The Great Peach Experiment 1, Erin Downing [books to read romance .TXT] 📗

Freddy sliced a slim sliver off the peach pie and passed it to the man.

“Mmm-mmm,” the man said. “I’d just love to compare that to the French silk.” He ate that, and then said, “Seems a shame not to test the pecan and turtle, too. That’s the only way I can make an informed decision. And if I don’t try them all, one of the pies will feel left out.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the guy. Freddy squeezed his sister’s shoulder to try to calm her. In the grand scheme of things, a few free slivers of pie really weren’t a big deal.

“All scrumptious,” the man—whom Freddy had now secretly nicknamed Sample Stan—announced, after swallowing down his sliver of turtle pie. “Sadly, I couldn’t eat another bite.”

Then Sample Stan turned and strolled away. Freddy knew they’d been had. But when Dad congratulated him on how well he’d handled the situation, saying he’d demonstrated grace, kindness, compassion, and smart thinking, he decided he really didn’t care. He’d much rather make his dad proud than sell a sneaky dude a slice of five-dollar pie. It felt good to do something well, and have Dad take notice.

After Sample Stan stopped by, they met:

- Quick and Crabby

- Big Guy Flirts with Dad

- Pays in Coins (five bucks’ worth of nickels and dimes!)

- Toddlers Who Touch Stuff

- Overly Curious Customer

- Job Seeker (“Are you guys hiring? Can I get an application?”)

- Discount Lady (“I’ll give you three dollars for a slice. Five seems high.”)

- Bathroom Hunter

- Tattoos + an Iguana (an ACTUAL, LIVE IGUANA on the dude’s arm!)

- Nearly Naked

- Sings His Order (“I will take peeeeeeach piiiiiiiie!”)

- Dine & Dash

- Burpie McBurperson

- Hold the Crust

- Side of Fries

- Barter Boy

- Cast of Hamilton (two REAL actors from the Chicago cast ensemble!!)

Late in the afternoon, a soft-spoken lady with a real, live parrot on her shoulder strolled up to the truck. “Do you have cake?” she asked Freddy, carefully studying the five-item menu. She looked nervous, her eyes flicking quickly between Freddy, the menu, her parrot, and something invisible on the sidewalk over her left shoulder.

“Nope,” Freddy replied. “Just the five pies, clearly listed there on the board. Is that a parrot?”

“Chocolate cake?” the woman asked, ignoring his question.

“We have no cake at all.” He squinted. “Does it just sit there? Does it ever try to fly away?”

“Red velvet?” Cake Lady asked, stroking one of the parrot’s spindly claws.

Freddy shook his head, keeping careful watch on the bird. “We’re the Peach Pie Truck, ma’am. No red velvet.”

“You know what’s yummy? Vanilla cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting.”

“Good to know.” Freddy smiled at her patiently. “Can I tempt you with a slice of pie today? The French silk is very popular. It’s cake-like, I guess.”

Cake Lady pulled her eyebrows together. “That will be fine.” She slid a fiver across the counter and collected her pie. “And I’ll come by tomorrow to see if cake is back in stock.”

Surrounded by all these odd and fascinating folks roaming the streets of Chicago, Freddy began to wonder who would win the prize for Strangest Food Truck Customer Ever. The only thing he knew for sure was, Chicago had presented plenty of challenges that gave the Peaches a perfect chance to practice their customer service skills for the Ohio Food Truck Festival.

During the course of their trip, Freddy had begun to realize he had a knack for dealing with people. And he felt even more confident about his people skills after handling all of Chicago’s kooky customers. If they managed to come out on top at the Ohio Food Truck Festival, Freddy knew it would be in big part because of contributions he’d made to this family experiment. Sure, they were a team—and everyone in the family played an important role. But for once in his life, Freddy felt a little like the leader. He, Freddy Peach, was good at this. And he couldn’t wait to help guide his family to victory.

CHICAGO MONEY:

(BY HERB)

∗ Cost of Pie Supplies: $532 (Dad didn’t ruin any pies!)

∗ Sales: $1,250*

∗ Returns: $5 (Cake Lady didn’t like her pie)

∗ Total Profit: $713!!!!!**

*Thanks to Freddy, who convinced the campground manager to let us sell some of our leftover pie to other campers!

**Not $10,000 yet, but it’s a step in the right direction…and we still have time!

18

  LATE-NIGHT REVELATIONS

The Peaches set off out of Chicago early Friday afternoon, hoping to beat rush-hour traffic. But it turned out rush hour lasted for many hours in Chicago, and their giant beast of a truck was jammed between semitrucks, honking cars, and angry minivans, all trying to elbow their way out of the city. They finally made it across the bridge between Illinois and Indiana just as the sun tucked itself into the horizon. It was that magical hour when the sky was awash in pink and orange, and even the concrete jungle outside the food truck’s dusty front window looked beautiful, streaked with gentle color.

Dad was hoping to make it as far as Ann Arbor, Michigan, that night, but Lucy had a feeling they would have to stop somewhere to sleep along the way. Everyone was wiped out. As had become tradition, Lucy sat beside Dad in the front seat of the truck, quietly reading her book while he listened to podcasts and dictated research notes and reminders to himself on his cell phone. Freddy and Herb had both conked out as soon as they were clear of stop-and-go traffic, so Lucy and Dad were left alone in peace and quiet up front.

While they drove through the congested suburban roadways outside Chicago, Lucy marveled at her newfound realization: she was actually enjoying their trip, at least a little bit. It was nice to see her family united by a goal, even if the goal did involve a lot of hard work. And because they were doing this whole thing in Mom’s honor, Lucy actually wanted to help the