beautiful!” he enthused as he grasped one of the eight-quart buckets in his hands and shook it gently. He leaned forward and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the ripe succulent berries. “I can do wonderful things with these!
“Ah, Candy,” he continued as they settled into chairs at one of the small round tables near his shop’s front window, “this is my favorite time of year. I love it so! Surrounded by all this freshness, all this goodness and healthiness! Blueberries straight from the fields, delivered right to my door just hours after harvest by a beautiful woman! It is like giving new paints to an artist or a new instrument to a musician. How could a baker ask for more?”
“Well, you know me—I love to keep my customers happy. Just let me know when you need more.” Candy paused and leaned forward a little. “By the way,” she continued conspiratorially, her voice dropping just a notch in volume, “I’m dying to ask you about the pageant on Saturday night. You must have been stunned when Mrs. Pruitt charged the judges like that and started yelling at you.”
At this sudden change in subject, Herr Georg’s expression became guarded, and he drew back in his chair. His gaze shifted back and forth. “Oh, that? Well, yes, yes, it was a very strange night, wasn’t it?” Absently he licked his lips. “I mean, that Vine woman winning? How odd that was. It surprised us all, I think. Very shocking.”
“Yes, it was , wasn’t it?” Suddenly enthralled, Candy shifted her chair a bit closer to him. “So tell me everything . What did you think about that cowgirl outfit of hers? Wasn’t that odd ? And that poem? It certainly was creative, yes, but you couldn’t have given her very high marks for that dreadful performance, could you? So how did she win anyway?”
Herr Georg looked at her nervously. “Candy, meine liebchen , you should know I can’t talk about those things. I’m sworn to secrecy.”
“Just a hint. A little tidbit. Please? For your old friend Candy.” She made goo-goo eyes at him, egging him on.
Herr Georg hesitated for the longest time, glancing this way and that, then allowed himself a small smile as he leaned in close. “Well,” he said quietly, obviously unable to resist Candy’s charms, “I suppose it won’t hurt to talk about this just between the two of us. As long as the conversation goes no further than this table.”
Candy made a gesture of locking her lips with a key and tossing the key away.
Herr Georg laughed, then continued in a tone barely above a whisper. “Just as you say, I was horrified, simply horrified, when Mrs. Pruitt charged us like that! It was so unexpected and so frightening ! Such fury from such a small, thin woman! I thought she was going to slay each of us right there!”
“I know! Wasn’t she wretched ?”
“Shocking. Quite shocking—and most inappropriate,” Herr Georg agreed.
“I can’t believe she just flew off the handle like that. I mean, I was as surprised as anyone that Haley didn’t win. But I guess you were surprised about that too.”
“I, um, yes, ah, yes, yes, as I said before, of course I was.”
“And who can believe Sapphire Vine actually won? I was thinking about it this morning, and the only reason I can come up with—the only way she could have won—is if one of the judges marked the scoring form wrong, or something like that. You know, got the contestants mixed up and put the wrong scores in the wrong place. But that’s crazy, isn’t it? I mean, I can’t imagine that sort of thing happening. But it seems like the only explanation.”
“Hmm,” mused Herr Georg. “Do you really think so? It doesn’t seem possible, does it?”
“Well, no, I suppose not. I mean, these things are carefully monitored, right? It wouldn’t be possible for a judge to screw up like that, would it?”
“Oh no, of course not, of course not!” Herr Georg replied emphatically.
“And if one of the judges made a huge
“Ah, Candy,” he continued as they settled into chairs at one of the small round tables near his shop’s front window, “this is my favorite time of year. I love it so! Surrounded by all this freshness, all this goodness and healthiness! Blueberries straight from the fields, delivered right to my door just hours after harvest by a beautiful woman! It is like giving new paints to an artist or a new instrument to a musician. How could a baker ask for more?”
“Well, you know me—I love to keep my customers happy. Just let me know when you need more.” Candy paused and leaned forward a little. “By the way,” she continued conspiratorially, her voice dropping just a notch in volume, “I’m dying to ask you about the pageant on Saturday night. You must have been stunned when Mrs. Pruitt charged the judges like that and started yelling at you.”
At this sudden change in subject, Herr Georg’s expression became guarded, and he drew back in his chair. His gaze shifted back and forth. “Oh, that? Well, yes, yes, it was a very strange night, wasn’t it?” Absently he licked his lips. “I mean, that Vine woman winning? How odd that was. It surprised us all, I think. Very shocking.”
“Yes, it was , wasn’t it?” Suddenly enthralled, Candy shifted her chair a bit closer to him. “So tell me everything . What did you think about that cowgirl outfit of hers? Wasn’t that odd ? And that poem? It certainly was creative, yes, but you couldn’t have given her very high marks for that dreadful performance, could you? So how did she win anyway?”
Herr Georg looked at her nervously. “Candy, meine liebchen , you should know I can’t talk about those things. I’m sworn to secrecy.”
“Just a hint. A little tidbit. Please? For your old friend Candy.” She made goo-goo eyes at him, egging him on.
Herr Georg hesitated for the longest time, glancing this way and that, then allowed himself a small smile as he leaned in close. “Well,” he said quietly, obviously unable to resist Candy’s charms, “I suppose it won’t hurt to talk about this just between the two of us. As long as the conversation goes no further than this table.”
Candy made a gesture of locking her lips with a key and tossing the key away.
Herr Georg laughed, then continued in a tone barely above a whisper. “Just as you say, I was horrified, simply horrified, when Mrs. Pruitt charged us like that! It was so unexpected and so frightening ! Such fury from such a small, thin woman! I thought she was going to slay each of us right there!”
“I know! Wasn’t she wretched ?”
“Shocking. Quite shocking—and most inappropriate,” Herr Georg agreed.
“I can’t believe she just flew off the handle like that. I mean, I was as surprised as anyone that Haley didn’t win. But I guess you were surprised about that too.”
“I, um, yes, ah, yes, yes, as I said before, of course I was.”
“And who can believe Sapphire Vine actually won? I was thinking about it this morning, and the only reason I can come up with—the only way she could have won—is if one of the judges marked the scoring form wrong, or something like that. You know, got the contestants mixed up and put the wrong scores in the wrong place. But that’s crazy, isn’t it? I mean, I can’t imagine that sort of thing happening. But it seems like the only explanation.”
“Hmm,” mused Herr Georg. “Do you really think so? It doesn’t seem possible, does it?”
“Well, no, I suppose not. I mean, these things are carefully monitored, right? It wouldn’t be possible for a judge to screw up like that, would it?”
“Oh no, of course not, of course not!” Herr Georg replied emphatically.
“And if one of the judges made a huge
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