable cook and I trust him like a member of my own family.” Clara explained as she waved to Harriet Nettles, the town librarian. “But his field of vision rarely leaves the grill.”

  “So how did you find out about the meeting?” Vivienne could smell the faint scent of fried food as she followed Clara. “Was it through Social Butterfly?”