Excerpt from Quiche Me Goodbye
Excerpt from QUICHE ME GOODBYE, coming soon!
Standing on the grass in the backyard, looking into the woods behind the house, Erin moved through her tai chi forms slowly, stretching and flexing her muscles as she moved through each of the familiar patterns. The sky turned from blue to orange, and the sun dipped behind the trees. Cicadas buzzed in the trees.
It had been a long day, at the end of a long week, and she was sure the upcoming week would not be any more restful. Though she had to admit that she was eager for the festival to get under way after the weeks of anticipation. Who knew that a food festival took so much preparation? She wasn’t even the organizer, but she felt like she had been swept into someone else’s life, no longer just a humble gluten-free baker, but a foodie, a participant in The World’s Largest Festival Celebrating the Humble Chickpea. She didn’t even care about the contests and awards; she had just wanted to participate in what had seemed like a fun local tradition. A lighthearted way to kick off the summer with food, fun, and festivities.
Maybe it was not such a good thing that the festival organizers had decided that Bald Eagle Falls was just the place to hold the festival when the previously selected host town had been struck with a large water main break that might take the entire summer to fix.
Bald Eagle Falls had been familiar to the organizers of the festival because of the tragedy that had occurred there some months earlier, when Gerald Montgomery, a celebrated food critic, had died suddenly after eating Erin’s debut Morning Sunrise muffin. Rather than being disastrous for business at Auntie Clem’s Bakery, as Erin had feared, Montgomery’s death had spurred tourism to the tiny Tennessee town as Montgomery’s fans and followers took their pilgrimage to Bald Eagle Falls to get a taste of the gluten-free strawberry compote muffins that had been the cause of the icon’s death. Though the idea seemed morbid, Erin welcomed the Instagrammers and influencers, giving them a selfie-worthy experience and accepting their generous tips.
The rest of the town couldn’t complain about the extra business the pilgrims brought to Bald Eagle Falls buying mementos at the General Store, staying at the new B&Bs that had sprung up, and spending their money at the grocery store or restaurants. And now, bringing the chickpea festival to town at the last moment when Moose River had found themselves unexpectedly underwater.