Mary laughed. “I forgot about your mom and Sadie. I wish those two would make up. But my point is that there is a lot of history here in town. You never know what you might find. And you never know what your purpose is. You might think it is one thing, and it could be something else. So don’t give up on realizing your purpose here in Lobster Bay.”
Andie sipped her tea and mulled that over. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Mary stood. “Don’t lose hope. And don’t lose hope about Shane either.”
“What about Shane?” Andie tried to act casual. Her burning cheeks probably gave her away.
Shane Flannery, her high school sweetheart, was Mary’s nephew. He’d actually asked Andie to marry him thirty years ago, but she’d fled town instead. She’d been afraid of being stuck in small-town obscurity her entire life and not wanting to wait for Shane to get back from his stint in the navy. It might have been a big mistake, and now she was embarrassed to face him over the way she’d treated him back then.
Mary laughed. “I know you know that he comes to visit me a lot, and I see you looking out your shop window.”
“Well, I’m not looking for him.” Not really. Well, maybe a few times she had.
“Oh, then you must be really interested in my clientele,” Mary teased as they walked to the front room.
“I just like to look outside.” Andie handed over her mug and glanced at her watch. “Well, guess I better go.”
Mary chuckled. “Okay, I’ll stop teasing, but remember what I said about your purpose. Don’t give up.”
“I won’t.”
Andie stopped at the front desk to make an appointment with Jules for a trim before heading across the street to her shop.
Mary watched Andie cross the street. It was nice to have someone in the old antiques store, which had been dark for years. Now the storefront, which had been deteriorating, had a new black-and-white striped awning, flower boxes under the windows brimming with color, and a fresh coat of paint on the trim.
Funny it would be Andie Miller who moved in there. Mary remembered Andie from way back when she’d dated Shane. She hadn’t known Andie well back then, but Shane was her favorite nephew, and she knew how much he’d adored Andie. What had happened to break them up? Shane never said, though Mary knew he’d been crushed when Andie moved away.
Maybe even then she’d been seeking a purpose. Guess she never found it, but then maybe she wasn’t looking in the right places. She’d said she always wanted a big historical find, but physical “things” never really satisfy.
Mary had told Andie her purpose was cutting hair, but it was really much more than that. It was about making people feel good about themselves. It sounded like a small thing, but it could make a big difference to people when they could start the day with a boost of self-confidence because a new hairstyle made them like what they saw in the mirror each morning.
Maybe Andie had never found her purpose because she was looking at it the wrong way. That was something Andie would have to find out for herself.
The girl always had been too ambitious for her own good. Mary hoped that ambition didn’t drive her out of town like before. She knew Shane had never gotten over Andie and wanted to see the two of them together. She had a sneaking suspicion Andie wanted that too… now if only Mary could come up with some way to help them out. She’d become close to Andie, closer than to her own daughter, whom she’d only spoken to sporadically over the last several years.
Thoughts of Caroline made her heart ache, and Mary pushed them away. Best not to think of that betrayal. It was better to focus on what she did have, like her lovely grand-niece and now a new neighbor ready to fill the gap Caroline had left.
“When’s your next appointment?” Jules’s client was under the dryer, and she’d come to the window, draping her arm around Mary’s shoulders, almost as if sensing she needed some comfort.
Mary glanced at the clock. “Ten minutes.” She looked back at Jules. A young woman as pretty as Jules shouldn’t have the defeated look that Mary saw in her grand-niece’s eyes all too often. At thirty-six Jules had grown into a fine woman and was a decent hairstylist. Mary knew that hair styling wasn’t Jules’s passion. It was only temporary because Jules had lost her way. Would she ever find it again? Mary hoped so, though after what happened she wouldn’t blame Jules for losing her nerve and ambition.
“I saw Andie blush when you mentioned Uncle Shane. I’ve seen him looking over at her shop when he’s here.” Jules looked amused. “The two of them really had a thing when they were in high school?”
“Yeah. Andie never got married, either. And Shane needs to find love again after his divorce. Too bad we can’t do something to get them together.” Mary shrugged and turned from the window.
“Who says we can’t? Andie has an appointment this afternoon at three. Don’t you need Shane to look at some repairs in the shop?”
Mary looked at her niece. The girl had a mischievous glint in her eye. “Now that you mention it, I do think I need him to look at that plug over by the sink.”
Chapter Three
Andie unpacked the box from Mary and then went to visit her mother at Tall Pines. Andie liked that the assisted living facility was more like a big old house than an institution. It was in a big brick building that resembled a mansion. The grounds were always perfectly manicured and the staff always cheerful, and it always smelled clean and fresh inside. Addie had flourished here and was well cared for, making it worth the hefty monthly expense.
Rita Duvalle, the woman she’d bought the antiques store from and who was now a resident at Tall Pines, was gliding down the hallway in her wheelchair as Andie walked in.
“Hey, Andie. They’re in the art room this morning. I was just heading there.” Rita wheeled alongside Andie. “So, how’s the antiques shop going? I hear you’re bringing it back to life.”
“It’s been a lot of fun cataloging the inventory. You had some great stuff.” Andie had bought all the old inventory that Rita had left in the shop when she closed, which was convenient since she didn’t have to spend time looking for items to stock the store. She’d had fun rearranging and re-pricing, and as it turned out, a steady stream of customers wanting to sell items kept new inventory coming in.
