Getting close to halfway through this project, and I am getting so excited! I know there’s a ton of work to be done if I ever want to publish this little puppy, but I have never gotten so far along in a story. Remember this is just an unedited free write. Comment if you find things that don’t make sense or really couldn’t happen. Also let me know what you like! Click here to start on chapter 1 if you’re new to the story.

Chapter 12

Praise

After a fruitless hour of searching through the Green Glass Winery website for clues to something that could be nailed down about as well as cream cheese in the warm sun, Erin gave up and tried to focus her attention on the work that actually needed to be done for the shop. Harry had mentioned some numbers not seeming right on the invoice from their food service company. So she spent the next hour and a half combing through every charge and checking the original order form. It was a tedious process, but she finally discovered that an order for 10 boxes of 100 paper plates was billed at 100 boxes. Oops. Someone’s fingers got a little happy on the keyboard.

Erin called her contact at the company, explained the error and worked out a credit to their account for the next order, plus a 20% additional for the mistake. This was why she loved working with Hiller Foods. They took care of their customers.

Getting up to stretch, she poked her head into the kitchen to tell Harry she had found the error, but didn’t see him. Charlie was busily washing industrial-sized pots and utensils, earbuds in as he danced to his favorite jam. She smiled. The curly-haired teen was a good worker, even if he was a little ditzy. Catching his attention, Erin motioned for him to take out an earbud and then said, “Morning, Charlie. Know where Harry went?”

“He left about 20 minutes ago, Erin,” Charlie answered. “But he didn’t say where he was going.”

Waving her thanks, Erin went out into the front of house. Several of the small tables in the dining area were occupied, and Gretchen was serving customers lined up in front. Erin stepped in to lend a hand. Gretchen smiled her thanks and continued helping the young mom, Lauren, and her twin boys, Barton and Banner, who were jumping up and down with excitement at the mid-morning treat. It was their usual Wednesday morning outing before story time at the library. Leaning over to give high fives to the boys and ruffle their bright blond hair made Erin miss her nephew, TJ. She’d call Liz later and see if she could see them this weekend. She made a mental note.

A few minutes later, Harry came in the front door, holding a newspaper in his hand. “Where’d you go?” Erin asked him, as she finished ringing up the elderly gentleman who was making his first visit to the store after moving to the Village just two months before.

Harry waved the paper at her as he enthusiastically answered, “I didn’t tell you last week that the ‘Clarion’ interviewed me for an article leading up to our 30^th anniversary. Listen to this: ‘Praise for Be My Bagel.’

“’There’s nothing better for breakfast or a mid-morning treat than a bagel and schmear, and there’s no better place in the Bay Area to enjoy this chewy treat than the locally owned and operated Be My Bagel in the Village. The 60’s vibe appeals to young and old alike as owner Harry Harrison, sole proprietor for Be My Bagel’s nearly 30 years of business, stocks his shop with not only the highest quality and creative product, but also with employees who treat everyone who enters like family.’”

“It goes on,” Harry grinned. “Lots more mushy stuff. You can read it when you get a chance.”

“That’s great, Harry!” Erin responded with enthusiasm. Free publicity was always a good thing. Their little local newspaper didn’t have a huge reach, but food reviews sometimes were picked up by the bigger city papers. “You and I need to sit down and plan our promos for anniversary week.”

“We’ve got more than a month,” Harry assured her. “How about Monday morning?”

“Sounds good,” Erin replied. I’ll put it on my calendar. Oh and, hey, I figured out that invoice error. Someone at Hiller got a little over zealous with their zeroes and charged us for 100 boxes of paper plates instead of just 10. It’s all settled with an additional 20% credit for our trouble.”

Harry gave a thumbs up as he headed over to the table where the elderly gentleman sat to introduce himself and welcome him to the Village. Soon they were knee deep in a laughter-filled discussion on some topic that Erin could just grin at. Harry had made another loyal customer, no doubt. The man had a gift.