CHAPTER 5
The next day was the busiest of the week … and if Beth had any reservations about hiring
Esperanza, they soon dissipated as the two of them took care of the customers and kept up with
the baking. The older woman had a lot of experience with pastries and older, authentic recipes,
and Beth's forte' was more Southern gourmet. Her fried pies were by far the most popular item in
the shop. With interesting combinations like cranberry/pear, strawberry crunch, apple/pecan &
peach amaretto, even the most discriminating customer could find something unique to enjoy.
Several times during the day when they had a moment or two in the kitchen, Beth and Esperanza
discussed different types of fillings, pie crust and combinations. The two women would have liked
nothing better than to take the rest of the day and try out their new ideas … but that would have
to wait.
In the mid-afternoon, the moving truck with Esperanza's things arrived. Beth moved her black
SUV from the back drive so they could take the furniture inside without disrupting the flow of
customers to the shop. This also meant she was going to have to tend to the shop alone so the
older woman could supervise the move.
It was almost closing time and the last of the customers who had stopped in on their way home
were beginning to thin out when Beth looked up from the register to find Richie standing near the
side counter, waiting for her to finish making change.
"Richie" She greeted him with a smile as she handed the box of pastries to the woman she had
been waiting on. "What brings you here?"
"I haven't been able to find a good bakery in town since they closed up the one on 5th." Richie
grinned and walked to the main counter, pretending to be interested in the items on display. But
when he looked up to see her returning his grin with one eyebrow raised, he knew he'd been
caught. "Ok ok … I admit. I was curious to see your shop … and you."
Beth took a deep breath and smiled. She didn't want to push Richie away, but she also knew he
wanted much more from this than she was ready for. He and his friends were so nice … How
could she make him understand that this wasn't something she was looking for now … if ever?
"Let me give you the grand tour and see if anything strikes your fancy." She moved to the end of
the case. "In this case we have cookies … cookies with nuts … cookies with icing … chocolate
cookies … and cookies with fruit filling."
Richie shrugged and feigned indifference to the cookies.
"A tough customer hmmm?" Beth moved to the next case. "Well here we have our selection of
pastries. It's been a little picked over today … most of my favorites went out of here hours ago."
Again Richie seemed unimpressed.
"Well then I suppose I have no choice … wait right there." Beth turned and went into the kitchen,
leaving a grinning Richie in the shop. When she returned, she was holding a large baking tray
containing about 2 dozen assorted fried pies that she'd taken out of the oven only a few minutes
before.
"Now how am I supposed to choose from that many?" Richie laughed after she ran through the
list of what was on the tray.
"How about I choose for you?" Beth set the tray down on the counter behind her and picked up
one of the pies with a piece of waxed paper. "Be careful not to get the filling on yourself … this
one will stain." She warned.
Richie bit into the pie and a look of pure enjoyment crossed his face. "mmmm mmm mmm …
what is this?"
"Brandied Raspberry with almonds"
"This is fantastic."
"Thanks." Beth replied as she watched him finish the entire pie in a few bites. "I hope Joe likes
them. I made a basket of pies to bring over to the club later tonight." She nodded toward a large
basket with several dozen pies wrapped and labeled individually. "I thought he might like to put
some at the bar … as a thank you for all the customers who had to put up with Barkley and his
begging."
"He will love it I'm sure." Richie replied. "Speaking of the big guy … where is he?"
"The shop and kitchen are off limits to Barkley … " Beth told him as she walked to the door and
flipped the sign indicating the shop was closed. "Come on back and I'll show you where he
spends his days until I can get the back fence fixed."
Richie followed her through the smoked glass french doors that separated the shop from the rest
of the house. Walking down the little hall that bordered the stairway, the downstairs opened up
into one big room. To his right was a comfortable sitting area with a deep leather sofa across
from the fireplace and a couple of matching chairs. To the left was a large, round, dark wood
dining table, a buffet and china cabinet. Directly behind the dining area was a well-equipped "U"
shaped kitchen with a small island in the middle. And behind the living area, finishing off the
large room, was a baby grand piano with the lid propped open in an inviting way.
"Wow … this is nice." Richie admired.
"I had them take out as many of the walls as possible and replace the supports with a few big
columns. I wanted one big area I could enjoy … and if I was fortunate to have friends over, I
could enjoy them and do what I do best … be in the kitchen."
"It's amazing. Do you play?" Richie indicated the piano.
"Oh heavens no. But the last owner had this in one of the rooms … and after a good polishing it
seemed to fit in this area so well." Beth replied. "Do you play?"
