A Pizza to Die For (3 page)

As I dropped the slice in my hand onto my plate, I said, “It’s not something I’d ever order, but you never know. Some folks might like it.”

“Wow, just think what else I might be able to create if I have the chance,” Maddy said.

“Tell you what. Why don’t we see how this does before we get too carried away?” I was still hungry, so I took another bite despite the heat in my mouth, and to my surprise, I found it starting to grow on me as well.

Maddy finished another bite, and then said, “It has a little sweetness, a little saltiness, and a little heat.”

I must have bitten into a pepper, because my mouth started burning and tears were welling up in my eyes. “More like a lot of heat,” I said as I grabbed my water glass and drained it.

“Maybe I’ll back off on the peppers a little next time,” Maddy said.

“I’d keep it exactly like it is. After all, a lot of folks love spicy food.”

“All we can do is offer it and see if we get any takers.” She pushed her plate away as she added, “A little of it goes a long way, doesn’t it?”

“I’m through, too,” I said.

After we pushed our plates away, I asked, “Should we clean this up and get started digging?”

“I don’t think we should leave the pizzeria again,” Maddy said.

“Come on, don’t be such a baby. It’s not that cold out. Maybe you just need a warmer coat.”

“It’s not because of the cold, Eleanor,” Maddy answered. “I just think our time might be better spent if we came up with some kind of plan instead of just rushing into this headfirst.”

I looked closely into my sister’s eyes for a few seconds, and she asked me, “What are you doing?”

“I just can’t believe those words came out of your mouth. You’re usually the one who wants to stir up trouble and see what happens.”

Maddy nodded. “Maybe this time I need to be the sister who offers a reasoned perspective.”

I couldn’t believe she could say that with a straight face. “I’d love to know how you plan to do that.”

Maddy grinned at me and said, “It’s easy. I’ll just pretend that I’m you.”

We sat there going over dozens of possibilities, but we weren’t having much luck, and the time kept moving forward.

We were both lost in thought since we still hadn’t come up with anything even approaching a game plan when Josh and Greg tapped on the glass door. I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that we still had ten minutes before we were due to open for our evening shift. It was rare for one of them to come early, but the fact that they were together meant that something was up, and from the expressions on their faces, it wasn’t good.

I let them in. “Josh knows what’s going on,” Greg said.

Wonderful. “I suppose you two are ready to go confront Judson Sizemore again,” I said.

“That’s one way to go,” Josh said, and I marveled again about just how much he looked like his father had at that age. “Can we eat first, though?”

Both young men went straight to the new pizza before I could warn them about its combustible properties.

“What is it?” Josh asked as he took a piece and smelled it. I’d noticed that about him long ago, an odd habit indeed: Nothing went into that boy’s mouth until he smelled it first, and if it didn’t pass his sniff test, he refused to eat it.

“It’s Maddy’s new experiment,” I said. “You aren’t under any obligation to try it.”

Josh shrugged, and then took a bite. He chewed it slowly, and then, after careful consideration, said, “I like it.”

“You’re kidding,” Maddy said.

“No, really, it’s good.”

Greg leaned over and took a piece for himself. He had a bite, chewed it, and then dropped his slice onto my plate. “Man, that’s awful. It’s way too hot and spicy.”

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take your share,” Josh said.

I pushed the platter toward him. “You’re welcome to the rest of it.”

“Sweet,” he said as he took the remaining slices to another table.

“I’m still hungry,” Maddy said. “Shall I make us something else?”

“Why don’t I take care of this one?” I asked as I stood. I’d had enough of my sister’s creative approach to pizza-making to last me a while. “Greg, would you like me to make you something, too?”

“No thanks. I had a burger at Brian’s Grill. You all go ahead, though. I’ll keep you company.”

I went back into the kitchen, and to my surprise, the three of them followed me, including Josh holding the remnants of that abomination of a pizza in one hand as he ate the final slice. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to get that taste out of my mouth. Something simple was needed to cleanse my palette, the way a sorbet does, so I decided to make a plain cheese pizza for Maddy and me.

As I slid it onto the conveyor, she said, “You’re not putting any toppings on it at all? Really?”

