Lainey
Kendra and I are going to a cute store in town to meet the owner. It’s for Kendra, but I am just tagging along as moral support. Brooks and Books is an adorable local shop that has the perfect mix and vibe. I have browsed inside on occasion but am excited to spend more time there and meet the owner. Kendra said she is great and I will love her. She told me this with a suspicious twinkle in her eye when she invited me along, so I’m not sure what her ulterior motive could be. Because let’s be honest, out of the two of us, Kendra is not the one that usually needs bestie backup for situations of any kind. She has a spine of steel that I admire and my anxiety definitely cannot relate to.
“I hope that she wants to carry my mugs in her shop,” Kendra states as we walk toward that storefront, pulling me from my own thoughts.
“She would be crazy not to! Your work is exquisite, and I am not trying to blow smoke up your butt to make you feel ready for this meeting. Everyone on Etsy loves your work, you have never gotten a bad review, and you take a lot of pride ineach piece you make.” I smile at her, hoping each of my words wrap her in the sincerity I feel in my heart.
“Damn! That makes me feel ready to take on the world, girl! If I wasn’t carrying this big old box of my samples, I would hug the shit out of you right now. Okay, let’s do this.” Kendra pauses at the antique wood door of the store so I can swing it open for her.
We step inside, and happy door chimes are followed by an equally sweet voice that must be the owner welcoming us into the shop. “Hello! Welcome to Brooks and Books.” A beautiful petite blonde woman steps out from between some tables toward the back of the store. I have been in here a handful of times but have never met her and would have remembered her jubilant personality. “Oh, hey! It’s so good to see you again, Kendra. Here, come bring your stuff over this way. I was working on clearing off a space so we can look at what you have.” She points to a pretty reclaimed-wood table to her left.
“Thank you, so much!” Kendra strides over with confidence and smiles. “I hope it is okay that I brought my best friend along today. She is my pottery hype woman, and she always looks at all my samples before I make my final designs official.” Kendra grabs my hand after setting down the box and pulls me to her side.
The shop owner smooths a hand over her small but obvious baby bump. “I am always happy to meet new friends. I also can’t wait to see all this pottery. We are lacking a good selection of handmade mugs from local artisans, so this could be a perfect fit. I’m Sutton Brooks, by the way.” She holds out her hand to me, and I take it, my jaw slightly ajar. Now knowing why Kendra was acting funny.
“H-hi,” I say, stumbling over my greeting, “I’m Lainey Quinn.”
Sutton’s beautiful, soft brown eyes widen in realization,and she lets out an excited squeal. She is a good couple inches shorter than my five foot five, like Kendra, but her energy outsizes me by a mile, also like Kendra. “Oh, holy crap.” She covers her grin and looks at Kendra who’s also smiling. “You’reRem’s Lainey?” she questions.
I am not exactly sure how to answer Sutton—Sutton, as inRemington’s sister.I knew she had a store in town, but we really didn’t get a chance to talk too much about it, or what else his family does. After the heaviness of talking about my own family, we steered our conversation toward other topics. The only other things I know about Sutton are that she is pregnant and her husband is in the military. I just nod and say, “Yes, I know Remington.”
“Oh, sheknowshim alright,” Kendra so helpfully chimes in, and I give her an elbow. “Oww.” She snorts. “What, it’s true!”
Sutton’s smile is a full-on tractor beam at this point, and she is practically bouncing on her toes. “I am SO happy to finally meet you! Rem told me all about you when he came in here to buy your journal, and I aboutfell on the floor. I could not believe he was shopping, for one thing, or telling me about his love life.”
“Umm, oh.” I go pale, and my hands feel clammy as anxiety crawls up my spine. “He told you about my journal?” I ask feeling so embarrassed.
“Yes! I was a huge Lisa Frank fan too growing up, by the way, but sounds like your old journal was terrifying. Rem came in here all nervous trying to pick out the replacement one and told me what he was doing. Don’t worry, Lainey, he didn’t show me what was written in the old one or anything like that. He just wanted to pick out something nice for you and asked for my help ... which he barely ever does anymore.” Her happy, cheerfulness slips for a moment, but I see it before she can put her smile back in place.
“Well, that was really nice of him. I am still shocked that he offered to help me with this at all. It’s pretty crazy. I probably should have told him to forget the whole thing.” I’m nervous now, and rambling. An unfortunate default mode. I feel guilty for taking up his time, knowing that I wrote a lot down last year, and it will take him time to transfer it all over. Time he could spend doing other hobbies that I have yet to find out about.
“One thing you need to know is that Rem loves to help people when and where he can. And if he offers to do something, it’s because he genuinely wants to do it. So, let him help, and don’t feel bad about it, Lainey. Plus, he wassofreaking cute in here looking at my wall back there.” Sutton points to the back of the store. “He spent forty minutes looking at them before he finally decided on the one he wanted.”
My brain halts.
My heart melts.
He really cares that much about doing something for me?
I suspected that when Remington LeBlanc does something, he does it with a lot of heart and intention. And Sutton just confirmed that for me with her story.
“So ... Remington doesn’t like shopping?” I ask with a smile.
Laughing and helping Kendra pull her mugs out, Sutton says, “Ha! Absolutely not. The only time he shops is for groceries or when he really needs something. You won’t find him tagging along for the fun of it, grumbles the whole time. My goodness,” she gasps, pulling out a mug. “Kendra, this is stunning!”
Kendra is smiling ear to ear from our whole exchange, but an extra warmth lights her eyes and pinks her cheeks at the compliment. Sutton is holding one of my favorite mugs. It is cream colored, oversized, which I love for my tea, and isspeckled with different shades of blues and green, heavier colors at the bottom, and light at the top. She did two colors in that collection. There is also a pink-and-orange speckled one that reminds me of a sunset.
“Thank you so much. I know that mug is Lainey’s favorite.” Kendra smiles at me.
“Well she has excellent taste. Everything that I am pulling out of this and unwrapping I want for my own house, which is exactly how I know that I need it in my store!” Sutton exclaims. “I think that this table is officially yours, Kendra. If you want it?” she asks, hopefully.
“That would be a dream come true! I am really wanting to have more of my work sold locally, and I have always loved your store. I appreciate you taking a chance on me,” Kendra says sincerely.
“Kendra, trust me, friend! These mugs are going toflyoff this table. We won’t be able to keep them in stock. I hope you’re ready to be one of our best sellers,” Sutton says with a clap. I see so much of Sutton and Kendra in each other’s personalities. It’s like they are twin flames.
We spend the next hour chatting and setting up the mugs that Kendra brought in. She and Sutton decided on inventory, pricing, and signed a contract. It was so easy and natural to talk with Sutton. She fit right into the dynamic with me and Kendra. It was never easy for me to make friends, especially when my anxiety and past experiences poisoned the well. But having Kendra as a buffer, and the fact that Sutton was so warm and friendly, made my worries vanish, and I was able to relax and enjoy my time spent there with them. In fact, we were having such a good time we all exchanged numbers and even decided to have dinner together once Sutton closed up the shop for the day.
We landed on pizza after talking over our local options, apparently a major craving for Sutton right now. Her grin andexcitement is matching both of ours as she looks toward the large front windows when suddenly, she gasps. Sutton’s face goes a sickly white, and she grips the counter where she was getting things closed down for the day. Kendra and I rush to her sides, and I hold on to her arm.
