Claire and Micayla stop at SGI Sweets for some sour straws on the way to Pastrami on Rye. I want them to have a few minutes to bond without me, so I stay outside on the bench to soak up the sun.
"Hi, Remy." Mr. Aprone, the owner of Novel Ideas, Seagate's bookstore, stops to talk to me. I haven't seen him yet, and I'm excited to discuss the plans for the Centennial Summer celebration with him.
"How was your year?" I ask him.
"Good, good." He snaps open his water bottle and takes a sip. "But please bring the gang by, okay? I'm worried it's going to be a short summer, and I need as much business as I can get. You know how it is, with so many e-readers these days."
I nod. He's always working so hard to make sure people still read books on paper. I totally understand. I love books on paper, too.
"What do you mean, a short summer?" I ask.
He sits down next to me. "You haven't heard?"
I shake my head and turn around to look in the window of SGI Sweets. Claire and Micayla are taking forever in there.
"It's going to be a rough hurricane season. Everyone's saying it could be one of the worst we've ever seen. There's a good chance a dangerous storm could reach Seagate."
"Really?" I wish he hadn't told me that. Could it be some kind of joke? I highly doubt anyone would find it funny.
"Sadly, yes." He raises his eyebrows. "Listen, I need to run. But it's good to see you, Remy. Stop by the store, okay? I have the newest title in that series you love."
"Thanks. I'll come in soon, and we can talk about the Centennial celebration, too."
Claire and Micayla come out of SGI Sweets, and I don't mention the dangerous storm Mr. Aprone was worried about. We walk, and I try to pretend he didn't just tell me that bit of news. I push it out of my brain, refusing to believe it. Just because someone predicts a hurricane doesn't mean it's going to happen.
A short summer would be disastrous. It's already short enough. I need all the time I can get on Seagate.
We walk into Pastrami on Rye, and Bennett and Calvin are waiting for us in the back booth. They're spitting bits of wadded-up paper at each other through straws, cracking up.
When Calvin sees us, he stops immediately. He sits up straighter, as if he's suddenly serious and grown-up. It's kind of funny to watch, but it makes me happy. We all have a business to run, so I want our customers to know that we're responsible and mature.
"What's shakin'?" he asks as we sit down. "We ordered our burgers already. I got the Hurricane Hammie. Obviously."
I wish the owners would take that off the menu. After what Mr. Aprone said, we should abolish the word hurricane from the Seagate Island vocabulary, even when it's only referring to hamburgers.
"First of all, gross. There's no reason to have a fried egg on a hamburger. And second of all, you guys couldn't wait for us to get here?" Claire asks. "Sheesh. Didn't you just eat breakfast, like, two hours ago?"
"We're hungry," Bennett explains.
"Obviously," Claire mutters.
The waitress comes over and brings us menus. We order two of their famous oversized deli sandwiches, a basket of fries, and a basket of onion rings to share.
"Okay, so let's get down to business," I say to get the ball rolling. "I've already run into a few of our old clients, and the owners are itching to get the dogs back on a schedule."
I need to pretend that everything is fine. Get the doggie day care business started and keep the critters happy. If I act as if this is a normal summer, maybe it will be.
"Well, we should make room for new clients, too," Bennett suggests. "We should advertise and see how many dogs we can take on. Claire and Calvin are officially on board this summer, right, guys?"
They nod.
"So we have two extra sets of hands," Bennett continues. "We can really expand the business."
"But do we want to be so busy?" Micayla asks after a bite of sandwich. "We need to save some time for fun, too, right?"
"Yes. Definitely. Fun and tanning," Claire answers.
We agree and decide to make some posters so that everyone on Seagate is aware of our business. We'll follow up with our regular clients, and we'll get everything going by next week.
"So we have the rest of this week just to hang out and have fun," I explain.
"Thanks for the permission, Rem," Bennett says, mocking me.
Bennett has always been the kind of friend who teases, who helps me break out of my usually serious frame of mind. But right now it's annoying. I don't know why. I just want him to be serious for once. Like Calvin.
