The Dana Potter Cozy Mystery Collection

by Liz Turner

  “Woo! Now that was a rush!” Maya exclaimed, plopping down in her chair.

  “Yep, and just about the right time, too,” Dana said. “We probably won’t get another line, but we’ll keep a steady flow of customers until about two or three.”

  As she predicted, a customer or two stopped by the table every five minutes until shortly after two in the afternoon. After that, there seemed to no longer be anyone else around.

  The longer the wait grew between customers, the more nervous Maya became.

  “So, I was thinking,” Maya said, “I’m gonna count the money now and see how close we are to our goal… Ya know, so I can decide if it’s time to start sending out texts or blowing up Instagram.”

  “I’m assuming ‘blowing up Instagram’ isn’t what it sounds like, but sure, let’s do a count,” Dana said.

  Dana unlocked the box and passed it to Maya, who sorted the bills and begun tallying them up. Dana got one more customer while Maya counted.

  “Seven-hundred and ten,” Maya said once she’d finished counting. She looked simultaneously satisfied and worried. “Close enough, right? We have enough, plus some extra…”

  “I told you, we’re only including the trip in the deal if we hit our goal completely,” Dana reminded.

  “But it’s so close! And we’ve only made seven bucks in the last hour! I’m hungry and tired, and I don’t wanna wait around for nothing anymore!”

  “I know,” Dana said, “but the fliers say we’ll be here until six, so at least try to make it to four-thirty. I can hold down the fort for the last hour and a half by myself.”

  Maya folded her arms. “Fine.”

  Four o’clock rolled around, and the pace remained just about the same. However, not even five minutes before the time Maya intended to give up, a muscular middle-aged man passed by them on the opposite side of the street. As he strolled down the road, he glanced at the table and stopped to squint at the sign posted in front of them. Next thing they knew, he beamed and marched toward them.

  “The Williams’ recipe? Really?” he said.

  “Really,” Maya replied. “Maya Williams, at your service.”

  “No, y-you don’t mean…” he stuttered. “Your mom is… Wow, I can’t believe it! I used to be best friends with Jaron Williams before his passing. I haven’t had one of these brownies in years.”

  “Jaron?” Dana said, raising her eyebrows.

  “My uncle,” Maya said. “Uncle Jaron died in Iraq while my mom was pregnant with my baby brother. That’s why he’s named after him.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Dana said. “Seems I missed a lot more while I was away from town than I realized.”

  “Yeah, I can understand that,” the man said. “I had to move away for a while just to deal with his loss. Only just got back, actually. He was my best friend. His mom used to make these brownies for us whenever we had sleepovers, and we’d eat the whole tray ourselves! I sure miss those days…” His eyes clouded over for an instant before focusing back on Maya. “How much for the rest of ‘em?”

  Maya’s eyebrows shot upward. “The rest of them? As in you wanna buy every brownie on this table?”

  “That’s what I said,” the man confirmed.

  “That’s probably a whole tray right there!” Maya said.

  “Yeah, how much?”

  “How much are you willing to pay?” Maya asked, playfully.

  “Hmm… Well, I did get a decent tax refund this year, and these brownies are the best I’ve ever had… Plus, it looks like it’s for a good cause… Would 150 do it?”

  “Done!” Maya nearly shouted, slapping a slice of pie down on top of the pile of brownies. “And I’ll throw in a slice of pie for free.”

  The man chuckled, passed three fifty-dollar bills to Maya, and begun loading the brownies and the slice of pie into his backpack.

  Maya put both hands over her mouth and stared wide-eyed at Dana. “We did it,” she said, without uncovering her mouth. “We literally just did it…”

  “Something told me we would.” Dana smiled. “Now, looks like it’s just passed four-thirty. I’ll finish up here. You go home and take a nap or something. It’s been a long couple of days for you, I’m sure!”

  “Yeah, about that…” Maya said. “I think I’m gonna stick it out until the end. I mean, what if another miracle like that happens and I totally miss it?”

