Double Diamond

“I think we should run a morning game and an afternoon game.” Michael finally decided after twenty minutes of discussing their options. “That way we can keep the place jumping all day, instead of being packed to the rafters for a couple of hours then dead later. We can split the games and prizes between morning and afternoon too,” He was getting excited. “Yeah, that’ll make sure there’s something for everyone to do all day.”

  “That sounds great.” She agreed enthusiastically then sobered for a moment as a thought hit. “You realize this will mean a later night. Overtime. We probably won’t get done before seven with the cleanup. I know how much you hate working late.”

  “That won’t be a problem.” His answer surprised her. “Anything that makes me more money right now is definitely welcome.” He smiled at Casey’s dubious expression. “I’m buying a new ride for the Cheakamus Challenge.” He mentioned a gruelling 68-kilometer mountain bike race running through the wilderness from Squamish to Whistler. “And the one I want is going to cost me muchos doneros.”

  Casey shook her head at his pronunciation. The fact that he’d never learned Spanish was extremely evident. Not that hers was any better…

  “I’m sure Gail will stay too.” Michael added as an afterthought. His voice held a hint of male confidence.

  “Great!” Casey allowed herself to get excited again. “I’ll call the people on this list and assign them start times for their game.” She waved the sign up sheet with entrant’s names and phone numbers vigorously. “And you can check our prizes; make sure we have enough for two games and all the other little contests that will be going on.”

  “Will do.” Michael trotted off towards the back room.

  “But just keep the one large prize for the drawing.” Casey called after him. She watched as he waved in agreement and walked into the storeroom. We’d better just keep the one prize; there’s no way I can afford two. She laughed a little nervously. The one full set of Agatha Christie books was costing her a pretty penny as it was. But so far it did seem to be worth the expense.

  The drawing had been going on for almost a week now. The bin was nearly full of names. Casey looked into the bin again; it gave her a thrill to see the level of little pieces of paper rise everyday. It not only meant people were interested in what she was giving away but that a lot of people were coming through the store. Judging by the week’s sales so far, they were also buying.

  Tomorrow was going to be a busy, stressful day. But as she fully expected to be out of the store by seven she wasn’t too worried. She’d had later nights and Andrew understood. After tomorrow she should be back on an even keel and able to take a couple of days off to spend with him and try to enjoy the few days they had left together. She smiled. If everything went as planned tomorrow she would be snugly ensconced in her favourite spot by the fireplace at Hunter’s Bay with a nice cold glass of Chablis in her hand…. by eight at the latest. And she was finally going to take the bull by the horns. She would ask him if there was any way they could make this relationship work. That was, if he wanted to. She believed he did. Surely he couldn't treat her the way he had been, and just walk away as if it meant nothing. He'd said he cared….but was it enough to try.

  But that was tomorrow, she still had to get through today. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly in an attempt to relax her stressed body, then grabbed the phone and started making her calls.