Page 4 of Crossing the Line
He had to admit that purchasing the sausage maker was an impulse buy. Just like the 3D printer he'd ordered for home and never really used beyond testing the thing to make sure it worked.
But bringing the sausage maker into the market had been a good idea.
A lot of people who came into Landy's Meats fancied themselves as foodies.
Bixby didn't mock it. It was kind of his bread and butter as a butcher. If people just wanted a slab of meat or a large tray of ground something, they didn't come into Landy's. Going into the butcher, they were looking for locally sourced meat or specialty cuts. They valued knowing where their food came from and the kind of cuts that you could get when you know the butcher.
And there was now a steady stream of customers coming in to try out their creative recipes for custom sausage links.
It gave him a reason to call in a few of Janice's favorite people to help out.
Mirella Santini wheeled her handcart over, smiling and bouncing a little.
The baby in the sling around her chest was making little noises as she bounced him up and down. "Bixby! I have your herb order here."
She stopped the handcart and gestured at the two crates with one hand as her other continued to pat the back of her baby.
"I just dropped off my usual order with Janice. You had the bigger boxes, so I came over here second."
He looked at her, smiling. "Ahh... I'm second fiddle to Janice." He put his hand to his heart. "I'm hurt!"
Mirella rolled her eyes. "I can tell by your big grin and over-acting."
He lowered his hand to his stomach and groaned. "That one hit home."
Mirella reached out to pat him on the arm. "Poor boy."
He gave another groan for good measure and then laughed along with her. "I'm just a frustrated actor, grinding meat for my daily bread."
Mirella's raised eyebrow was followed by another pained look. "You really need some new material, Bixby."
He shrugged. "I've got years of dad jokes stored up but I'm not a dad. It's a strange existential crisis to have."
"Well, if you want to borrow one to burp and change diapers, come over to the house. I'm sure Teo would love to have backup."
Bixby held his hands up between them and waved her off. "No, thanks. I'm good. I like telling the jokes but wiping butts?" He cringed. "I'm not a big fan of that."
Mirella nodded. "I don't blame you. It'snotsomething I enjoy either." She wrapped her arms around her baby who was grinning from ear to ear, drooling along the way. "He's a warm, cuddly bundle of drool, farts, and burps, but he's ours."
Bixby winced in commiseration. "I've had days like that, but I just take care of myself."
Mirella's expression changed to a grimace before she burst out laughing. Her son followed suit, but his laughter sounded closer to hiccups and then sniffles.
"Uh oh." Mirella sighed. "It's almost feeding time. Where should I leave the crates?"
Bixby looked down at the two crates on the hand cart. "I've got 'em." He bent over and picked them up. "One second, Mirella." He walked them back to the newly renovated food prep area and set the crates down on some butcher paper he'd put down ahead of time and took out his cell phone. "Is the earlier invoice price the same?"
She nodded. "Perfect, but no rush."
Bixby gave her a look. "Well, I'm transferring it right now. If anything is wrong, please let me know."
He heard Mirella's cell phone ping with the incoming payment, but she didn't bother to check. Instead, she shifted her son in the sling and reached for the hand cart.
"I'll get that." He took the handles of the hand cart and headed for the door, opening it for Mirella and holding it open. "Did you park close?"
She nodded and pointed out her SUV on the street. "Got a front row parking space. I barely had to walk and besides, the day is nice. If I didn't find a space this close, I was planning on parking near Fertile Grounds and getting something sweet, but with no caffeine." She sighed. "But, I got this awesome space, so I'll go home and have some iced tea with Nonna."
Mirella popped the trunk, and he folded the hand cart and set it in the back for her. "Thanks, Bixby."