  Dana chuckled. “I thought you might change your mind.”

  The surrounding walkways were quiet for the rest of the hour, but Maya kept a hopeful gaze. Suddenly, the streets filled with people, and a new bustle of customers approached the table. Maya had a notepad out and was taking additional orders for brownies, and Dana managed to sell all but four chocolate chip cookies, one piece of coffee cake, and two slices of pie. As six in the evening rolled around, Dana took down the poster and begun taking the leftovers back to her car.

  “Hey, Miss Potter?” Maya said. “I think I’m gonna head home and start making brownies for all these orders before anyone has time to look at their bank accounts and change their mind. You need anything from me?”

  “No, that sounds like a good idea,” Dana said. “I’ll finish up here and then go home and count our earnings.”

  “Oh, hey ladies!”

  Maya and Dana both paused, turning around to see Celest stepping out of a car two spaces away from them.

  “What are you up to?” Celeste said, smiling as she made her way over to them.

  “We just finished up a bake sale,” Dana said. “And you? Going to the library?”

  “Yeah, just need to exchange a book before the library closes. What’s the bake sale for?”

  “There’s a woman dying of cancer, and her son is trying to pay the bill by himself,” Maya said. “So we’re raising money to help out.”

  “Oh my, that’s just awful!” Celeste said. “Well, here—we can’t have that family suffering alone, now can we? Take this as a donation.” She rummaged through her purse and took out her wallet. From inside the wallet, she pulled all the cash she had and handed it to Maya.

  “Wow, this is like forty dollars,” Maya said. “Are you sure you don’t wanna take the rest of these chocolate chip cookies or this apple pie?”

  “No, this is just a humble donation from someone who knows what it’s like,” Celeste said. “It was nice seeing you girls.”

  As Celeste walked away, Dana and Maya watched her leave.

  “She has no idea what she just did…” Maya whispered.

  “What are the chances of that?” Dana muttered.

  “Seriously…” Maya said, astonished. “Well, I better get going.” Waving at Dana, she took off down the street.

  Dana stayed behind a little longer to put away the tables and then headed home. Once home, she munched on a slice of leftover apple pie and went back to work counting their cash.

  Around ten in the evening, there was a knock at her door.

  “Oh, hey there Maya,” Dana said.

  “I figured you were still up–I could see all the lights on,” Maya said. “I’m just dropping off the last of our donations from the second batch of brownies.”

  “Perfect! How much you got?”

  “210. How much you got?”

  “Well, add that 210 to it, and we both got, oh… 853, total.”

  “For real?” Maya’s jaw dropped.

  “Well, we had some very generous donations, now didn’t we? And word spread pretty quick about them brownies. While you were taking orders, one of our customers told me some guys were raging about your brownies at the pool this afternoon. According to her, that’s why your line was so long.”

  “That explains it,” Maya said. “So, what do we do now?”

  “Well, it’s a bit late to be calling William, and we still haven’t established the perfect strategy. I’m thinking Sunday may not be the best day for this conversation, so I say we wait until Monday morn–” Right that instant, Dana was cut off by her phone suddenly ringing. She
looked at the caller I.D. and her expression softened. “Speak of the devil,” she said, and answered. “Hello.”

  “Hello, Miss Potter?” William’s voice rang.

  “Yes, this is she.”

  “Good evening. Uh, sorry for the late call. Did I wake you?”

  “No, and as it happens, my associate, and I were both working late tonight, so she’s here too.”

  “Ah, hello Miss Williams.”

  “Hey,” Maya said.

  “Now, I imagine the matter must be urgent if you’re calling this late,” Dana said. “What’s going on?”

  “Yes. Well, I thought some more about your offer, and I thought I best give you a call. You see, my mother passed Friday morning…”

  “Oh no!” Dana said. “My condolences…”

  “Thank you. I was overcome with grief at first, especially while thinking about how to prepare her funeral—or if I should even have one, knowing I’d be the only one there. You know, in thirty years, I never saw her make a single friend, thanks to my father. It’s just another reason I’ve always been so angry with him.

