looked up to see a local couple, Mark and Mary Garber, standing next to their table. Hayley could see Bruce tense a bit because he found Mary rather loud and abrasive, but Hayley liked her. The Garbers had moved to town about eight or nine years ago. Mary worked at the bank and Mark was a contractor. Mary was in her mid-thirties, Mark a few years younger, and they tried hard to fit in, hosting happy hours on their deck, throwing holiday parties, getting involved as much as they could in the community by attending every fund-raiser and public event. Mary’s determination to become a central part of the Bar Harbor social scene had initially met with middling success. But finally, after years of trying, she had hit pay dirt. Three years prior, Mark and Mary had hosted a Halloween party at their house called the Witches Ball where all the women were encouraged to come dressed as witches. The men had a much more relaxed dress code and could show up in any type of costume they chose. Mary likened it to the reverse Oscars where most of the men arrived in black tuxedos whereas the women were free to express their fashion creativity by working the red carpet in wild and colorful designer dresses. At the Garber house on Halloween, the men were the real standouts. The Witches Ball quickly caught on, and was now an annual staple that everyone looked forward to attending. Mary had met her goal. She had established a local tradition, cementing her place in the Bar Harbor cultural scene.
“How was your dinner?” Bruce asked.
Mark opened his mouth to speak but Mary cut him off before he had the chance. “Mark had the crab spinach-stuffed shells, which he liked. I had the pan-browned gnocchi, but frankly, the ones I make at home taste better.”
“Mark, Mary, have you met the Lancasters?” Hayley asked, gesturing to their dining companions.
Mark shook Ted’s hand. “Mark Garber.”
“Ted Lancaster. Pleasure, Mark,” Ted said. “This is my wife, Trudy.”
Mark turned to Trudy and held out his hand but suddenly stopped short. His mouth dropped open and he just stared at her to the point where it began to get a little uncomfortable. It was obvious Reverend Staples wasn’t the only one who found Trudy Lancaster breathtakingly attractive.
Finally, in an effort to ease the tension, Trudy reached out and took his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mark.”
He didn’t say anything.
He just kept his eyes glued on her.
Mary, annoyed, nudged her husband. “Close your mouth, Mark. You’ll catch flies.”
Mark finally snapped out of his haze and nodded to Trudy. “Sorry. Nice to meet you too.”
Mary stepped in front of Mark. “Since my rude husband has forgotten I’m even here, I’m Mary Garber, the invisible wife.”
They all laughed, pretending the moment had not been so excruciatingly awkward.
Mary turned to Trudy. “You’re the woman with the food truck Wicked ’Wiches, am I right?”
“Yes, that’s me,” Trudy said with a warm smile.
Mary clapped her hands. “Oh, good! When I saw your ad in today’s Island Times, I had this eureka moment. I’m sure you’ve heard about my annual Halloween party, the Witches Ball!”
It wasn’t really a question. She just assumed the whole world knew about her soiree in the age of social media. Ted and Trudy just stared at her blankly, not sure how to respond.
“I was just about to tell them about it,” Hayley chimed in, trying to be helpful.
“Oh, good. Well, needless to say, I’d love for you to come. Mark and I are always looking to make new friends,” Mary cooed happily to the Lancasters before putting on a more serious face and zeroing in on Trudy. “But given the name of your food truck and the theme of my party, I thought we might be able to help each other out. Would you be interested in parking outside my house and serving your subs to the guests at my party? It would be a terrific way to promote your business and I will pay whatever you think is fair!”
Trudy’s face lit up. “Of course!”
“If you have a card, I can call you in the morning to get a quote for the whole evening.”
Trudy reached into her bag that was hanging on her chair and quickly produced a card, handing it to Mary.
“We won’t bother you anymore. Enjoy your dessert,” Mary said with a smile that quickly shot downward into a frown as she turned to her husband. “Let’s go, Mark.”
Mark had finally managed to pry his eyes off Trudy and had them now fixed onto the floor. He nodded and obediently followed his wife out.
Ted leaned over and put an arm around his beautiful wife. “How about that? Not even in town a week, and you already have your first catering gig.”
Trudy beamed. “I think I’m really going to like living in Bar Harbor.”
Hayley could not have been happier for her new friend.
Chapter 3
When Hayley stirred awake in her bed, it was still pitch black outside. She checked the digital alarm clock on her nightstand. Ten minutes to four in the morning. She wasn’t sure what had awakened her, but she did know that whatever it was had interrupted a crazy dream she was having where she was lying in a hammock somewhere in the English countryside with Prince Harry, who was feeding her strawberries. She made a mental note not to share what she remembered about the dream to Bruce.
Hayley grabbed her pillow and turned over in bed to try and fall back to sleep and pick up where she had left off with Prince Harry when she felt something scraping against her big toe, which was exposed outside the fluffy white goose-down comforter. She sat up and stared at a furry little thing perched at the foot of the bed. It was her dog, Leroy, who had been licking her toe.
“What are you doing up, little man?” Hayley whispered, not wanting to wake up Bruce.
Leroy’s tongue hung out of his mouth and he panted expectantly. He answered her with a discomfited whine.
Hayley didn’t need a doggie translator to know what he was trying to say. She sighed. “I just took you out before bed.”
Hayley reluctantly threw off the covers and crawled out of bed, pulling on some ratty gray sweats and sliding her feet into some furry slippers. Leroy excitedly jumped down onto the floor and scurried out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Hayley tiptoed across the room, but stopped suddenly when she noticed that there wasn’t a big lump where Bruce was supposed to be. His side of the bed was empty.
Curious, Hayley stepped out into the hallway, wondering if Bruce had gotten out of bed to use the bathroom and that’s what had jolted her out of her Prince Harry dream. But the bathroom door was wide open and the light was off. She made her way down the stairs to the kitchen to meet Leroy at the back door, his tail wagging, anxious to get out into the yard in order to take care of his business.
Hayley went to open the door when she suddenly noticed someone standing on the deck, his back to the house, looking up at the bright, shiny half moon. It was Bruce. She silently watched him for a few moments, utterly confusing Leroy, who was wondering why he wasn’t outside yet, and that’s when she saw puffs of smoke wafting into the night-light from the side of the house.
She
