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just got promoted to supervisor.”
    “That’s great.” Nadya had trouble wrapping her head around Billy Michaels as a responsible adult.
    “So enough about me. What are you doing these days? You look so sophisticated. I bet you work for some big company and go out every night drinking cosmos at rooftop bars and whatnot.”
    “Not quite. I’m a lawyer for a huge firm in New York City. I have a tiny apartment that costs the earth, but it’s close to work.”
    “Oh, a lawyer. I can see you strutting around in front of a jury and annihilating the opposing lawyer. Is it anything like Law and Order ?”
    “Not quite. I actually do contract law, not trial law. It’s pretty boring. I sit in an office and read contracts all day looking for loopholes or traps. I’m one of a bunch of other peon lawyers in the firm. But I do drink martinis at a bar down the street after work some nights.”
    “What about the men? Are you married? Do you have a different boyfriend for every night of the week? Please, give me something good. I’m an old, married, pregnant lady. I’ll take any scrap of excitement I can get.”
    “There hasn’t been a lot of time for dating. There was a guy I was seeing for a while, but it didn’t take. He was a broker on Wall Street and just as busy in his job as I was in mine. It makes it hard to have a relationship when you’re working fourteen-hour days.”
    “Well, pooh. That’s no fun. Sounds like you need to slow down some, remember your Southern roots.”
    “It’s been a while, but I think I can find my inner Southern Belle.”
    “Like you were ever a Southern Belle. Why, I remember when you—” The phone ringing cut Mary Ellen off mid-sentence. “Shoot, I have to get that. Don’t you go anywhere.”
    Nadya moved out from behind the counter as Mary Ellen talked on the phone. It looked like she was taking down an order. The back wall of the store where there used to be a soda fountain had been remodeled, and there was a deli case and a display of baked goods that reminded Nadya she hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
    “Nad? Where’d you go?”
    “I’m back here by the deli. Did your mom make those cookies?”
    Mary Ellen waddled behind the deli case with the order slip in her hand. “No, Mrs. Sugarfield did. I have some of the ladies in the garden club baking for me fresh every day. It gives them some pocket money and makes sure I have a steady stream of customers in the afternoon.”
    “Great marketing idea. Do you run the store by yourself?” No customers had come in since Nadya had been there, but still, if Mary Ellen was manning the counter and the deli, that was a lot for one person.
    “Heavens, no. I’m just covering the breaks. I have a couple of high school girls who come in like we used to, you know, to stock shelves and the like. I have two full-time employees who run the deli and bakery and work the counter. I mostly do the books and the scheduling.”
    “Listen to you. Mary Ellen Farley, business woman.”
    “It’s Mary Ellen Michaels, and I consider myself an entrepreneur.”
    Nadya laughed again and dug in her purse for a business card. She scribbled her cell phone number on the back. “Here, call me and we’ll set up a date for dinner.”
    “You know I will. When my hands aren’t full of lunch meat, I’ll text you my number.”
    “I’m surprised you have any cell service way up here.”
    “The town rented out some land to the cell phone companies for a cell tower. They pay a huge chunk of change every month, and we just have to ignore the ugly thing.”
    “Really? I can’t believe the town council went for that.”
    “Went for it? They practically did cartwheels. The money from the cell companies is about the only thing keeping Dale alive.” A frown briefly crossed Mary Ellen’s face. “But never mind all that. I’ll text you and we’ll make plans. How long are you staying in the area?”
    Thoughts of Hornblower tried to crowd her head, but she pushed