Page 188 of Spicy Ever After
It is exciting. I should be excited.
Even if Beck doesn’t love me anymore.
Other things in my life can belong to me. And just me.
I take a deep breath, let my eyes slowly sweep the wonder of the store, and do what I came here to do.
“Vivian, do you think we could talk for a few minutes?”
She gives me a curious look. “Sure, hon. Let’s sit.” She gestures to two rolling chairs at one of the craft tables. We sit and I grab my laptop from my crossbody bag.
“I-I have questions.”
Vivian smiles with a shrug. “Maybe I have answers.”
My hands shake a little as I log in and go to my list.
I glance up at Vivian. She’s so stylish and calm. She’s like a longleaf pine. Straight. Sturdy. Aimed at the sky. Has she ever been unsure in her life?
Vivian bursts out laughing. “Well, of course, I have!”
Oops.
I bite my lip. “W-were you unsure when you opened this place?”
She scoffs, but she does it with a bright smile. “Hattie. I was terrified. I had just divorced my ex. I had two kids in college, and I’d never run a business before.” She snickers. “I’m not sure I slept for the first six months after I opened.”
“Really?”
“Honest to God.”
I stare at her for a minute. Then nod, glance down at my notes, and look back at her. “I… I think I told you that we don’t have anything like this back home… in Lafayette.”
“You might’ve mentioned that.”
Does the glint in her eyes mean I’ve mentioned it many times?
Probably.
I suck in a breath and go for it. “I think there’s a need for a place like this. I-In Lafayette… Especially since JoAnn closed.” I wrinkle my nose at the mention of that catastrophe.
Honestly, has anyone in our great nation gotten over the loss of Joann Fabrics & Crafts?
No. No one.
Vivian nods sympathetically. “We all miss her.”
We share a sigh and observe a moment of silence.
“But, if I’m being honest, I spent a lot of time at Joann, but never all afternoon like I have here,” I confess.
Vivian’s eyes crinkle at the corners with her smile. It reminds me of Beck, and I have to pinch my wrist under the worktable to keep my focus on the here and now.
“I was thinking… I was thinking about opening a place like this back home.”
Her gray eyebrows leap. Her smile grows. “You were? That’s wonderful!”
“I-It is?” I mean, sure, I think it’s wonderful. In theory.
