Mrs. Avery's Adventures

Chapter 2

The three women each reacted differently to Daisy"s interruption of the older man across the bistro. Piper was mortified and embarrassed, Courtney amused, and Tessa smug.

"See that, Piper? Daisy has taken control of the situation. Now it"s up to you to follow her lead." Swallowing the last of the water in the glass, Tessa picked up the backpack she had dropped when she arrived. Giving a thumbs up to Piper and a wave to Courtney, the young girl prepared to leave.

"I gotta run, I have a meeting to get to, and I don"t want to be late. Piper, I can pick Daisy up at the gallery and walk her for you this evening if that will help. I know how busy you are making the final preparations for the opening."

Piper absentmindedly agreed to Tessa’s suggestion, her eyes still on her dog. Courtney looked at her watch and gasped at the time, and in a matter of seconds, she was following Tessa"s lead, giving Piper a hug goodbye and leaving the bistro.

Moments later, Piper was sitting by herself at the table watching her dog curl up at Mr. Weston"s feet, content with the attention the older man was giving her.

"Tessa"s right. Daisy"s made my decision for me. I’ve been abandoned by my own dog. I swear, that dog gets me in more trouble..." Piper mumbled to herself as she gathered her things together, preparing to walk across to Mr. Weston and claim her dog.

"Mr. Weston, I"m Piper Avery. I"m sorry my dog has made herself comfortable at your table. I guess she is as attracted to you as the children are," Piper apologized as she walked up to the man"s table.

"Hello, Piper. I know who you are. I remember you from when your children were young." Mr. Avery waved off her apology and surprised her with his comment. Reaching down, he looked at Daisy"s personalized collar with her name running across it. "And don"t worry about your dog. I love dogs, and they seem to know it. Unfortunately, I can"t have one at home because my granddaughter doesn’t like dogs. So, I have to enjoy other people"s dogs—like this beauty here. Daisy, is it?"

Piper confirmed that the collar had the correct name on it. Before she could say anything more, Mr. Weston pulled the chair out for her and invited her to sit at the table with him. There was a third chair at the table, and without hesitation, he put the ventriloquist dummy in the chair. The overall effect was two adults and a child sitting together in a bistro. Piper smiled at the picture they made.

"I really don"t want to take up any of your time, Mr. Weston. I know you"re a busy man," Piper said as she shook her head at the offering of a glass of soda from the pitcher sitting on the table.

"Nonsense. This is my personal time,” the older man said. “I take it once a week and come out here to read stories to the children. My office knows that they don"t dare bother me, and since I finished early, I have a bit of extra time to sit here with a pretty woman and her beautiful dog." Without bothering to wait for her to agree, he poured her a glass of soda and set it in front of her.

"Now tell me about yourself, Piper. Aren"t you opening the photography gallery here in the promenade?" the man asked, surprising Piper with his knowledge.

He grinned openly at her surprised look, taking a swallow of his own drink before he continued. "There"s not much I miss in town, and I"ve been watching the progress of the Pelican Promenade ever since Charlotte Potter bought it. I took a few peeks in the window of your gallery, and I must say, I"m impressed with what I see."

"Really? I mean, thank you, Mr. Weston." Piper swallowed and decided to go ahead and take the bull by the horn and bring up his own artistic abilities.

"I"ve had the pleasure of seeing some of your work as well, Mr. Weston. A friend of mine has one of your woodcarvings, and I have to tell you, I just drooled over it when I saw it."

The older man seemed surprised at first, but then he slowly smiled, pleased with her compliment. "Ahh, I wish I had more time to spend working on my carvings. It"s been a hobby of mine for years. To be honest, it"s what got me through my wife"s passing. I spent many hours in my woodshop while I grieved. What piece did you see?" he asked

Piper quickly told him about the beautiful mermaid of his that her friend owned. As she finished, she sounded like a schoolgirl gushing, and the man laughed out loud. Deciding to ask the question that her heart longed for, Piper took a gulp of soda and then looked the older man directly in the eyes.

"You know, Mr. Weston, I have one section in the gallery set aside for local artists. I would consider it an honor if you put your woodcarvings on display in the gallery." The last part came in a nervous rush, and Piper hoped the man wouldn"t be offended.

Mr. Weston didn"t answer Piper right away. Instead, he reached down and gave Daisy a little more attention and then he looked at Piper as if assessing her character. Then he gave a slow little nod.

"I think I should be the one who is honored,” he said. “But before I say yes, why don"t you come out to the house and look at the ones I have and see if they are what you"re looking for the gallery. You may decide that the one piece that you saw was the best I ever did and not like the rest of them."

He held his hand up as Piper started to protest. "No, I insist that you look at the carvings before we agree on anything. If you decide that my work will help your gallery, I would be happy to loan them to you to put on display." Mr. Weston grinned back at Piper as he saw her stunned look.

As she stammered to get out a thank you, the older man gave her a piece of advice.

"Piper, don"t be afraid to ask another artist to display their work. Most will feel honored, and at the very worst, they"ll tell you no. And if they do, you’re not out anything for trying. But you may lose out on a good opportunity if you don"t ask. Now, let"s set up a time for you to come up to the house, and I"ll show you my woodcarvings, and we’ll go from there."

They each pulled up the calendars on their phones and checked their appointment schedule. They finally decided that the only time they had available was the following evening. Piper was thrilled, and she thanked him once again as he began putting his things away so he could leave. Piper grabbed Daisy"s leash and, shaking Mr. Weston’s hand, she said goodbye, before heading down Pelican Promenade towards her art gallery.

Looking back towards the man, she raised her hand to wave at him but lowered it as she saw a familiar figure joining Mr. Weston at his table.

"I wonder what Joel is talking to Mr. Weston about?" Piper asked herself.