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“I’ll take this over to the post office with the others,” she said, loading the box into the cart I used when I used to go do the shipping.
“Bless you,” I said, and I meant it.
“Be back soon,” she said as she headed out the back door.
“I love her,” Mom said after the door clicked.
“I know. That’s why I hired her,” I said.
Mom hugged me and I inhaled the scents of clay and glaze and just a hint of her favorite rose perfume.
“Thank you,” Mom said.
“You’re welcome,” I said, hugging her back. Mom rubbed my back and it was nice to be comforted by her instead of it being the other way around. I was so used to taking on the adult role in my relationship with her, but I tried not to think about that too much. At least I hadn’t had a mother like Lark. I had never doubted, for a second, that my mom loved me and would drop everything to help me, no matter what. I’d definitely given her a few gray hairs in high school, but she’d taken it all in stride and I’d turned out okay. For the most part.
“Love you, Mom,” I said before letting go of her.
“Love you, baby,” Mom said, pulling back to kiss me on my forehead.
Chapter Thirteen
Everly came backafter shipping the boxes and asked if she could rearrange some of the displays.
“Go for it,” I told her, curious to see what she would come up with. A few customers drifted in and out, and I finished my bookkeeping tasks for the day, which had me ahead of schedule.
“Did you do anything fun this weekend?” I asked. I’d been doing my best to try and get to know her. It also filled the time when the shop was empty.
“Not really,” she said, shrugging one shoulder as she stepped back from a shelf and then moved a stack of plates a few inches. “You?” she asked.
“Yeah, same. I did go on a book crawl with my roommate though.” The word “roommate” felt wrong when it referred to Lark.
“What’s a book crawl?” she asked, and I told her.
“That sounds amazing. I’m not much of a drinker myself, so buying a bunch of books is much more my speed,” she said.
“That reminds me, if you ever want to join a book club, there’s one at Mainely Books once a month and we’re always open for new members,” I said.
“Thanks,” Everly said, and that was it. Okay then. There was a cageyness about her that I couldn’t figure out yet.
I left her alone after that, until she called me over to see what she’d done.
“I thought it would be good to show how it would look all together,” she said, showing me the plates that she’d stacked together, along with a mug.
“It would be better with silverware and a glass and maybe a placemat,” she said.
I thought about that for a second. “I’d love to do consignment pieces from local people, but I just don’t think it’s right for us, so I’ll order some online.”
“You should get a few so we can change them out with the seasons,” she said.
“Smart,” I said. “I’m so glad I hired you.”
She smiled at me and nodded. “Me too. I know I was kind of desperate for a job, but I’m really glad I have this one.”
Something fell and broke in the studio and I heard my mom cursing. I went to go deal with it, but Everly put her hand on my arm.
“I’ve got this,” she said.
Was it too early to give her a raise?
