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His partner called over her shoulder, “She likes anything but horror!”
Tove couldn’t believe that when on the spot, she forgot what she stocked in her store.
She had everything he was looking for, including the book that she dug out of the back of the store. It was already priced and labeled “in stock,” but she had forgotten to put it out in a recent frenzy to ready the store for winter. Already Christmas decorations, both from years past in the shop and from Tove’s collection, spilled out of the back office. In her and Kayla’s haste to prepare for their first Christmas season, they had forgotten to stock the new contemporary romance that had been published by an independent author in Bend.I am not impressed with how you order their books, but I’ll figure it out.If they didn’t use something called IngramSpark, Tove tore her hair out. She still wasn’t sure what IngramSpark was…
Yet the man was happy to add it to his pile of souvenirs. Tove kept her giddiness to herself when she rang him up for over a hundred dollars. It was one of the biggest purchases she had overseen, and she ensured that his shopping bag was filled with business cards and old stickers branded with Trudy’s Gifts.Don’t you forget us!
Yup. That was the right kind of high she wanted when the couple left, bags in hand.
Tove was still riding that high when the most familiar face in the world walked through the door. The only reason she saw Aunt Kiersten standing there was because she happened to turn around at the right time – because the bells did not toll for the Fredriksson matriarch, who preferred to come and go in effortless silence.
“Ah…” Tove almost dropped the box of kids’ T-shirts in her grasp. “Hello.”
She had rarely seen her aunt since Kayla was back in her life.The strangest thing is that she never asked for her money back.That was what Kayla feared the most when the rumors finally broke that she and Tove were a thing once more. Because after buying the shop, Kayla only had enough left over to help her brother and maybe stash some away for herself. If Kiersten wanted her money back…
It was here, in the store.
“How long has it been since I stepped in one of these places?” Kiersten sniffed as she ran her fingers down the doorway, inspecting it for dust. “Quaint. I remember the original proprietress was a decent woman.”
“Trudy’s retiring,” Tove said after clearing her throat. “Maybe I never mentioned it before, but…” She placed the box on the floor. “I always wanted to move into retail.”
She met her aunt’s gaze and refused to look away. Kiersten knew enough by now – she had surely received Tove’s email about what her accounting business would look like going forward into the next tax year. Yet Tove couldn’t get a reading on her aunt, whose poker face sometimes looked neutral… and sometimes broadcasted that everything reeked of shit.
“I remember this place being smaller.”
“She expanded into the space next door a few years ago. After the boom began.”
“I see. Smart of her. I trust that this place does good business? You don’t strike me as the type to make poor financial decisions. Then again… I’m aware of your love life these days.”
Tove let that comment roll down her back. “Kayla’s doing well. Thank you for asking.”
“I was not asking.”
“I know.”
“You have become quite impertinent these past few months, Tove. I wonder how your mother might feel about that?”
The only reason Tove laughed was because of the word “impertinent.”I’ve called Kayla that more than once.Now Tove knew where that word came from. It had been a part of Kiersten’s vocabulary since Tove was born.
“My mother would be proud of me, I think.” Tove pulled out a stack of bright green“I LOVE BEND!”shirts sized to the common boy under ten. “I work hard. I own my own house.” She had to refold some of the shirts she intended to put on display. “I now have two businesses because I like a good challenge that keeps me on task as I get older.” She immediately decided to move the shirts over to the green, so the colors already there might create a pleasing rainbow effect when she added the purple clothes next.I am going all out for Pride next year.She had to get through Christmas first. “I’ve also finally found real love.” She enunciated the “real”.
“Real love? What a bold claim.”
Kiersten left it at that as she peered down into the front window display. A curt nod of approval signified that she appreciated seeing her cousin’s art prints available in different sizes.
Tove continued her work, her phone buzzing in her sweater pocket. She couldn’t look at it until she finished the display. The need to get the box out of the way before more customers (hopefully) came in was more important than an app notification.
“How did you come into the money for this… establishment?”
Tove picked up the now empty box full of plastic and a paper invoice.Nobody knows more than me how important this invoice is.Trudy had an admirable filing system, but Tove already salivated to take it to the next perfectly taxable level.
“Kayla helped me. Turns out she didn’t need money after all.”
Kiersten opened her mouth.
“I know what happened. You don’t have to tell me.”
Had anyone interrupted that woman before? Because Kiersten was too shocked to be angry.