"Nah … not me … but Duncan has a friend … Claudia … she's fantastic. Maybe if she's in town
sometime you will get to meet her."
"That would be nice." Beth walked to the windows at the back of the room. "Hey sleepy head …
aren't you going to say Hi to Richie?"
Barkley was lying on his side in the warm sun as it flooded through the window. He looked up at
her with one eye and gave a long groan.
"Yeah yeah … it's a tough life." Richie moved over and knelt down to scratch Barkley's ears. He
was rewarded with several thumps of the tail on the carpet.
"Excuse me." The thick Italian accent came from the doorway.
"Esperanza … have the movers gotten you all settled?" Beth asked as she walked to the older
woman.
"Si … si … it is all in place. I thought I would begin tomorrow's baking after I came back from
dinner. My friend's across the street invited me … " She was speaking to Beth … but her eyes
were locked on Richie as she appeared to be sizing him up.
"Oh … I'm sorry … Esperanza Ricci … this is Richie Ryan. He's one of the men who found
Barkley and took care of him for me." Beth introduced them and Richie, seeing the older
woman's concern, walked over to shake her hand.
"It's nice to meet you Ms. Ricci" He put on his warmest smile.
Esperanza was still a bit wary of him … "It is nice to meet you too … Ritchie … "
Beth tried to break the awkwardness that fell over the room. "I was going out for a little while
tonight Esperanza … to deliver those pies to Ritchie's friend Joe … but I won't be out late and
maybe we can get the baking done together. Whoever gets home first can start … and the other
does the dishes?" she smiled.
"Ok … but you be careful … it's not safe out late …" Esperanza kept watching Ritchie.
They shared a knowing grin as they watched the older woman turn and leave for dinner.
"Will you be at Joe's later?" Beth asked as she turned to go back into the shop to finish tidying
up.
"Uhm yeah … I usually end up there at some point. I could wait and share a cab with you and
help carry the pies … if you want." Ritchie offered. He'd taken the bus to her neighborhood.
"Well … if you want to hang out in the den … there's a TV in that cabinet next to the fireplace.
And we won't need a cab … I've got my car … " she nodded at the SUV parked on the curb out
front. "After I finish here though I'm going to change. I feel like I'm covered with flour and fruit."
"Don't let Barkley hog the remote." She laughed as Ritchie went back into the main room to wait.
The next day was the busiest of the week … and if Beth had any reservations about hiring
Esperanza, they soon dissipated as the two of them took care of the customers and kept up with
the baking. The older woman had a lot of experience with pastries and older, authentic recipes,
and Beth's forte' was more Southern gourmet. Her fried pies were by far the most popular item in
the shop. With interesting combinations like cranberry/pear, strawberry crunch, apple/pecan &
peach amaretto, even the most discriminating customer could find something unique to enjoy.
Several times during the day when they had a moment or two in the kitchen, Beth and Esperanza
discussed different types of fillings, pie crust and combinations. The two women would have liked
nothing better than to take the rest of the day and try out their new ideas … but that would have
to wait.
In the mid-afternoon, the moving truck with Esperanza's things arrived. Beth moved her black
SUV from the back drive so they could take the furniture inside without disrupting the flow of
customers to the shop. This also meant she was going to have to tend to the shop alone so the
older woman could supervise the move.
It was almost closing time and the last of the customers who had stopped in on their way home
were beginning to thin out when Beth looked up from the register to find Richie standing near the
side counter, waiting for her to finish making change.
"Richie" She greeted him with a smile as she handed the box of pastries to the woman she had
been waiting on. "What brings you here?"
"I haven't been able to find a good bakery in town since they closed up the one on 5th." Richie
grinned and walked to the main counter, pretending to be interested in the items on display. But
when he looked up to see her returning his grin with one eyebrow raised, he knew he'd been
caught. "Ok ok … I admit. I was curious to see your shop … and you."
Beth took a deep breath and smiled. She didn't want to push Richie away, but she also knew he
wanted much more from this than she was ready for. He and his friends were so nice … How
could she make him understand that this wasn't something she was looking for now … if ever?
"Let me give you the grand tour and see if anything strikes your fancy." She moved to the end of
the case. "In this case we have cookies … cookies with nuts … cookies with icing … chocolate
cookies … and cookies with fruit filling."
Richie shrugged and feigned indifference to the cookies.
"A tough customer hmmm?" Beth moved to the next case. "Well here we have our selection of
pastries. It's been a little picked over today … most of my favorites went out of here hours ago."
Again Richie seemed unimpressed.
