Harmon placed his hand gently on hers.“Think about Budapest, too?I think it would be a good place for us to start.”
The thought of a new beginning with another person, when she had spent so much time exploring new experiences with Rafa, was both exciting and strange, like she was about to step into something new again.Sal patted his hand and nodded.“I’ll let you know.”
***
That evening, Sal convened with Willow and Theola at the BnB as they punched numbers on their phone’s calculators.With all the earnings from the food stalls and the sale of some of the artwork, they were still far behind a million in earnings.
“If the numbers are adding up,” Theola began, “we should sell the grimoire soon if we want to even have a chance at beating Harmon.”
“I’m not sure it’s ours to sell yet,” Sal said, her anxiety rising to chest again at being so close yet so far from their goal of keeping Autumn Town.
“But it is, right?Rafa had it appraised, and he’s out there getting the provenance documents,” Willow reasoned.“I’m sure it’ll be okay to sell.As long as the buyer knows the documents will follow.”
Sal ran her fingers along her chin as she considered it.“Why don’t we call Rafa?”
“I tried,” said Willow.“I’ve been trying, but he’s unavailable.”
Sal lowered her eyes, feeling it was deliberate on Rafa’s part to remain unreachable.She looked at the numbers again.“Fine.Let’s sell it.”
“Do we have a buyer?”Willow asked.
Sal looked at them.“Harmon; he wants to buy it for the asking price.”
Willow raised her brows., “So the guy who wanted to wager against Autumn Town now wants to fund our winnings?”She smiled.“Looks like someone’s motives changed.”
Sal felt her cheeks grow hot.It was true.Harmon was chasing something else now.It was also apparent how he wanted to help even out the odds.She felt a tenderness toward him when she understood how much he cared.“Well, we still have to read what the critics say.We’ll tally with Harmon after we sell the grimoire to him.After that, we can only hope the critics favor us.They’re the final deciding factor.”
Theola, looking pensive, nodded, and Willow gave a look of approval.
It was a win-win situation; Harmon would get what he wanted, they’d have a competitive edge against his art exhibit, and the money would help Autumn Town—assuming they’d win.Sal only wished Rafa were present so he could witness how much his contribution of the grimoire would help them through this.
Willow clapped her hands and rubbed them together.“Okay!I’ll draft the sales agreement,” she said, typing gleefully on her laptop.
Sal bit her lip.Their art show would end in a day soon, and after that, the wager would depend on the critics’ final score.Her heart remained desperate and hopeful.
Chapter Forty-Two
The Price We Pay
SAL
Onthelastdayof the art fair, Willow stuck the littlesoldsign on the grimoire’s case.They had done it; they had sold the infamous grimoire and were about two million richer.Now, all they had to do was wait for the critics’ appraisal and hope for the best.
“Guys,” she said, looking half-exhausted, half-elated.“Just a few minutes till the end of the show!”
“When will we know the results?”Willow asked.
“They’re going to count everything and let us know by tonight.”
Sal let out a breath.“I need some air,” she announced, tightly embracing Theola.“We couldn’t have done it without you, Theola.Thank you.”
Sal let go of Theola and walked out of the Wedding House.Willow followed her.“You're getting nervous again?”
“Please.I’ve got nerves of steel after everything that’s happened.”Sal rolled her eyes and walked over to the tsokolate stand across the street.She ordered for herself a cup of hot tsokolate, and then turned to Willow, “Want some?”
Willow nodded.“Sure.”
“Dalawa po.”Sal grinned at the server while holding up two fingers.
