a lot of the free advice you get around this town is worth exactly how much you pay for it.”
Andi nodded agreement and Tiff changed the subject.
“So what’s the problem with your business here?” she asked. “What’s so dangerous that the city council wouldn’t let you sell coffee?”
Declining to go into personalities, Andi made it simple. “We don’t have the facilities to comply with the rules for a food or beverage business,” she said. “So we can’t open anything that serves food and drink.”
Tiff nodded. “So what can you open?”
Andi shrugged. “Nothing, I guess,” she replied. “We have to get approved to do anything different. And truthfully, I don’t think I have any friends on the council. I think they would just as soon I stay at home and let the people in the business community come up with the new business ideas.”
“I thought new blood was always supposed to be good.”
Andi shrugged. “New blood maybe, but maybe not any new ideas from the Wolkowiczs. We never did fit in to the country-club set.”
“So what’s next?”
“I’m cleaning this place out and sorting this stuff,” Andi said. “I’m hoping I can sell it all on eBay.”
“You want some help?”
“You’re all dressed up,” Andi pointed out. “And besides, I can hardly afford bus fare, so I sure can’t pay for help.”
“I’ve got my car parked down at Conner’s with all my clean laundry in the back,” she said. “I’ll go change into shorts and a T. I’ve got nothing to do until Caleb gets out of day camp. It would be nice to feel like I’m working even if I don’t get paid.”
A few minutes later Tiff was back, wearing Daisy Dukes and eager to help. Andi hadn’t realized how much she needed an extra pair of hands until she had them. The two women managed to move everything to one side of the room so they could clean the floor. With mops from the storage closet and plenty of soapy wash water, they proceeded to do just that. The two worked well together and the accomplishment seemed to lift the mood of both of them. But they were ready for a break when someone else showed up at their door.
“What’s going on?” a young woman asked as she peered in at Andi.
“Just cleaning up,” Andi answered.
The young woman, whose hair was strangely blue-striped, squinted into the darkness of the building.
“Tiffany Crandall? Is that you?”
Tiff straightened, assessing the newcomer. “I used to be,” she answered. “I’m Tiff McCarin now. Who are you?”
“I’m Lisa Craven’s little sister, remember me?”
Tiff eyed her more closely. “Cheryl? I wouldn’t have recognized you. The blue-haired stripes are really…eye-catching.”
“Thanks! My name now is Cher-L. I changed it, too.”
“Cher-L?” Tiff repeated it as if it were a question.
The girl nodded. “Cool, huh.” She spelled it for them, including the dash. “My mom named me Cheryl which is just like an ordinary loser name. So I gave it meaning. I’m Cher-L, because that’s who I am. I share L.”
“You share L?”
“Yeah, L,” she answered. “L is like all the good things, love and life and laughter. It’s a name that really means something. It’s like a stage name.”
“A stage name?” Andi repeated. “Are you an actress or a singer?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that really,” she answered. “I’m just getting myself prepared…you know…to be famous or something. You never know, right?”
Andi and Tiff shot glances at each other.
Tiff murmured a tepid agreement, Andi focused her attention on the mop.
Cher-L didn’t seem to note the lack of enthusiasm. She walked into the middle of the floor and turned slowly in a circle as if taking the whole room in.
“I like this place,” she said. “It’s got good qi, you know, in kind of a funky way.”
“Uh…it belongs to my pop,” Andi said. “I’ll let him know you approve.”
Cher-L promptly seated herself atop a plastic barrel of wax concentrate,
Andi nodded agreement and Tiff changed the subject.
“So what’s the problem with your business here?” she asked. “What’s so dangerous that the city council wouldn’t let you sell coffee?”
Declining to go into personalities, Andi made it simple. “We don’t have the facilities to comply with the rules for a food or beverage business,” she said. “So we can’t open anything that serves food and drink.”
Tiff nodded. “So what can you open?”
Andi shrugged. “Nothing, I guess,” she replied. “We have to get approved to do anything different. And truthfully, I don’t think I have any friends on the council. I think they would just as soon I stay at home and let the people in the business community come up with the new business ideas.”
“I thought new blood was always supposed to be good.”
Andi shrugged. “New blood maybe, but maybe not any new ideas from the Wolkowiczs. We never did fit in to the country-club set.”
“So what’s next?”
“I’m cleaning this place out and sorting this stuff,” Andi said. “I’m hoping I can sell it all on eBay.”
“You want some help?”
“You’re all dressed up,” Andi pointed out. “And besides, I can hardly afford bus fare, so I sure can’t pay for help.”
“I’ve got my car parked down at Conner’s with all my clean laundry in the back,” she said. “I’ll go change into shorts and a T. I’ve got nothing to do until Caleb gets out of day camp. It would be nice to feel like I’m working even if I don’t get paid.”
A few minutes later Tiff was back, wearing Daisy Dukes and eager to help. Andi hadn’t realized how much she needed an extra pair of hands until she had them. The two women managed to move everything to one side of the room so they could clean the floor. With mops from the storage closet and plenty of soapy wash water, they proceeded to do just that. The two worked well together and the accomplishment seemed to lift the mood of both of them. But they were ready for a break when someone else showed up at their door.
“What’s going on?” a young woman asked as she peered in at Andi.
“Just cleaning up,” Andi answered.
The young woman, whose hair was strangely blue-striped, squinted into the darkness of the building.
“Tiffany Crandall? Is that you?”
Tiff straightened, assessing the newcomer. “I used to be,” she answered. “I’m Tiff McCarin now. Who are you?”
“I’m Lisa Craven’s little sister, remember me?”
Tiff eyed her more closely. “Cheryl? I wouldn’t have recognized you. The blue-haired stripes are really…eye-catching.”
“Thanks! My name now is Cher-L. I changed it, too.”
“Cher-L?” Tiff repeated it as if it were a question.
The girl nodded. “Cool, huh.” She spelled it for them, including the dash. “My mom named me Cheryl which is just like an ordinary loser name. So I gave it meaning. I’m Cher-L, because that’s who I am. I share L.”
“You share L?”
“Yeah, L,” she answered. “L is like all the good things, love and life and laughter. It’s a name that really means something. It’s like a stage name.”
“A stage name?” Andi repeated. “Are you an actress or a singer?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that really,” she answered. “I’m just getting myself prepared…you know…to be famous or something. You never know, right?”
Andi and Tiff shot glances at each other.
Tiff murmured a tepid agreement, Andi focused her attention on the mop.
Cher-L didn’t seem to note the lack of enthusiasm. She walked into the middle of the floor and turned slowly in a circle as if taking the whole room in.
“I like this place,” she said. “It’s got good qi, you know, in kind of a funky way.”
“Uh…it belongs to my pop,” Andi said. “I’ll let him know you approve.”
Cher-L promptly seated herself atop a plastic barrel of wax concentrate,
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