Page 22 of Barron's Second Chance
"How many in each class?" She was a little overwhelmed, to be honest. She was used to being in the limelight, but her cheeks still tinged pink at the thought of so many of her townsfolk wanting to hear her speak. She was still an introvert at heart who detested public speaking, which was funny considering that she strutted down the catwalk half-naked without a second thought.
"Thirty. We thought about having the same people and having you chat about different subjects in each class, but -"
"No, I like having thirty new kids each time. That way, more people get a chance to join the class."
Kelly nodded. "Absolutely. Plus, you don't have to come up with different subjects for each class. It's going to be an hour and a half. Is that okay?"
"We can make it an even two if you like. That way, we can leave time for questions before or after."
"Oh, yes, that's perfect. But only if you're sure?"
"Let me show you what I want to chat about. I know you've given me free rein, but I still wanted to run some things by you."
She jumped up and grabbed her handbag, pulling out her notebook before sitting back beside Kelly. She balanced the book on her knee and flipped through the pages until she came across what she needed.
"Okay," she moved the book closer to Kelly, "So I thought I would start by introducing myself a bit and doing an icebreaker of sorts so everyone gets to know each other better and I can gauge their interests. I know the girls think they know me based on what they see on social media, but I decided to delve a bit deeper and chat about my school life, what I was like, et cetera.
Then I could move toward my career, how I got started and what it's like in the industry. From there, I thought I could talk about the pitfalls of the industry and the self-esteem issues we as girls and young women face. I'll kind of play that by ear because I'm planning on making that part interactive with some back-and-forth with the girls. I know I have to leave time for a Q and A. Oh!" She slapped the page as she remembered, "I also have gift bags for the girls. Perks of being friends with stylists and repping brands. Once I reached out to friends in the industry, they were more than happy to donate their products."
She took a breath and waited for Kelly's response. She thought her workshop was pretty good and hoped she felt the same.
"Eden," Kelly breathed. She glanced up and gave her a watery smile. "I'm sorry, this is a lot more than I expected. I mean, I know you're going to give a good talk but the amount of detail and thought you have put into this," she shook her head in disbelief, "I can't thank you enough."
Eden closed her journal and gave a pleased smile, her body filling with warmth at the praise from a woman she admired. "It's honestly my pleasure," she truthfully told her.
Kelly took a breath, apprehension filling her features. Eden tensed, sensing something significant was coming from her body language. "I'm having a barbeque tomorrow evening. Everyone's invited." She waved a hand around the room to indicate that everyone in her home was coming. "I would love it if you could come. There's going to be a lot of people there." She took a deep breath, but Eden could already see where this was going.
"Including Barron," Eden finished.
The room suddenly became quieter as the small group picked up on the strained conversation.
"We would love for you to come, hon," Gavin chimed in. "But only if you feel comfortable being around our doofus, son."
"Gav!" Kelly snapped at her husband. Gavin just shrugged, muttering something about losing the best thing in his life before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.
"So, everyone's going?" She asked slowly. She remembered that the Carters liked to do a BBQ at the beginning of Summer. She had many fond memories of lounging in the pool with Barron and sneaking up to his room for some hot and heavy make-out sessions when the adults were nice and drunk.
"Yes, I would love for you to join us, Eden. Barron will be there, and I've told him you could be there, too."
Eden nodded, taking in the information while picking at a loose string in her notebook. She knew it would be impossible to avoid Barron while home this time. It was easy when she was only in town for Thanksgiving and random events throughout the years, but she was spending the whole summer break in New Haven. She also knew he owned a pretty popular establishment, and she was curious to check it out as it received rave reviews from locals and tourists.
Although heartbreaking and soul-crushing, what happened between them was probably the best thing that happened to her - career-wise. It was also close to seven years now that this occurred, and while she had no intention of rekindling any sort of relationship with him, she could at least be cordial for everyone's sake. After all, once this summer was over, she would be back in the fast-paced world of New York, back to rarely seeing him again.
"Yeah, you know what? It would be nice to catch up with everyone. I would love to come, guys, thank you," she smiled, hoping it didn't look as forced as it felt.
Kelly blew out a breath and gave Eden a relieved smile. "I'm glad, sweetie.' She patted her hand before rising. "Well, we better get out of your hair. I know you probably want to get settled in, and I still have a ton of prep to do for the BBQ tomorrow."
As the rest of the guests murmured that they were leaving, too, Eden smiled as Sofia slumped further into the armchair and picked up their remote, turning up the volume. Slumber party tonight, it seemed. She knew Sofia wanted to unpack the last conversation with Kelly.
"Let me walk you out," she told the couple as she followed them to the front door. As they turned to say their goodbyes, she placed her hand on Kelly's arm, stopping the other woman mid-word.
There was one thing Eden had to do before she showed up tomorrow, and she finally had the courage to do it.
8
Blast From the Past
Barronshutoffhiscomputer and stood, stretching his arms over his head, groaning. He was working himself to the bone. Summer was their busiest season, with schools on summer break and the influx of tourists trickling through their town. He was constantly maintaining their food and beverage inventory in between balancing their accounting books. He really needed to hire more seasonal staff members.
