Betty didn’t bother to look up from the computer as she delivered her news.I tapped my foot and took a sip of my latte. I would not let her negative worldview bring down my sure-to-be-fabulous week.She swiveled on her stool to face me, her expression ominous. “And Phyllis pulled everything out of the window last night. It looks like a scene from the Dick Van Dyke Show.” She ran her hand down the necklace of jade-green beads she was wearing and then snapped their end against her palm. “She’s a real crumb, and that stuff is a bunch of clams. You have to get rid of her.”Translation: Betty didn’t like Phyllis or her choice of merchandise.I sighed. I had considered sending Phyllis on her way, I really had, but she was harder to shake free than a bur stuck in two inches of Malamute undercoat. Besides, she brought customers into the shop and merchandise, which she paid for. I just took a cut when the things sold, and somehow they always did.On the other hand, I loved Betty and didn’t want to lose her.It was a tough call.
