Page 82 of Fall is Brewing

Instead, I hear Brooks' voice in my head.

You should see more than the tasting room.

"They're..." I search for the right word. "Different than I expected."

Grandpa snorts. "I would hoped so."

"No, I mean..." I sigh. "They're not trying to become Hartley & Sons."

That earns me three very different reactions.

Grandpa folds his arms.

Patty's eyebrows lift with interest.

Dad simply waits.

"I always assumed..." I continue slowly, "that the goal was to beat us. To replace us. To become the orchard everyone talks about."

"And?" Dad prompts.

"And Brooks said something today that keeps rattling around in my head." I look down at my notes before realizing I don't actually need them. "He said he isn't designing products that compete with ours."

Grandpa scoffs. "That’s ridiculous. Cider competes with cider, end of story." When he goes to reach for another apple slice, Patty swats his hand away.

“There won’t be any left for the pie!” she scolds.

"Not necessarily," I say.

Patty gestures to her pie crust. “If he keeps eating the dang apple slices⁠—”

“No, not that,” I chuckle. “Cider doesn’t necessarily compete with cider,” I clarify.

All three of them look at me.

I hadn't realized how quickly I'd defended Brooks but I’m in too deep to turn around now. "He showed me the products they're developing. The reserve blends. The coffee. The seasonal infusions." I shake my head. "He's intentionally trying to create things Hartley's doesn't already make."

Patty nods slowly and says, "So people buy both."

I point at her. "Exactly."

Grandpa isn't convinced. “This is a small town. There’s only room for one orchard!”

Dad shakes his head. “Lots of towns have more than one coffee shop… ours included.”

“We have three different diners,” Patty interjects. “They all do something slightly different, but they’re technically all diners.”

“And even though we have the bookstore, they just opened up that little mobile bookstore that operates out of a trailer,” I add. “I really don’t think Calder Cider is trying to push us out. I think they’re just trying to find a small corner of the market for themselves.”

"Or that's what he wants you to think." Grandpa’s words sting more than they should.

Dad pours himself a fresh cup of coffee even though it’s after five p.m. "There's an old saying in business…"

Grandpa grunts. “Here we go…”

Dad ignores him. "If your only strategy is beating someone else, eventually you'll lose the moment they change."

The words are poignant and sweet… just like Dad. “Why haven’t you ever told me that one before?”