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One could argue that the only reason he was being polite now was because of the work he’d been contracted to do on the inn.
“Maybe you should put the renovation on hold until you have a better idea of what you want to do.”
“Absolutely not,” Zelda insisted. “Every day that we haven’t established our new identity is a day that we lose business.”
“Maybe so,” Elizabeth said.
But every day that they held off on the renovation would be a day without Daniel Quindlin in her personal space while she was trying to figure out what she would do next.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, honey. Anything.”
“Why did you hire Daniel?”
Zelda answered with a bemused smile. “Why not?”
“He’s always had a reputation for not being the most reliable person. You know, after everything that happened with his grandmother and her house.”
And the wedding. Did everyone get amnesia in the tractor beam of Daniel’s smile?
Elle sipped her tea, which had cooled to room temperature.
“Oh, Elizabeth, that was so long ago. He was just a kid. People change as they grow up. You of all people should know how important it is for people to not hold past mistakes against people.”
She choked on her tea and coughed as she tried to talk. “What is that supposed to mean? What have I done other than trust the wrong man with my heart? You know, scratch that. It’s a good thing that we didn’t get married, because that would mean that I’d married the wrong man. So, I don’t care what other people think, Mom. I mean, we’re not living in the Victorian era.”
“Well, I was using that as a contrast. People grow and change. Just like you’ve grown and changed. He has cultivated quite the clientele around here. He does great work. He’s quite sought after for renovations of old houses like this.”
“But does he do Zen? I really don’t remember that being on the menu of historic Savannah properties. Somehow, I think that tips the power in Gigi’s favor.”
“That’s not fair, Elizabeth.” Her mother only called her Elizabeth when she was mad at her or frustrated or the conversation was serious. “He’s a good guy, but I don’t want to talk about him.”
Good. I don’t, either.
“How did we get off the subject of you, Jane, Kate and me running the place together?”
“Running the place? We weren’t talking about the four of us running the place...only helping out. Gigi is running the place. And then you’ll run the place.”
Zelda nodded and didn’t answer Elle’s question.
“Well, Gigi needs to know that regardless of how she renovates, when it’s my turn to run the inn, I’m going through with the changes I have in mind. It would be a shame to waste money.”
As much as Elle didn’t want to take sides, her mother had a point. If Gigi wanted to retire, she should set up Zelda to run the place the way she wanted. In the meantime, maybe they could reach a happy medium that would work for both of them.
Yes, it might work...
“You know, you may be onto something, Mom. Maybe you and Gigi could meet in the middle. Let her keep the interior and exterior of the inn true to its roots, and give the new art focus a trial run while I’m home. We could do a test and see how an art class is received. I know you’re already mostly booked through next year, but you could advertise a class and I could put together some local art tours and start getting the word out. Maybe you’ll be able to fill the fifteen percent vacancy and maximize profits?”
Zelda hopped up and threw her arms around Elle. “I knew I could count on you to see the big picture. Will you please talk to Gigi about it? She will listen to you, sweetie.”
* * *
The next morning, Daniel parked his truck on Hall Street, the road that ran along the south side of the Forsyth Galloway Inn. Wiladean had called and said they were ready to give him clear marching orders as to the direction of the remodel. She wanted to sit down with him and lay out everything. He wanted to get the project started. Even though she’d requested the meeting at short notice, he was happy to rearrange some things to fit her in.
