Free Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' by Gayle Wigglesworth Page B

in to mow the weeds into some semblance of a lawn so her neighbors wouldn’t complain. But after seeing these gardens she was convinced she needed to pay attention to the yard behind the store. She could envision a nice patio with flowers and shaded places for customers to sit amongst the flowers to read while deciding which books to buy.
    Just then the waitress wheeled out a tea trolley laden with plates and pots. She transferred everything to their table while they sat dazzled by the variety. Lucy said she would pour, so the waitress left them to it.
    “No wonder it’s so expensive. Who could eat all this?” Ruth muttered.
    “I bet we can do a pretty good job of it, I’m starved after all our walking today.” Claire used the silver tongs to help herself to a collection of tiny sandwiches and little savories.
    “I skipped lunch just so I could do justice to it.” Millie heaped her plate.
    “Well, I swam, so I’m hungry,” admitted Ruth.
    “I hope we won’t have to ask for more. It would be a little embarrassing,” Lucy said and the others laughed. “I know for sure I’m saving room for the sweets.”
    The four-tiered plate laden with scones, cakes, petite fours and chocolate dipped strawberries looked almost too pretty to disturb, but they knew they would.
    “Yummy. Ruth, did you try this? It tastes like that little crab puff your group served as an appetizer in Tuscany,” Millie said between bites.
    Ruth picked one up and took a bite, then nodded at Millie as she finished it off. “It could easily be the same recipe.”
    “Did you see any of our table mates at the gardens?”
    “No, but I did see a couple of people from the ship. That couple we sat next to at the races and another couple I met in the internet café. Did you see anyone from the table Lucy?”
    “No, but maybe they went other places or even wandered around the shops here in town. Isn’t this a pretty town with all the flower baskets hanging from the light stanchions? Claire, you should talk to your Merchant’s Association and get them to do that in Bayside. It would really perk up the downtown district.”
    Claire nodded, then admitted, “They’re pretty tight with their dollars. They don’t like to spend money on anything, and I can just hear them complaining about how flowers are apt to die.”
    Lucy grinned, nodding. She knew Bayside was such a pokey little town because the city fathers were loath to spend the money to compete with the fashionable cities of Burlingame and San Mateo which neighbored them.
    She changed the subject. “So Millie, what did you do today while Ruth was swimming her laps?”
    “I fully intended to work on my menus. But when I went for coffee I found Mrs. Bernbaum sitting up there all alone, so I ended up talking to her until it was time to meet Ruth. She was telling me about how she met her husband, not Mr. Bernbaum, her one true love, you know? She’s very interesting.”
    “Did she grab your arm so you couldn’t get away?” Claire wanted to know.
    “Yes, as a matter of fact she did, but I didn’t mind. You know it must be very hard to want to tell people things when they’re all too busy or too disinterested to listen. She told me one of the hardest things about getting old was finding there was no one to share her memories with.” Millie shuddered. “I kind of hope I don’t live that long.”
    “How old is she?”
    “I don’t know, but she was in her thirties when she met her husband in the forties so that would make her ninety something now, wouldn’t it?” She looked around to verify her math and seeing them nod she continued. “Really, she’s in pretty good shape for her age, wouldn’t you say?”
    “I guess so!”
    “I invited her to join us for tea, but she said she had to nap. She says if she doesn’t nap she’ll fall asleep in her soup.” Millie laughed. “Apparently her caregiver and her nephew scheduled her for the early sitting and she wasn’t going to have