Page 80 of Banter & Blushes #1

CAROLINE

T he phone rang and rang. It rang some more but never clicked over to voicemail. Caroline was determined not to hang up until she reached someone at the Morning Watch.

“Come on,” she muttered. “Pick up.” If she was lucky, her college roommate might answer the call.

Wedging her smartphone between her ear and shoulder, her neck slightly tilted to keep it steady.

A stubby yellow pencil rested between her teeth.

The eraser chewed to a nub. Most of her pens, now casualties of Quint, lay scattered and forgotten somewhere in Beck’s cottage, leaving her with the trusty pencil as her only choice for jotting down important details.

She hadn’t gotten around to buying new ones yet.

Purchasing pens were right up with getting the battery installed in The Hollis Express.

There were lots of pens waiting in her online shopping cart, though.

She rifled through her tote bag, fingers pushing aside crumpled receipts, forgotten mail and loose change, until she found what she was looking for.

Her fingers brushed against the familiar worn edge of her notepad, and she pulled it out triumphantly and placed it among the papers on her desk just as the click could be heard on the other end.

“Morning Watch. Faye McDaniel.”

Caroline nearly dropped her phone. “Faye! It’s Caroline. I need a favor. ”

“Caroline Hollis! I didn’t think I’d hear from you and your sleepy little beach town so soon. What kind of favor?”

“One I can’t manage without. Can you send a reporter to Bluebell Bay?” Caroline moved the pencil to the other side of her mouth.

“When?”

Glancing at the calendar on the wall, she counted off the days. “Two weeks?”

“Memorial Day weekend? No, can do, darling.”

“Faye,” Caroline said, almost pleading. “I know this is last minute, and your show rarely covers stuff like this, but I’m doing a summer gala, and I need someone who can help drive visitors to the beach. Bluebell Bay is practically off the map.”

“I don’t think Blueberry Bay is on any map.”

“Bluebell…”

“Caroline, what does your town offer? Other than a single diner, maybe a hotel with a drippy ceiling, and an old man announcing every piece of gossip two old biddies can come up with, set to music.”

“Character, Faye. Bluebell Bay has character. The hotel was torn down. Max has put up beach cottages. This is a two-day kick off summer gala. We want to invite people to come see what we are all about.”

“It’s small potatoes, Caro.”

She pulled the pencil out of her mouth, wishing it was chocolate instead, as she listened to her college roommate on the other end.

“You’re really going to tell me, a two-day affair at the beach is small potatoes, Faye? Who else’s potato could it be?” Putting the pencil on the desk, she flipped out the notebook and started scribbling.

“You know the movie from the 70s? The one about the shark terrorizing the town during the summer. Got any large sea creatures swimming along the beach?”

“Yes, I’m aware of the shark movie. No, we don’t have any large sea creatures.” Dropping the pencil, she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. “We have a dog named Quint. Does that count?”

“Quinn?”

“Q-u-i-n-t. Not Quinn. Quint was the sea captain in the movie. Not to be confused with the song about an Eskimo.”

“That’s not who I was thinking of. I don’t recall the song. Do you remember who sang it?”

“Bob Dylan, but if a villainous anti-hero works for you, so be it.” Caroline pulled the phone away and counted to ten.

Faye’s squawking could still be heard, even though the phone wasn’t on speaker.

As soon as there was a pause, Caroline lifted the phone back to her ear.

She hadn’t heard a word Faye had said. “What about Tucker?” Caroline suggested. “He lives for this type of stuff.”

“I just told you. He’s in North Carolina covering the giant squid story.”

“What do you mean, he’s covering the giant squid in North Carolina?”

“I tell you what, Caroline. You get a giant sea creature, or any creature in your town, and I will send a reporter on down. No questions asked. In fact, I’ll send a whole team of reporters.”

Picking up the pencil, Caroline scribbled in her notebook again.

“Come on, Faye.” She knew she was whining, but at this point she didn’t care.

“Do you have anyone else? Anyone.” There was a long pause, and she wasn’t sure if Faye had hung up or was thinking.

“Anyone at all. You’re killing me with this, Faye. ”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, listening, and finally let out a relieved breath when her friend started talking again.

“How long is it?”

“Two days. I promise.”

“Will you provide rooms? If I can find someone. You might need two. If I send a cub reporter, I’ll need to send an experienced videographer with her.”

