AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t worry about it yet. Who knows what might come up?” Elle said just as the waitress brought us the pizza Gray ordered before we arrived.
I wanted to stay positive, but I wasn’t so sure renting space in Telluride was a realistic possibility for me.
After lunch, Elle edited and uploaded the video for me. It quickly gained a lot of views. “You should do a little dance video with your pieces.” She showed me a video of another artist showing her wares on a popular social media site, known for going viral. She danced to a popular song, zooming in on the pieces before grabbing another one. It had a lot of likes and comments.
“I’m not sure this is me anymore.” The site I was on allowed comments, but the viewers weren’t mean. It felt safer somehow. I was less visible than I’d be on a site like this.
“It’s just a thought. I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I rolled my shoulders back, trying to ease the tension. “I think I’m done with being that visible.”
“I get that.”
Over the afternoon, I kept an eye on the video, and it seemed to be gaining more likes and comments. There were numerous requests for a place to order the mosaics. “I think we need to create some kind of website.”
“I’ve been researching, and there is a website option you could build that a lot of the big retailers use. You would be able to take orders, receive payment, and then fulfill them yourself.”
I sat down next to her. “Tell me more.”
She ran through the site, showing me the possibilities, and the more she talked, the more excited I was. “Piper’s a graphic designer. She could build you something.”
“Can she do it quickly?” I asked, thinking about the unanswered questions on the video.
“Send me the pictures of your mosaics, and I’ll ask.”
Gray watched Amelia while we called Piper and talked it over with her. She was willing to build a basic site with room to grow in the next few days.
When we got off the phone with her, Elle turned to me and said, “This is so exciting.”
The possibilities were overwhelming. I thought of the messages I received from big retailers when I shopped online but didn’t buy. I was going to have the capabilities they did, and it wasn’t that expensive. “I thought it would be more difficult.”
“When you research things, there’s usually a reasonable solution.”
“It’s perfect that you know someone who’s a graphic designer.” I was positive Piper was charging me a fraction of what she charged other clients because I was Elle’s sister.
“You deserve this,” Elle said firmly.
I smiled, but I didn’t feel it in my heart because I hadn’t heard from Sam, and I was beginning to worry. I pulled out my phone and texted to ask if he was okay. When he didn’t reply right away, I forced myself to put it away.
I didn’t want to be preoccupied with him when this was a happy day for me. My dreams were finally coming true. I had a plan for where to go next, and it felt great. I was excited and hopeful, confident I’d made good decisions.
Even if getting involved with Sam broke my heart, it was still worth it in the end. I’d always have the memories and the knowledge that I’d loved fully, not holding myself back. If the worst happened, and he didn’t want anything serious, I wouldn’t go back to the old me. I was a different person now.
* * *
I spentthe rest of the weekend making as many crab mosaics as I could with the materials I had at Elle and Gray’s. I wanted to think I’d be happy when I was able to go back to Sam and Maggie’s, but I was worried too. Would it be different? Would I be able to live there if he broke things off? Or what if Felicia insisted I move out, or worse, demanded he fire me? I was depending on that income to carry me through the start-up of my business.
We hadn’t discussed when I’d return, and I had no idea when Felicia would be gone. I really wanted to avoid her. It was obvious she didn’t care for me. As Maggie’s mother, her opinion mattered, even if it was Sam who hired me.
I messaged him on Sunday asking when a good time would be to return, but he didn’t respond. As each hour passed, I grew more agitated.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Elle asked when I was packing my clothes Sunday evening.
“He hasn’t fired me, and I have work tomorrow.” The plan was always for me to live there so that I’d be in the house when he left early for work. “Nothing has changed.”
I wanted to cling to that thought, but I wasn’t positive about anything anymore. He hadn’t shown up at my workshop, and he wasn’t responding to texts. I tried to stay away from worst-case scenarios, but I couldn’t ignore the dread swirling in my stomach.
Elle sat on my bed while I folded each shirt carefully and placed it into my overnight bag. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