  “But the more I think about him, the more I realize I’ve been acting just like him. I never bothered finding Celeste because on some level, I was afraid of becoming the kind of man my father was, and consequently putting Celeste through what my mom went thought. But now, I see that I’ve been doing that anyway—leaving Celeste longing to reunite with me for all these years. It’s no different from how my mom always longed for my father to be there…

  “It’s not a good feeling to realize I’ve been avoiding her just because I was afraid I couldn't be a good partner. It’s like the pot calling the kettle black. I don’t want to be the man my father was, and I don’t want Celeste to die never knowing I loved her. I never should have rejected your offer.

  “So I called to tell you that it might take me a while to sort everything out, but I’ll do my best to come to where Celeste is for the reunion you suggested. I won’t let her suffer like my mother did. I’ll set aside a little from each paycheck if I can, and in about six months or so, I should have enough for perhaps a night or two in Pippin. I’m sorry it took me so long to make this decision, Miss Potter.”

  “Not to worry,” Dana said. “It’s all in God’s time.”

  “Yes, but I just feel so awful. It’s been fifteen years, and it only took you, what, a day to track me down? Celeste didn’t change her name and didn’t remember the photographer asking our names to label that picture, so I don’t blame her for not finding me. But I knew the photographer and still never tried to track that photo or Celeste down. I knew she would likely not have been able to find me, but I could’ve found her. I should have made the effort to reunite with her years ago…”

  “Don’t put all that on yourself,” Dana said. “You had other things to worry about and still do. But think, if it only took us a day to find you, imagine what we’ve been able to do in a week? As it happens, we never gave up on the two of you reuniting. We kept working hard.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Well, Miss Maya and I arranged a fundraiser to provide the financial means to bring you to Pippin, with all the extra meant to be donated to your mother’s medical bills.”

  There was a long pause, and almost thought William had hung up on her, but the phone call ticked on. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she heard a sniffle.

  “I don’t know how to put into words how grateful I am,” William said. “That’s the most kindness I’ve been shown in a very long time.”

  “Yes, well, you should be thanking Miss Maya,” Dana said. “Would you believe she ran out of her famous brownies two hours before the bake sale finished? But rather than let it be, she took additional orders, baked more, and hand delivered the rest in the same day!”

  “Wow… You must be very close with Celeste to put that much effort in.”

  “Nah, she’s like twenty years older than me,” Maya said. “I did this solely because your father’s a terrible person and your mama didn’t deserve that life.”

  “My mother would have appreciated this so very much. Thank you, Maya.”

  “You’re welcome. And the best part is you’ll finally get to see Celeste again.”

  Chapter 8

  Never-Ending Love

  The sun seemed brighter than usual while Maya and Dana sat on Dana’s porch, waiting for William to arrive. It had been just five days since the bake sale, but it seemed that he truly intended to waste no time in making up for the last fifteen years.

  “There he is! That’s his car, I swear!” Maya pointed to a green truck driving down the road.

  “Ah, yes. That’s him,” Dana said.

  Maya excitedly darted down the steps to meet William in the driveway. He shook her hand, smiled, and then timidly waved at Dana.

  Even though he tried to hide it, the hardships the poor man had endured was visible on his face, right along with his obvious nervousness.

  He approached the porch, while Maya enthusiastically chattered beside him.

  Dana smiled warmly and extended her hand. “Hey there, Mr. Thompson. Good to finally meet you in person.”

  “You as well,” he replied, shaking her hand.

  “So, Miss Potter, I was telling William our plan,” Maya said. “I texted Celeste earlier today and told her I was having some boy troubles and needed someone to talk to. She’s gonna meet me at the corner café at noon.” She paused and grinned, turning toward William. “But of course, instead of me, you’re gonna be the one to approach her!”