“Yes, we will provide accommodations. It doesn’t matter if she’s a junior reporter. We are testing the event over Memorial Day and then repeat it over Labor Day.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Caro. I’ve not even cleared it with her yet.”

“All right. I appreciate you asking.”

“Give me a quick rundown of your itinerary.”

“Sure.” Pulling her binder close, Caroline’s finger skimmed over the colorful laminated tabs, pausing at the one labeled “Itinerary.”

With a flick of her wrist, she opened it, and her heart dropped as an icy wave of panic washed over her. The pages which were supposed to be filled with meticulously planned details and schedules were missing. All her colorful sticky notes and highlighted details were gone.

Gone!

Her mind raced as she stared at the empty section, the stark white paper mocking her with its absence of crucial information.

Scanning the office with mounting anxiety, she struggled to keep her voice steady while wracking her brain to remember what lay behind the paper tab and where the elusive section might have vanished to.

She was torn between the certainty of once something was filed in the binder, it stayed there, and the unsettling possibility her papers had somehow been misplaced.

The routine was always to make a copy and then return it immediately, but doubt gnawed at her, questioning if she had missed a crucial step.

“Caroline?”

“Uhm … sorry.” She blinked, pulling herself back into the conversation. “Day one is packed with interactive events. You know, things like a scavenger hunt through the dunes, building elaborate sandcastles, searching for unique shells, and snapping a picture with the town’s famous pelican statue.”

“Shells? Really, Caroline?”

“It’s still a work in progress,” Caroline admitted, her mind spinning, trying to recall all the details. “Day two ends with a spectacular celebration to launch summer on the boardwalk, complete with a roaring bonfire and fireworks, which light up the night sky.”

“I bet you have a whole binder with all of this in it,” came the amused reply.

Caroline drummed her fingers on the empty space of her desk, her eyes darting to the spot where her meticulously organized plans should have been.

She took a deep breath, unsure how to tell Beck all their hard work was missing.

“I have an organization system,” she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

Faye’s laughter echoed through the phone, warm and familiar. “Still living up to your taskmaster reputation, I see. Who’s helping you out?”

“I have someone,” Caroline replied, feeling a small smile tug at her lips. “He’s a marketing specialist and super smart.” Not to mention cute , but she kept those thoughts to herself.

“Who else? What about your dad?”

“Daddy’s on permanent vacation. He won’t be back. Took his dog and moved to Florida.”

“Oh goodness. Wasn’t he the mayor?” Faye rustled papers in the background.

“Yeah. Well, I’ve been appointed until there’s a formal election,” Caroline explained, glancing out the window at the sunlit streets of Bluebell Bay. “Now it’s up to me to remind everyone what this town is all about.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve called earlier to check in.”

“You were busy,” Caroline reassured her. “I mean, how many executive producers of the best morning show can just drop everything for an old friend?”

“Ouch. Right in the heart, Caro … hold on a sec.” Caroline heard Faye pause, another voice chiming in on the other end. “Hey, Avery,” Faye called out, “do you want to spend a few days at the beach?”

As their conversation continued in the background, Caroline scribbled furiously in her notebook, trying to capture every detail she could remember from the missing pages in her binder.

The door to her office creaked open, and Beck entered, a folder tucked under his arm and a steaming cup of coffee in hand.

“I think the coffee got cold between the diner and here,” he said with a wry smile, lifting the cup in her direction.

Caroline waved him off with a smile, her attention returning to the phone. “What did you say? Of course. If Avery wants to come down a few days early, I’m sure Max has a cottage available,” she said, lifting her shoulders in a light shrug at Beck’s puzzled look.

“Email me with the details, and I’ll confirm her dates,” Faye said.

“Thanks, Faye. I owe you one.” Caroline disconnected the call, relief washing over her. “What are you so happy about?” she asked, reaching out to grab a paper cup from Beck and flashing him an exaggerated smile.

“I think I just got a compliment. Which is a first.”

“Hmm. Was it from Gigi or Mabel?” she asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow .

“Neither.” Beck settled into the chair across from her. “I think you called me your brilliant marketing specialist.”

“I said smart,” she corrected, popping the top from her coffee cup and taking a tentative sip. “It’s lukewarm, but still better than the stuff out of the machine downstairs. Thank you.”

“Brilliant. Smart. I’d take it as a compliment.”