“I think I’ve had my fill of extras at the moment. Something simple might be good, but I can make you something else, if you’d like. What do you think?”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said after a moment’s pause.

“Why are you two so early?” I asked, now that the pizza was on its journey through the oven. It might not be as fancy as the wood-fired one they had at Italia’s, but it made good, consistent pizza time after time, and that was all I could ask of it.

“We came to help,” Greg said.

I looked around the clean kitchen. “Thanks, but you’re a little late. Maddy and I took care of the dishes as soon as you left.”

“Not with that,” Josh said. “We’re talking about the new pizza place.”

“I can’t believe you bothered him with this before he even came to work, Greg.”

“He didn’t have to,” Josh said between bites. “I heard about it on the radio.”

“He’s advertising?” I asked, unable to believe he could afford to, in such a small market.

“Oh, yes. It’s a regular media blitz. You’ve got to do something about it, Eleanor. This guy is not fooling around.”

“That’s what we told her,” Greg chimed in.

“Go ahead. One of you come up with a plan. I’m listening,” I said.

“We’re one step ahead of you,” Greg said. “Josh and I are going to stand in front of his restaurant when he opens and block people from going in.”

I looked at Josh for a second before I trusted myself to speak. “And you don’t think your father will have a problem with you doing that, what with him being the chief of police and all?”

“What’s he going to do, lock me up?” he asked with a grin. “Mom would never forgive him.”

“I can’t say anything about that, but we all know that your father will find a way to blame me for it.” I had to get their attention. As I looked at each of them in turn, I said, “Let me be perfectly clear. There will be no human barricades or demonstrations of any kind anywhere near Italia’s. We need to attack this problem with a positive response, not a negative one. Do we understand each other?”

They both said that they did, and I only hoped it was true. At the very least, if they disobeyed me now, they couldn’t claim ignorance.

“Good,” I said. “I’m glad we got that settled. Now, does anyone have any ideas about what we can do to make sure our customers keep coming here instead of going there?”

“We could always cut prices,” Josh said.

“Only if we’re all willing to work for free,” I said. “Our margins here are pretty slim as it is. It wouldn’t take much for us to win the battle by selling more pizzas and end up losing the war by being forced to shut down.”

“Forget about price cuts,” Maddy said. “How about doing some kind of giveaway? We can put a ticket on the bottom of every large pizza pan and takeout box, and at the end of the week, we have a big drawing to see who wins.”

“What’s the prize going to be?” I asked, intrigued by the concept, but not sure how much foot traffic it would generate.

She smiled at me. “We could always give away a date with the owner.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. Since David Quinton had left town to live in Raleigh, potential beaus weren’t exactly lining up to take his place. I couldn’t really blame them. There were folks in town whispering behind my back that I’d driven him off by refusing to date him, and I wasn’t so sure they were wrong. I’d tried my best, but the memory of my late husband, Joe, was still so strong in my heart that I doubted I’d ever be able to let anyone else in.

I decided to turn the tables on my sister. “We could give a date away with you, instead.”

“I’m not sure how Bob Lemon would feel about that,” Greg said.

Maddy smiled at him. “Are you kidding? He’d be good for ten pizzas every night. That alone might be enough to get us solidly in the black.”

I’d had enough of that particular topic. “Nobody’s going out with anyone as a prize in a drawing. There’s got to be something else we could give away. How about a free pizza to the winner?”

Maddy arched an eyebrow. “That’s not exactly a big incentive, is it?”

“You come up with something, then.”

“I have an idea,” Josh said.

“Does it require any of us to go out on a forced date?” I asked.

“No.”

“Then at least you’ve got my attention.”

“We could name a pizza after the winner for a week, like Bob’s Specialty Pizza. Then, the next week, we’ll have a new drawing and do it again.”

“Do you think that would be a draw?” I asked.

Josh shrugged, but Maddy answered, instead. “If we play it right, it could. We can put the winner’s name in the window, and make a big deal out of it. Kids from the high school would love it, and even some of your older customers might get a kick out of having their names up on the wall. We can even keep track of the winners by keeping a master list posted all the time. I like it, Josh.”

