Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Dinner was, as was becoming custom, delicious, and I decided to keep the conversation light through it, wanting to preserve that place as only one of happy memories. When we finished and headed to the lot where the store used to stand, Melanie’s breath hitched when she saw that all the walls had come down. There was only a little rubble left of the original walls, foundation pieces that were still in place and would come down tomorrow. The floor had been emptied and cleaned out, all the materials inside either donated or tossed. Only flooring still remained, checkerboard tile in some areas and the beige concrete flooring elsewhere. All that would have to come up too.
“It’s so weird seeing it like this,” she said as we walked through what used to be the front door and was now just a lip where the concrete rose higher than in other places.
“It is,” I agreed. “But try to think of it not as a destruction of what was, but a new beginning. A starting point.”
“I’m trying,” she said. “I keep seeing possibilities. Things that I always thought we could do but didn’t have the space or the structure or, frankly, the money for.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Hold on to that.”
“I’m trying,” she said. “Like, for instance, right there.” She pointed at a corner that had previously been a section of home and beauty products. “What if we put the drive-through there for a pharmacy? Mark has said before that having a pharmacy in town would be great since Old Man Stevenson passed away last year. Right now, everyone has to either get them filled out of town or online.”
“It might require some extra licenses and permits, but I think we could get that done,” I said.
“And over here,” she said, a grin spreading across her lips and excitement filling her voice, “I was thinking we could have an in-store sandwich shop. Maybe even license it out to a local business so they can partner with us. I would love to be able to come into the store and smell fresh bread every day.”
“Sounds dangerous,” I said. “I have well established with you my love for carbs.”
“You have,” she said. “Don’t think that wasn’t part of the plan.”
I laughed. “You just want me in the store more often.”
“Maybe,” she said. “But these are all just ideas. Clearly, it’s up to you. You are the primary owner and are paying for the reconstruction of everything until the insurance money comes in to reimburse you. I’ll be happy to just have a building here again and customers I can support.”
“Well, about that,” I said, drawing a concerned look in her eyes. “I have a couple of things to tell you, and I wanted to be here to do it. One of them is good, and one is frustrating but not necessarily bad. Which one do you want first?”
“Give me the bad first,” she said. “I always handle bad news better if I know good news is following it.”
“All right,” I said, taking a deep breath. “The detectives on the case want me to come up and do some in-person interviews about Sarah and everything that went down with the company. Also, some of the things that were being split up in the divorce hadn’t finalized one way or the other, so they will have to be dealt with considering she is likely looking at prison time. It includes the house, apparently.”
“Oh,” she said, nodding sadly. “That means you will be gone for a while.”
“Probably a month,” I said. “Maybe more, hopefully less. But in the meantime, I have something much more exciting to tell you that I think will help.”
“It better be pretty good,” she said, closing the space between us. “I was just getting used to the idea of having you around.”
I smiled. “Me too,” I said. “But I think you’ll like this part.”
“All right, what is it?”
“You know those ideas you just gave me? About the drive-through and the bakery? Not only do I really like them and think they are gloriously good ideas, but there is nothing stopping you from doing them. It’s your store. You can do them. You have control.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“If you want the bakery or the pharmacy, you can call the architect and tell him what you were thinking. They will draw you up some plans to go through, and you can approve whatever you feel like is the best plan.”
“Wait, so you’re giving me control of the rebuild?” she asked.
“Not quite,” I said, getting a confused frown from her.
“Why did you say that then?” she began, and I had to cut her off.
“Because you are the primary owner,” I said, interrupting her.
There were a few beats where her mouth moved but no words came out.
“Excuse me?” she asked.