Page 25 of Break My Heart
I pause to think about that. ‘Okay, so maybe I overreacted, but she’s still my competition and I don’t think it’s right for my own family to be helping her out. She could’ve at least bought the damn apples.’
‘Sawyer, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I didn’t raise you to be this way.’
‘What way?’
‘Wanting what others have. Making excuses instead of doing the work. Being angry at someone for doing well instead of focusing on doing well yourself.’ He looks over at the fields, then back at me. ‘You know how many orchards I went to beforeopening this place? I don’t know the exact number, but it was close to 30 and they were all doing well. Some were bringing in thousands of dollars a day during the season. I could’ve seen that and decided I could never compete with those orchards, but instead I committed to doing the work to make this orchard what I wanted it to be, a place people wanted to go that would make me enough money to support my family. I didn’t go after my competition or even worry about them. That would’ve been time and energy wasted that could be better spent building my business. You see what I’m saying?’
‘Yeah,’ I say, just wanting this to be over. I love my dad, but I’m too old for these lectures. I get his point that I need to focus on my own business instead of worrying about Gina’s, but the fact remains that we’re both competing for the same customers and one of us is going to come out ahead. I can’t just ignore what she’s doing and pretend her place doesn’t exist. ‘Dad, I need to get going.’
‘Think about what I said. And don’t be giving that girl any trouble. She’s got it a lot harder than you do. A lot of the old timers won’t even step foot in her place, saying she’s an outsider and shouldn’t be doing business here.’
‘There aren’t enough old timers left to make that a problem.’
‘It only takes a few of them to make up stories about her and spread them around town so people won’t go to G’s.’
‘How do you know they’re doing that? I haven’t heard anything.’
‘Your mother heard Harriott talking at the fabric store, telling people Gina’s tattoo is some kind of gang symbol and that she’s going to be attracting the wrong kind of people here.’
I laugh. ‘Harriott thinks Gina’s in a gang? Seriously?’
‘She heard it from Orson, one of the old timers who wants Gina to leave. He doesn’t think it’s right for an outsider to betaking money from the locals. That’s what the girl’s up against. So stop trying to put her out of business because there’s people who are already trying to. And I don’t want my son being one of them. I didn’t teach you to be like that.’ He gets up. ‘Say goodbye to your mother before you leave.’
He’s angry at me, but he doesn’t know what I’m going through. Things aren’t the same as they were 40 years ago when he opened the orchard. And an orchard isn’t the same as a microbrewery. The orchard is a destination, an activity, a place for parents to bring their kids for an outing. My brewery is a place people only go to if they like the beer. And the beer has to be something different than they could get at a store. If it’s not, they have no reason to come to Kanfield Brewery. It’s all about the beer and I’m starting to realize I need to do better.
Maybe there was some truth in what my dad said. Maybe Gina makes me angry because deep down, I know her beer is better than mine. But that doesn’t mean I can’t improve. I just need to work harder and stop thinking the Kanfield name is enough to get people in the door.
‘Hey, Sawyer,’ Lyndsay says as I return to the barn with my basket of apples. She’s the orchard’s bookkeeper, but sometimes she fills in at the barn if Nick or my parents need her to.
‘Hey.’ I pour the apples I picked into one of the bags next to the register. ‘You filling in for Mom?’
‘Just for a few minutes. Are those for your hard cider?’
‘Yeah. I’m kind of in a hurry. Is Mom coming back soon? I want to tell her I’m leaving.’
‘She went to get something in the house.’
‘Okay. See ya, Lyndsay.’ I go into the house and find my mom in the kitchen. ‘Mom, I’m heading out.’
‘Not without some apple fritters.’ She walks up to me, holding a paper sack. ‘They’re fresh from the oven.’
‘Thanks.’ I take the sack and give her a quick hug. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Here.’ She takes another sack of fritters from the counter and brings it to me. ‘Take another.’
‘Mom, one is enough. I can’t eat that many.’
‘They’re not for you. They’re for Gina. Give them to her next time you see her.’
‘When would I see Gina?’
‘It’s not a very big town. You never know. You might run into her.’
‘If I see her, I’ll be walking the other way.’
‘Don’t be like that. Gina’s a very nice girl and she’s new to town. She probably doesn’t have many friends. The least you could do is be nice to her.’
‘To the girl who could put me out of business?’ I shake my head. ‘You sound just like Dad. I don’t get you two. You’re acting like it’s wrong for me to compete with her when it’s not. It’s just business.’
