in the warehouse at the back of the store, an enormous line of customers was waiting, and signs plastered on everything that said, “HUGE SALE - CLOSING - EVERYTHING MUST GO.” What were my cousins up to now? Fury began to pipe a hot path through my veins.
I noticed that the entire selection of gas grills off to one side of the counter was also marked “FREE - TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY!” Why on Earth would we be giving away some of the most expensive and popular items in the store? This was not happening.
I ripped down the signs that lined the aisle as I approached my cousins, who both stood behind the counter, looking nonchalant as ever, despite the chaos.
“Are we having a sale?” I asked, trying to contain the anger threatening to spill out of me.
“Guess so,” Virgil said. “You know, a little notice next time would be good, boss.”
“Yeah, Mike.” Emmett chimed in. He spoke so rarely it caught me off guard and I stared at his round ruddy face for a beat, wondering if he was going to say more, but that was it.
Virgil pulled a hand down his long spiky beard. “I mean—I don’t even know how to ring half this shit up.” He motioned to a customer standing in front of him holding our entire inventory of weed blocker in rolls in his arms. “He says the sign said it was free.”
I stepped behind the counter, trying to push down the panic rising in me at the thought of people just walking out with inventory. Our margins were thin as it was. I tried to keep prices fair—these folks were my neighbors, after all, but I couldn’t just give everything away. I looked out at the line of people, who in total were standing there, ready to relieve me of thousands of dollars-worth of merchandise. I wondered what Virge and Emmett had sent out the door already this morning.
“Folks, hi there. Hi. Can you give me a second here and listen?”
The crowd grumbled into silence, the line stilling as people held their treasures, hoping for a ridiculous deal I couldn’t offer. This had the Tanner stink on it, and anger welled inside me, making it tough to speak. Had Addie known about this? Had she been playing sweet while her family tried to ruin me?
“Thanks. So, listen, there’s been some kind of mistake here, and I hate telling you that, but I’m guessing this is a prank, and I’m pretty sure if we could just locate a member of the Tanner clan, we could probably get confirmation of that.”
Helen Manchester pushed a huge wheeled barbecue from the line and glared at me. “This grill is free. Says so right here.”
I liked old Mrs. Manchester, usually. She was great comic relief, but she was also irrational, belligerent and sometimes altogether terrifying. Today she wore a hat that said, “Give me a reason to shoot.” I looked behind her, hoping maybe one of her granddaughters was accompanying her, but didn’t see anyone that seemed to be in charge of the ninety-something woman trying to steal my most expensive barbecue.
“I wish it was, Helen,” I told her. “I wish I could give you all the things you want and need, but I’d be out of business by tonight if I did that.” The crowd grumbled, but a few people moved to put their items back, which was a relief. “What I can do,” I announced, “is offer you all ten percent off whatever you have in your hands right now.” It pained me to do it, but I had been planning some big holiday promotions anyway, maybe volume would make up for the loss. The Tanners had managed to get more people into the store than I’d seen in months.
“Better’n nothing,” came a man’s voice from the back of the line.
Some people shot me dirty looks and left the store, dropping work gloves and shovels, bags of mulch and feed right where they’d been standing. So much for being kind to our neighbors. Others seemed happy to get a discount. Helen Manchester made for the door with the grill, but I was happy to see her granddaughter Tess arriving just beyond the glass, exasperation etched into her features. “Gran!” She said. “What are you doing? We already have a great grill.”
“This one is free!” The old woman shot me a look over her shoulder, daring me to contradict her.