Page 62 of Take My Heart
‘I don’t mind. Like I said, I was just watching TV.’
Mr. Finkle lives above the store in a small apartment. Sawyer does the same thing. His brewery is across the street and he lives right above it, or he used to. Now that he has a girlfriend, he spends most nights at her place.
‘So what are you looking for today?’ Mr. Finkle asks.
‘I need clothes that would fit a girl.’
‘Over here,’ Mr. Finkle says, motioning me to follow him to the back of the store. ‘We don’t keep much in stock in the off season, but we probably have something that would fit her.’ He stops next to a rack of shirts. ‘What size is she?’
‘I don’t know. She’s small. And short.’
‘So extra small?’ he asks, taking a gray sweatshirt from the rack.
‘Let me see it.’
He holds up the sweatshirt.
‘Yeah, that looks about right.’ He hands it to me and when I turn it to the front, I see Kanfield Orchard written across it. ‘Is this all you got?’
‘I got a few Haydon Falls shirts, but not in her size.’ He looks over at me. ‘You don’t want her wearing your name?’
‘I don’t really care. I just don’t want her thinking I purposely picked these out. It’s kind of embarrassing, like I’m asking her to promote the orchard.’
‘Nothing wrong with that. It’s your family’s orchard.’
It’s also one of the main reasons people come to Haydon Falls. People drive for hours to go to the orchard, then spend time eating and shopping in the downtown. That’s why Mr. Finkle sells Kanfield Orchard shirts. They’re some of his bestselling items in the fall, along with my mom’s jars of apple butter and apple jam.
‘Is one going to be enough?’ Mr. Finkle asks.
‘I should probably get two. What else have you got?’
‘I got this one here.’ He holds up a red zip-up hoodie with the Kanfield Orchard logo on the upper right side. ‘This is an extra small.’
‘Okay, I’ll take that one too.’
‘You should get it for free,’ he jokes, handing it to me. ‘Or ask your parents for a cut of the profits. Does she need any shirts?’ He shows me a white t-shirt with Kanfield Orchard written in red across the front. It’s one of those fitted ones that looks really hot on the right girl. And Kate is definitely the right girl. She’d look great in that.
‘It’s her size,’ Mr. Finkle says. ‘And they’re on sale.’
‘I’ll take a couple.’
‘Will that be it?’
‘You got any pants?’
He walks over to a shelf of black sweatpants and takes one from the stack. He checks the size, then tosses it to me.
I see Kanfield Orchard written on the leg and laugh. ‘She’ll be all set to work at the orchard after this.’
‘You should take her there. Show her around.’
‘She won’t be here that long. What about gloves or a hat?’
‘Take your pick.’ He points to a stack of them on a shelf.
I grab a gray knitted stocking cap and matching mittens and follow him up front.
‘Hold on,’ I say as we walk by the makeup aisle.
