The guests at a family-run inn in a small river town ask the same questions every season. Where should we eat breakfast if we're up before the inn's coffee is ready? Which canoe outfitter is honest about water levels? Is the bookstore open on Mondays? Where ca
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A financial planner gets a call from a client she has worked with for nine years. The client's daughter has just been accepted to nursing school, and he wants to talk about how to pay for it. The planner congratulates him, asks a few questions, and promises to
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A retired schoolteacher gives to her town's community foundation every December. It isn't a large gift. She's done it for eleven years. Each January, she receives the same printed receipt letter, signed by a name she doesn't recognize, thanking her for her "ge
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At 7:58 on a Monday morning, the phones at a small veterinary clinic start ringing. A dog ate something off the counter. A cat hasn't eaten since Saturday. Someone needs a refill. Someone wants to move Thursday's appointment. Two front-desk staff answer what t
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There is a wooden recipe box behind the paint counter of a family-owned hardware store, and it holds the most valuable thing in the building.
It isn't the cash drawer or the key machine. It's a set of index cards, one for every customer who has ever had paint
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