"Well then I suppose I have no choice … wait right there." Beth turned and went into the kitchen,
leaving a grinning Richie in the shop. When she returned, she was holding a large baking tray
containing about 2 dozen assorted fried pies that she'd taken out of the oven only a few minutes
before.
"Now how am I supposed to choose from that many?" Richie laughed after she ran through the
list of what was on the tray.
"How about I choose for you?" Beth set the tray down on the counter behind her and picked up
one of the pies with a piece of waxed paper. "Be careful not to get the filling on yourself … this
one will stain." She warned.
Richie bit into the pie and a look of pure enjoyment crossed his face. "mmmm mmm mmm …
what is this?"
"Brandied Raspberry with almonds"
"This is fantastic."
"Thanks." Beth replied as she watched him finish the entire pie in a few bites. "I hope Joe likes
them. I made a basket of pies to bring over to the club later tonight." She nodded toward a large
basket with several dozen pies wrapped and labeled individually. "I thought he might like to put
some at the bar … as a thank you for all the customers who had to put up with Barkley and his
begging."
"He will love it I'm sure." Richie replied. "Speaking of the big guy … where is he?"
"The shop and kitchen are off limits to Barkley … " Beth told him as she walked to the door and
flipped the sign indicating the shop was closed. "Come on back and I'll show you where he
spends his days until I can get the back fence fixed."
Richie followed her through the smoked glass french doors that separated the shop from the rest
of the house. Walking down the little hall that bordered the stairway, the downstairs opened up
into one big room. To his right was a comfortable sitting area with a deep leather sofa across
from the fireplace and a couple of matching chairs. To the left was a large, round, dark wood
dining table, a buffet and china cabinet. Directly behind the dining area was a well-equipped "U"
shaped kitchen with a small island in the middle. And behind the living area, finishing off the
large room, was a baby grand piano with the lid propped open in an inviting way.
"Wow … this is nice." Richie admired.
"I had them take out as many of the walls as possible and replace the supports with a few big
columns. I wanted one big area I could enjoy … and if I was fortunate to have friends over, I
could enjoy them and do what I do best … be in the kitchen."
"It's amazing. Do you play?" Richie indicated the piano.
"Oh heavens no. But the last owner had this in one of the rooms … and after a good polishing it
seemed to fit in this area so well." Beth replied. "Do you play?"
"Nah … not me … but Duncan has a friend … Claudia … she's fantastic. Maybe if she's in town
sometime you will get to meet her."
"That would be nice." Beth walked to the windows at the back of the room. "Hey sleepy head …
aren't you going to say Hi to Richie?"
Barkley was lying on his side in the warm sun as it flooded through the window. He looked up at
her with one eye and gave a long groan.
"Yeah yeah … it's a tough life." Richie moved over and knelt down to scratch Barkley's ears. He
was rewarded with several thumps of the tail on the carpet.
"Excuse me." The thick Italian accent came from the doorway.
"Esperanza … have the movers gotten you all settled?" Beth asked as she walked to the older
woman.
"Si … si … it is all in place. I thought I would begin tomorrow's baking after I came back from
dinner. My friend's across the street invited me … " She was speaking to Beth … but her eyes
were locked on Richie as she appeared to be sizing him up.
"Oh … I'm sorry … Esperanza Ricci … this is Richie Ryan. He's one of the men who found
Barkley and took care of him for me." Beth introduced them and Richie, seeing the older
woman's concern, walked over to shake her hand.
"It's nice to meet you Ms. Ricci" He put on his warmest smile.
Esperanza was still a bit wary of him … "It is nice to meet you too … Ritchie … "
Beth tried to break the awkwardness that fell over the room. "I was going out for a little while
tonight Esperanza … to deliver those pies to Ritchie's friend Joe … but I won't be out late and
maybe we can get the baking done together. Whoever gets home first can start … and the other
does the dishes?" she smiled.
"Ok … but you be careful … it's not safe out late …" Esperanza kept watching Ritchie.
They shared a knowing grin as they watched the older woman turn and leave for dinner.
"Will you be at Joe's later?" Beth asked as she turned to go back into the shop to finish tidying
up.
"Uhm yeah … I usually end up there at some point. I could wait and share a cab with you and
help carry the pies … if you want." Ritchie offered. He'd taken the bus to her neighborhood.
"Well … if you want to hang out in the den … there's a TV in that cabinet next to the fireplace.
And we won't need a cab … I've got my car … " she nodded at the SUV parked on the curb out
front. "After I finish here though I'm going to change. I feel like I'm covered with flour and fruit."
"Don't let Barkley hog the remote." She laughed as Ritchie went back into the main room to wait.