When the Bell was Silenced

 

The following story is a continuation of the story from Thursday’s post, One More Ring!

Chad leaned back in his chair and then turned his head to look for Cara, but didn’t see her anywhere. 

“Where is Cara, I really need some more coffee!” 

Lisette and Sarah didn’t see her either, then they all turned their heads as a man walked in the door. Sarah couldn’t help but be struck with how handsome he looked with his dark, brown wavy hair.  He stood in place, looking around, and frowning at seeing no one behind the counter. 

They all jumped a little at the loud clatter they heard coming from the back room. Soon Cara appeared, “Don’t worry, everything is ….”  She stopped in mid-sentence as her eyes landed on Mr.Picklefoot. Her cheeks quickly turned a light shade of red. “Oh Mr.Picklefoot, I… I… didn’t expect to see you. I thought you were taking the rest of the day off.”  Cara sputtered out, standing there holding a Double Chocolate Mint Latte in her hand. 

Mr. Picklefoot raised his eyebrows, “I thought I had said to close up the Cafe for the rest of the day, and do I want to know what caused that clatter earlier?” 

“I think this would be a good time for me to go to the back room and start cleaning up. Oh, I think that customer may want more coffee.”  Cara said, pointing at Chad, while she  quickly retreated to the back room. 

Mason Picklefoot shook his head, he was sure that someday he was going to lose his last threads of sanity! He grabbed the coffee pot and walked over to the customer that Cara had pointed to. 

Chad smiled, as Mason refilled his cup. “Thank you sir, and let me tell you that this Shoo-Fly pie is divine!  A great idea you have here, selling pies with your coffee.  Lisette and Sarah heartily agreed. 

“I am so glad you enjoyed the pie”, said Mason, trying to hide the confused look on his face, as he took their plates and headed back to the counter. 

“Well, my mind is still swirling with all that you have told me.” Chad said, to Lisette. 

“I know its a lot to take in. Maybe we can take a walk and talk some more.” Lisette suggested. 

Sarah agreed, thinking she would let them walk alone while she checked out some of the other shops in the town. They left a generous tip for Cara, for she had been so sweet to them. 

When they walked out the door, Mason quickly walked towards the door and turned the “Open” sign to “Closed.”  

“Cara! Are you finished cleaning?” He called out, he wasn’t going to leave her here alone again. A few minutes later she came walking out with a big smile. 

“Yes, all cleaned up.” 

“Since I am here, I think I will get a piece of Shoo-fly pie, before I head back out.” said Mason. 

Cara’s smile quickly disappeared from her face. 

“By the way, what did those customers mean, about us selling pies?” Mason asked, as he walked to the back room. 

“Heyyy…what happened to my pie?” he yelled. He heard the door bang shut, and when he came back out, Cara was nowhere to be seen. 

Mr. Tippner was biking down the street and Cara wasn’t looking as she stepped out right in front of him. He quickly swerved, causing him to run into Miss. Victoria’s  fruit stand, sending apples and oranges flying. Victoria stood there with her hands on her hips, “I hope you are prepared to pay me for all my bruised apples!” she said to Mr. Tippner. 

Meanwhile Sarah had seen a craft shop that she wanted to look around in. Lisette and Chad continued walking down the street talking about the magical cow bell. Lisette was kind of distracted though with growing feelings for Chad. It was normal now for them to hold hands as they were walking. They hadn’t talked much about their feelings, but could something be developing, dare she get her hopes up. 

Sarah came walking out with 2 bags in her hand. The craft projects she had picked out would make some nice gifts. She wondered how far Chad and Lisette had walked, she figured she would catch up to them eventually. Sure enough it wasn’t long before she saw them sitting on a park bench. She smiled, as she watched them laughing together. Lisette’s eyes shined, and Sarah was happy for her, she hoped that Chad would stay around. 

Looking down the street she wondered if there were more shops she should check out. Ahh! A flower shop, she loved flowers. She thought she would go in and choose some to help decorate the Inn. 

“I think we should use the cow bell to get back to the Inn and then you store it in a safe place, not to be touched again, for who knows where you might go next time! I don’t want you disappearing.” Chad said, with a twinkle in his eye. “I have been thinking, and am trying to work out a deal with my boss to be able to work from a special, Bed and Breakfast Inn. Do you think that would be OK with the owner of the Inn, if I extended my stay?” 

Lisette felt herself grow warm and she couldn’t stop smiling, as Chad leaned in closer and gave her a gentle kiss. Her hand trembled with excitement. Ring, ring, ring! POOF! The smoke cleared and they were back standing in front of the Inn. 

“I am glad it brought us back here, one never knows …” Lisette said as she looked at the bell in the palm of her hand. Just then a big gust of wind came blowing the bell out of her hand and into the street, right in front of a truck that ran over it. 

Lisette stared in shock. It had taken her to several different places, they never had figured out exactly how it worked and now she guessed they would never know. Then a thought struck her, as she squeezed Chad’s arm and yelled, “OH NO! Sarah! We forgot Sarah!” 

Sarah walked out of the flower shop a hour later. She hadn’t planned on taking that long, but there were just so many beautiful flower arrangements to look at. She couldn’t wait to show Lisette what she had bought. Looking towards the park bench, she noticed it was empty. They must have continued on walking through the town. 

Sarah kept walking but her arms were growing tired, and it was hard to see, for the flowers were partially blocking her sight. 

“Oh! I am sorry!” she said in embarrassment as she bumped into someone’s shoulder. Looking up she realized it was Mr.Picklefoot! 

“Its Ok, your hands look pretty full. Can I help you carry these flowers? Where are you headed to?” he asked Sarah. 

Good question, she thought, where was she headed to? 

“I was just looking for my friends. I think they are enjoying exploring your little town.” Sarah replied. 

“Well, why don’t we take these flowers back to the Cafe for now. If you would like I could show you around a bit.” he said, with a warm smile. 

Sarah’s heart fluttered, as she replied. “Sure! That sounds fine.” She suddenly felt in no hurry to find Lisette and Chad.