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“I’m proud of you.” Dad stood and hugged me.
It felt good to know he believed in me. I grabbed some drinks and chips, and we talked about the possibility of creating an outdoor living space for the B&B as an advertisement of sorts. I wanted to help Natalie because she’d been so welcoming to Alice and her business. Maybe we could ask Natalie to reference us on her site where she shared the image. It was a mutually beneficial business agreement. I had a feeling she wouldn’t say no.
* * *
The last few weeks,I’d worked overtime to prepare the space in Natalie’s B&B for Alice’s store. When Alice walked through the space with Natalie, I took notes of what she said she saw for the area. She’d even drawn diagrams of shelves and storage. Alice said she was waiting to save money before she tackled the additions, and I didn’t tell her I was planning to do the work myself before her official opening.
The table and chairs for the workshops were the focal point of the room. There were floating shelves behind it so that the first thing people would see when they walked by was her mosaics displayed.
The back wall was cupboards to store her supplies. She didn’t have room for a checkout counter, but she used her phone for that, and she wanted the space for her classes.
With the holidays rapidly approaching, it would be perfect for her. She’d already set up a website with the help of Elle’s graphic designer friend, Piper, and was busy fulfilling online orders in the evenings and on weekends.
Today, Alice was stopping by with mosaics for Natalie to choose for the guest rooms and living space, and I wanted to surprise her.
When she was due to arrive, I took one last look at the space and closed the doors. Seeing her walking up the sidewalk, I opened the door and grabbed the boxes from her. “Thank you. Those were heavy.”
“Where do you want them?” I asked.
“By the counter is fine. I’m supposed to meet with Natalie.”
I stacked the boxes on the floor and turned to greet Maggie.
“Now, Daddy?” Maggie asked, one tiny brow raised.
I smiled at her. “Let’s do it.”
“Do what?” Alice asked.
I took Maggie’s hand. “We have something we want to show you.”
“But I’m supposed to meet with Natalie in five minutes,” Alice said, checking her phone.
“I already spoke with her. She knows you have something to do first.”
“I do?” Alice was adorably confused.
“Come on. You’ll see in a second.” I waved her to come with us.
She finally acquiesced, allowing us to lead her to the closed doors of her store. “I can’t wait until this space is completed.”
I paused before the closed doors. “It looks a little different from the last time you saw it.”
“Why?” Alice asked, looking from me to Maggie.
Then Maggie opened the double doors like we’d rehearsed. “Ta-da!”
I held my breath. “What do you think?”
Alice covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. “What did you do?”
Faltering for the first time, I said carefully, “I took your plans and brought them to life. Do you like it?”
Maybe it was a mistake to do this without her help. What if she changed her mind?
She walked inside, seemingly taking it in. “I can’t believe you did all this. When? How?”
She seemed genuinely surprised, but I couldn’t tell if she liked it.
