I laugh a watery chuckle, too disappointed in my life and the remains of my marriage. And the person I cherish most in the world who’s in the middle of it all. Being pulled in different directions while Leo and I try to navigate a new relationship status. “When did you get so big, Sade.”
I can practically feel her roll her eyes. We’re interrupted by a loud call on her end, some distorted announcement through a speaker system probably calling all camp members for the next group activity. “I have to go.”
“Yeah, we’ll talk again next week.”
“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you,” she adds hurriedly, “Mina texted me. She wants me to sing at the wedding. She picked out a song for the first dance with Uncle Josh.”
“That’s amazing, Sadie! You’re doing it, right?”
“Yeah, I told her I would. I’m going to practice here during my down time.”
“Well, don’t work yourself too hard. It’s still summer. Remember to have fun.”
“I am!” she calls. “Okay, I really have to go. Bye, Mom!”
“Bye!”
I shove away the twinge behind my ribcage in my kitchen surrounded by my quiet home and look at the clock on my microwave. It’s already past ten. I’m scheduled to meet with Eric in half an hour, and I finally feel like I have enough material to present to him to move forward with some concrete decisions. My phone buzzes again and I answer it, my attention on the mess in front of me.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Teeny. It’s Roberta.”
“Hi Roberta. Thanks for calling me back,” I respond, itching to knock yet another item off my checklist as I move forward with this hotel revamp. “I know you mentioned that you and Lisa were going on that vacation soon, so I wanted to catch you before you two leave. You still have some of the furniture pieces from the last staging I did? For the open house?”
“Yeah,” she answers. “I also have some new pieces too. I’ve been a little busy-bee in my workshop so I can enjoy Australia while we’re gone.”
“Ah, perfect,” I tell her. “You know how much I love the woodwork you put into your furniture.” I do a quick mental calculation. With her trip roughly two weeks away and her beautiful selection of furnishings in her Downtown LA showroom, I need to make sure to secure the pieces I want for El Cielo.
“So, I have an opening this afternoon,” she tells me, skipping all the gratuitous shop-talk and getting straight to the point. “If not, you may have to wait until I get back from Australia. And I know you usually like your clients to tag along. You think they’ll be available this short notice?”
Today. Thatisshort notice. I’m not even sure if Eric will be available beyond our meeting. “I actually have a meeting with him today. I’ll see if he’s available to head up there with me after.”
“Great,” she responds. “Just give me a call and let me know if anything changes. Hopefully I’ll see you today.”
“Yeah. Thanks again, Roberta.”
We hang up, and I finish gathering all of my materials before walking out the door. It isn’t long before I’m sitting with Eric in a secluded corner of the bar at El Cielo, a large mess of color swatches and fabric samples in front of us.
“I really like the use of gold with the turquoise and navy,” Eric says, his hands running over the rough fabrics and strips of paint samples. “I think it would make the space look really airy and open.”
“I was thinking the same,” I tell him. “With the use of the sheer drapes to open the windows to the view, it’ll tie in well with the oceanic theme of this location. I have another client who’s currently working on a restaurant redesign, and they’re using similar color schemes. It’s going to look stunning, and you really couldn’t have picked a better place with the large windows.”
He nods with an approving smile. “I know Everett’s involvement is merely on the financing end, but his input has been really contributive. I didn’t know he had such an eye for interior design. Would it be okay if I run these by him before we make a final decision?”
My body tenses at the mention of Everett. “Sure. Of course.”
“Great.” Eric pauses to check his phone. “He should actually be here in a bit.”
“Oh, I didn’t know he’d be joining us.”
He smiles kindly, maintaining a professional facade while the dregs of my past keep rearing its ugly head in the form of my new client. “I asked him to join us. I hope you don’t mind.”
I offer a purse lipped smile and shake my head, hoping to shift our conversation away from the boy who broke my heart all those years ago. “I also wanted to let you know, the carpenter has an opening this afternoon. She’ll walk me through her showroom, show me some pieces she’s working on to see what we can use to fill the lobby.”
“Already?”
I nod. “She and her wife complete a lot of the work themselves, so to get the pieces we want, we need to choose them in advance. Plus, they’re going on a month-long vacation to Australia in a few weeks. It’ll be best to meet with her sooner than later.