I nodded and looked at Greg. “What do you think?”

He looked reluctant to respond, so I said, “Now’s the time to voice any concerns, before we do something that turns out to be a mistake.”

Greg nodded, and then said, “It’s a great idea, but I’m not sure it will make enough of a difference to keep us afloat.”

“It’s a start, though,” I said. “Good job, Josh.”

I saw our pizza coming out of the oven, so I said, “Let’s take this back out front. Maddy, if you’ll grab some drinks, I’ll bring this. Are you sure you don’t want to join us, Greg?”

He looked at the bubbling cheese and the golden brown crust and said, “Maybe I’ll have one slice.”

“I’ll have one, too,” Josh said.

I looked at the platter and saw that Maddy’s abomination was gone. “I think you’ve had enough for one meal,” I said with a laugh.

“Hey, I’m a growing boy.”

“Let’s just make sure the direction you’re growing isn’t out.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

The mood was lighter, which was what I’d been trying for, and I was beginning to feel that things weren’t quite as hopeless as I’d felt earlier.

We opened for dinner as soon as we’d finished cleaning up our own mess, and I was making the fourth order when I heard a commotion out front. What on earth was going on now? I slid the latest pizza onto the conveyor and walked out.

Judson Sizemore was in the middle of my pizzeria, handing out what had to be notices of his grand opening.

It appeared that he wasn’t going to wait for me to attack first.

He was coming straight for me before I had a chance to do a thing.

“You need to leave,” I said as I approached him.

“I already told him that,” Maddy said, her face flushed with anger. “He says it’s a free country, and he can do whatever he wants.”

Greg started toward him as he said, “If you won’t leave on your own, I’ll give you a hand.”

I looked around the restaurant to see who was witnessing this confrontation. Among the regulars were several townsfolk, and in particular, Karen Green, a woman who ate with us every day we were open. She, along with just about everyone else, looked dismayed by the scene, and I couldn’t blame any of them.

“Nobody’s going to do anything,” I said firmly, stepping between Greg and Judson. “Josh, call your father. Tell him that we have a trespasser on our premises who refuses to leave.”

“With pleasure,” Josh said as he pulled out his cell phone.

“This is a public restaurant,” Judson said loudly. “I have as much right to be here as anyone else.”

I pointed to a sign near the register that we’d had posted since we’d opened. “Think again. We have the right to refuse service to anyone we choose for whatever reason, and we’re invoking it right now. You’re not welcome here, and that’s the last time I’m going to ask you nicely.”

“What are you going to do, turn your goon on me?” Judson didn’t look the least bit afraid. All it would take would be a nod from me, and the stranger would find himself suddenly sitting on the sidewalk out front wondering how it had happened so quickly.

“We don’t need Greg,” Maddy said with grim determination. “I’ll kick his scrawny little carcass out of here myself. What do you say, Judson? Care to get your tail whipped by a woman?”

I was trying to head her off when I saw Kevin Hurley walk in. I was rarely happy to see our police chief in my pizzeria, but this time I was tempted to give him a giant hug and an extra large pizza with whatever he wanted on it.

“What seems to be the problem here?” he asked me.

“This woman just threatened me with physical violence,” Judson said as he pointed a bony finger at Maddy.

“Is that true?” he asked Maddy.

“Hang on a second,” I interrupted. “This is getting out of hand.”

“I’m not talking to you, Eleanor,” he said without looking away from Maddy. “Did you threaten him?”

“We asked him politely to leave, and he refused,” she said a little petulantly. “It looked like he needed a little extra incentive, so I offered to give him a hand if he wasn’t sure he could make it on his own.”

Chief Hurley shook his head. “Maddy, what have I told you about that temper of yours? It’s going to get you into some serious trouble some day.”

“She didn’t do anything wrong, Dad. He was passing out flyers for his new pizzeria in here,” Josh said. “It’s not right you’re chewing Maddy out.”

Kevin Hurley looked as though he was regretting coming into the Slice at his son’s insistence. I pointed to the sign again and said, “We have the right to refuse service to anyone who walks through that door, and that’s what I’m doing. Would you please escort this gentleman out of the restaurant?”