  “Sounds wonderful,” he said. “Although, it’s probably best I know who I’m looking for. Can I see a recent photo of her, or has she not changed much in all these years?”

  Maya pulled out her phone. “She doesn’t really look too different, honestly. But here’s a photo of her from about two weeks ago.”

  “Wow,” William said. “She’s just as fierce and beautiful as I remember…”

  “Aww,” Maya said. “I’m so excited I get to witness this! And when you guys get married and have kids, I’m gonna be the auntie who’s always babysitting and telling them their parents’ fairytale love story!”

  “Oh, is that right?” William chuckled. “Somehow, I can see that. It is all thanks to you that I’m here, after all. The both of you, really. Thanks again for everything.”

  “No problem,” Dana said. “Now, I know we only have forty-five minutes until the fake meeting with Maya, but William—what do you say to stopping by a flower shop and getting the lady something nice?”

  William nodded. “You read my mind. I was actually going to ask you where I could find one.”

  “We’ll stop by this nice one in town that I know of on the way. I have to ask though—are you sure you’re comfortable going straight into this?”

  “Yes!” he said. “The less time I have to talk myself into doubts and worries, the better. I’ve been getting too far inside my head and letting doubt control me for fifteen years now. I’ve had enough of it.”

  Despite his reassurances, Dana could feel the increasing anxiety radiating from William the closer it got to twelve o’clock. The three of them piled into Dana’s car and stopped to pick out several red roses from the flower shop, with Maya insisting on picking out the ribbons and wrapping. Then they quickly piled back into the car, knowing they were running a little behind schedule.

  By the time the clock struck twelve, they’d all fallen silent, each of them contemplating what to do if Celeste’s response was less than ideal. Still, even with her tendency to lean toward skepticism, Dana genuinely believed the moment would be beautiful to behold; she had seen God’s hand throughout the entire process.

  “Celeste just texted me,” Maya informed. “Apparently, she’s running about ten minutes late. We’ll probably get there around the same time.”

  “Do you think she suspects anything, or is it normal for you to go to her for advice?” William asked.

  “Honestly, I
dunno,” Maya said. “I felt like I played the part well, but I’ve never been all that close with her, so she might suspect something. Either that or she bought the bit about me being a lonely teenager with no one else to talk to about this kind of stuff.”

  The rest of the drive was quiet. As they pulled up to the café, they hadn’t so much as gotten out of the car before William’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Through the café’s large glass windows, Celeste was visible sitting at a table by herself. She gazed into the distance, absentmindedly tapping the counter with her fingertips and resting her chin in her other hand.

  “I can’t believe it,” William muttered. “There she is, right in front of me. This feels so surreal…”

  “Go get her,” Maya said, nudging William.

  He sheepishly stepped out of the vehicle, adjusted his tie, and took the flowers from Maya.

  Maya and Dana initially chose to wait and watch from the car, but before William had so much as approached Celeste’s table, Maya sighed and threw the car door open. “I didn’t come all this way just to miss out on the action!” she said.

  “Well, I do love a good love story…” Dana mused. “Okay, let’s go in… But let’s make sure Celeste doesn’t see us until after she’s had a chance to talk to William!”

  “Got it.” Maya threw the hood of her jacket up.

  “Let’s enter toward the bar, and then circle around and sit at the both behind her,” Dana instructed.

  Just as the two of them opened the front door to the café, William finally worked up the courage to approach Celeste’s table.

  She looked up before he spoke, her expression awestruck. “W-William…?”

  “Hello, Celeste. It’s been a long time…”

  While Celeste stared wide-eyed at William, Dana and Maya snuck into the booth directly behind her. William glanced at them and winked.

  “Why are you… How did you…How did you find me? How is this possible?” Celeste said, her eyes filled with tears.

  “I had help along the way,” he said. “Oh, and these are for you.” He bowed slightly and handed her the flowers.