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Sara picked up one of the photos to place on the wall. She carefully hooked it, making sure that it was level. Then she backed up to see what it looked like.
“Wow! This place is looking fantastic.” The familiar voice came from behind her.
She paused and turned to find Harvey smiling proudly. He checked in most every day to see the progress. Next to him stood Kent’s parents. She hadn’t been expecting them. They stood quietly as they took in the transformation. Sara hoped they liked it.
“Oh, hi.” She felt a bit awkward.
Kent’s mother smiled at her. “You’ve done a fantastic job. I just know that Josie is going to love it.”
“I hope so, but I can’t take much of the credit. Kent did most of the work, and then we worked together to give the room a polished look. We’re just working on the final details now. Well, Kent will help me when he gets back from his interview.”
Both of Kent’s parents looked surprised.Oh no! She’d said too much. Why hadn’t Kent told her that it was a secret?
Mr. Turner cleared his throat. “Kent is interviewing for a job?”
Sara froze. Her heart pounded. What was she supposed to say now? It was far too late to walk back her words. Instead of opening her mouth, because she didn’t trust her tongue at the moment, she wordlessly nodded.
“This job,” Mrs. Turner said. “Is it for another refresh project?”
Sara carefully considered her next response. She opted once more for a wordless shake of her head.
“It’s an accounting position, isn’t it?” Mr. Turner’s gaze searched hers.
Sara nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he hadn’t told you.” She wanted to ask them not to say anything to Kent about her spilling the news, but she knew from their shocked and now-worried looks that they’d never be able to keep from mentioning this to him. “He…he’ll be back tomorrow night.”
This time neither parent spoke. Sara turned a pleading gaze to Harvey. He was always good with people, and she could really use his help right now.
Harvey cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I can’t get over the transformation of this room. It’s so much brighter and welcoming.” He glanced over at Kent’s parents. “Don’t you think so?”
It took a moment, but then Kent’s mother said, “Oh, yes. It’s wonderful. Josie is going to love this.” She gently elbowed her husband. “Don’t you like it?”
Mr. Turner nodded. “It feels a lot more open and welcoming.”
Sara smiled and hoped to help smooth things over—at least a little bit. “Kent had the idea for the lighter shade of paint and flooring. I think it made a huge difference. And then I suggested doing away with the heavy drapes and instead using a white valance to let in as much sunlight as possible.”
“I agree with you,” Mrs. Turner said. “This room is huge, and it needs as much natural light as possible.”
“Why don’t you show them how you’re arranging the photos?” Harvey gave her a nod.
“Sure. They are over here behind the display cases.” She started toward the back of the room, all the while hoping the Turners would follow her. When she came to a stop and turned, she was relieved to find them right behind her.
She explained how she came up with the idea of framing the photos with some trim. She told them about painting the wood and adding the gold paint. They seemed impressed as they continued to ask her questions. The more Sara talked, the more at ease she became.
“The news has been making it around town.” Sara wanted his parents to realize that their son had come up with an impressive idea. “In fact, we were over at the Seaside Bookshop, and Melinda is interested in having a nook installed in the front of the store.” She failed to mention that some of the pieces Melinda wanted would have to be specially made.
“He tried to tell us about his concept,” Mrs. Turner said, “but we had no idea that it would involve all of this. This is practically like a job all of its own.”
“I don’t understand,” Mr. Turner said. “If he likes all of this.” He waved his hand around at all of the renovations. “Why is he on the mainland interviewing for another job?”
Three pairs of eyes turned to Sara. She wanted to shrink down into the floorboards. “I…I don’t know.”
It was the truth. Sort of. She knew Kent was doing a lot of soul-searching—hunting for what would make him truly happy. Her guess was that he was very happy working in the family business, except for the part of his parents calling all of the shots, but there was no way she was going to point that out to them. That was a conversation Kent already had with them, and they didn’t appear to be ready to change things.
His parents continued to look around. They seemed genuinely impressed with everything they’d done. When they’d made it the whole way around the room, they thanked her for showing them the room, and then they left.
Sara turned a worried look to Harvey. “That didn’t go well.”
“It could have been worse.”
