A week later, Grandfather drove his whole family over to the Shoppe in the big station wagon. Soo Lee, Joe, and Alice came too.
A big sign that said OPEN HOUSE hung over the Shoppe’s front door. Inside, white and red balloons hung from the Shoppe’s ceiling. Streamers draped the counter. A big long table at one end of the parlor held several cartons of fresh, homemade ice cream in silver buckets of ice.
“Yum, there are fresh berries and cherries cut up into some of the ice cream,” Jessie said happily.
“Jessie, look at the counter,” Benny beamed. He pointed toward the pots of chocolate, butterscotch, marshmallow, and raspberry sauces that were being heated over small burners. Festive jars of sprinkles, candy, and fresh fruit lined the rest of the counter. Over it was a sign that said: MAKE YOUR OWN BENNY SPECIAL SUNDAE.
“Oh, it looks beautiful in here,” Violet said admiringly.
Mr. Brown beamed as he greeted his company. Mr. Richards had come back to see how the Shoppe was faring. Eric and his brothers and Mrs. Saunders were also among the many guests. Simone, Brian, Ruth, and Tom carried trays of fresh lemonade in sparkling glasses.
“Tom, you came back!” Benny almost shouted when he saw his favorite waiter.
“Yes. Once we found out what had been happening around here, Ruth and I decided to come back. Mr. Brown needs the help, and we like working here better than anywhere,” Tom said.
“I’m glad to see so many people from the neighborhood,” Grandfather observed as he helped himself to some strawberry ice cream.
“Good choice. I just made it this morning,” Mr. Brown said, coming by with Mr. Richards.
“Hello, James,” Mr. Richards greeted his old friend. “I heard your grandchildren saved the Shoppe.”
“Well, they helped,” Mr. Alden answered modestly as he put his arm around Violet.
“Oh, Mr. Brown. Brian has been telling me about all the problems you’ve had in your parlor,” Mrs. Saunders called as she came toward them. She balanced her sundae in one hand and adjusted her long scarf with the other. She towered over Mr. Brown in her high spiked heels.
“Yes,” Mr. Brown nodded solemnly, “but I hope all that trouble is behind us, since I had someone come in and fix the old clock.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is,” Mrs. Saunders said. She looked genuinely concerned. “Listen, I hope you didn’t think I was trying to take some business away from you with my truck.”
“I did think so at one time,” Mr. Brown admitted.
Mrs. Saunders put her sundae down. “I know I’ve been difficult,” Mrs. Saunders said. “It’s just so hard to start a new business, especially when there’s someone in town who carries better ice cream than I do.”
Violet, Henry, and Mr. Alden looked at Mrs. Saunders in surprise.
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Saunders admitted. “I’ve always been a little jealous of the parlor, but I would never do anything to hurt a fellow ice cream maker. I know how hard we work,” she added looking at Mr. Brown, who nodded.
“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Mrs. Saunders continued. “Greenfield is so small. I’m going to try the bigger towns like Silver City during the week. I can come to Greenfield on weekends when we both have a lot of business.”
Mr. Brown chuckled. “You shouldn’t feel you have to do that,” he said. “I’m sure with the summer coming, there will be more than enough business in Greenfield for both of us.”
Jessie waved to Simone and her red-haired friend. “Oh, Jessie, I’d like to introduce you to Martin,” Simone said proudly. “We’ve just started, uh . . . going up. Is that how you say it here?”
“Going out,”Jessie said and smiled while Martin blushed. “I’m happy to meet you,” she said. “So that’s what was going on,” she whispered to Simone when Martin went off to get more sprinkles.
“Jessie, you didn’t think Martin or I were involved in the mystery?” Simone looked surprised.
“I wasn’t sure, especially after Violet saw you hiding your note,” Jessie was forced to admit.
“Oh, that!” Simone said smiling. “Martin often wrote sweet little notes to me while I worked.”
Before everyone sat down to eat, Mr. Brown gave a speech, but just a short one. He didn’t want everyone’s ice cream to melt while he spoke.
“Thank you so much for coming,” he began. “I know we’ve had a little trouble getting started without Mr. Richards, but those problems are behind us. From now on, we’ll all make sure to have enough fresh ice cream, whipped cream, and any sauce you like on hand.”
Suddenly, everyone heard the old clock chiming. “Ding ding ding ding!”
“Look!” Benny exclaimed. “The old clock is fixed.”
Everyone cheered and began eating. |