by Katie Dowe
*****
“Try this,” Hillary urged as she pressed the Styrofoam cup on Afiya.
“What is it?” she looked at it suspiciously. She was in the middle of getting ready for the day and arranging things in the store the way she wanted them. It was only six thirty but the sun was already high up in the sky. She opened at nine but always came down early to set up. Her best friend Hillary Banks lived a few blocks away. She was a divorcee with two children and was always bemoaning the fact that she'd jumped into marriage too soon and was paying for it. She was a kindergarten teacher at the local school and now that the kids were on summer break, she either helped Afiya out in the shop or did some work at the old folks’ home. Today was her day to help out and she had come in early as usual. Her children had gone to spend the summer with her ex in Texas. “Mocha delight,” she said with a grin as she sipped hers. “You've been drinking lattes since I've know you, I decided that you needed a change.”
“You decided?” Afiya’s winged brows rose as she sat on one of the old comfortable sofas and took a sip of the beverage. Her eyes widened and she took several more sips.
“What did I tell you?” Hillary asked in satisfaction. “It reminds me of when I first married John and the sex was out of this world!”
“I thought you said he was lousy in bed?”
“That was as the marriage was winding down,“ Hillary said with a laugh. “He would just go in and come out and that was it.”
“Stop!” Afiya held up one hand with a laugh. “Give me a chance to enjoy this wonderful beverage and stop spoiling it for me.”
“From what I hear he's better now. Wife number two is pregnant.”
“Oh honey, I'm so sorry. How do you feel?” Afiya asked sympathetically.
“I'm fine. I got over him the minute he told me that marrying me was a big mistake.”
Chapter 2
“I'm sorry I'm taking so long my dear but I need to find the perfect gift. What on earth do you buy a woman who is getting married for the third time?” Doris asked, throwing up her hands in despair.
“Did you get her anything for her first two weddings?” Afiya asked with an amused glint in her dark brown eyes.
“A lovely tea set that I bought in Italy and a hand sewn spread.” Doris shook her greying head. “Mavis is fifty three years old and you could swear that she is a woman in her twenties getting married for the first time!”
“She's into household items?”
Doris nodded.
“I think I know just the thing for her.” Afiya told her with a smile. She hurried around the back where she'd placed the new items she'd gotten over the weekend. She pulled out a box she hadn't bothered to unpack and after opening it she took out a lovely white vase with a bunch of flowers drawn onto it. It was delightfully juvenile as if a child had sat down and painted it. It wasn't very expensive but would make a perfect gift. “What do you think?” she asked, holding it aloft.
The woman gazed at it in fascination. “It’s truly lovely. I almost feel like buying it for myself.”
Afiya laughed. “Want me to package it up for you?”
“Of course. Thank you so much.” She walked around and picked up a few more items for herself to complete the purchase.
She took the package from Afiya along with her card. “I hope that you're going to fight the corporation planning on tearing this place and the others around it down.”
Afiya looked at her, startled. “I thought it was the other side of town.”
“They're planning on putting up one of the biggest malls this side of the country and they're going to need the space. This place has quite a history and it would be a shame for it to be demolished. I'm not against change and the economy growing but some things are supposed to be left unchanged.”
“I agree with you,” Afiya said grimly, feeling her heart flutter at the thought of her beloved store being torn down to make room for so-called improvements.
“Okay my dear, see you next week.”
Afiya waved the woman goodbye and sat at the cash register, deep in thought. She'd heard the rumors but had shoved it aside deliberately, thinking that it had nothing to do with her. But now she'd heard it from several sources so it must be true. She intended to stand her ground, no matter the size of the corporation.
*****
Garrett was getting a little impatient. He'd done his research and had been given the impression that the people who belonged to the town had a healthy respect for change, but that had proven to be wrong. He got to his feet as the Mayor made her way into the little restaurant. She was a buxom woman with greying hair and a surprisingly elegant appearance. He'd met her when he first arrived and she had practically welcomed him with open arms.
“Mayor Williamson,” he nodded as he pulled out the chair for her to sit.
“I think it's about time you called me by my first name,” she told him with a smile as a waiter hurried over. “It’s Adele.”
“And the name is Garrett.” He smiled at her and took a seat. He'd scanned the menu before and knew what was on it. “The cold salad for me.” His green eyes looked at the woman enquiringly.
“The same for me, George.”
They waited until the man had left before they began. “I thought you said that I would have no objections when I started this project.”
Mayor Williamson sipped her water thirstily before responding. “How many?”
“Ten so far.” He handed her the list.
She scanned the names of the stores silently before looking at him. “These are people who have been here for generations. They're going to need a little persuasion.”
“I'm already offering them more than the stores are worth. I'm a business man, Adele. I'm not here to stroke someone’s ego and beg them to accept my offer. They have to see for themselves that in order for this town to move into the twenty-first century it needs to move forward. The mall will bring new businesses into the town and employ the young people who are struggling to find something worthwhile to do.”
“You're preaching to the choir, my dear.” She waited until their lunch was served before she continued. “But you have to understand it from their point of view as well. They've been running their businesses for years now and to learn that they have to uproot, it must be trying on them.”
“It’s something temporary. I'm willing to offer them a fair price for a store in the mall I'm building.” He said impatiently as he dug into his salad.
“Why don’t I talk with them?” she suggested.
He looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Will they listen?”
“I'll try.”
“If you don’t get through to them I'm going to have to do it.”
*****
“A smoothie from ‘Smoothie Joe’ should do the trick,” Hillary handed her the large cup of frozen liquid before sitting next to her. It was lunch break at the shop and the customers had stopped coming in a half hour earlier. Afiya hadn't had much time to process the fact that she was going to have to fight for the place she'd come to love with her entire being.
“I drank a gallon of water earlier on. The heat is astounding!” Afiya said with a heartfelt sigh. The air conditioner was humming in the window and an overhead fan stirred lazily above them as if the effort to combat the heat was too much for it. They'd always experienced sizzling hot summers and icy cold winters but had yet to become used to it. Afiya had visited other states but always came back home where she belonged.
“Okay, tell me about this planned demolition,” Hillary said as she slurped her smoothie.
“It’s not going to happen if I have anything to say about it,” Afiya said grimly.
“Honey, I hear that the Mayor is on board with all this.”
“I don’t care! No one is going to persuade me to sell them my store.”
“I understand that the money is more than reasonable.”
“I don’t care about the money.”
“A lot of people would be hap
py to take the money and go somewhere else to start over fresh. Lillie over at the hairdresser's shop is excited about it. She said she wanted the money to go to New York. She's tired of staying in this dead town where nothing happens.”
“Then she's an idiot,” Afiya said, firmly placing her half-finished smoothie on the table in front of her. “We have a minimal amount of crime here. I can leave the shop and walk down the street to get myself a pastry or pop on over to the library to browse and still come back to find everything inside the store including the cash register.”
“I agree with you honey,” Hillary soothed. “I've forgotten to lock my door so many times that it's become a habit, and everyone knows about it. Last night I left the back door wide open. I woke up this morning and noticed it and I laughed. Where else could I do that?”
“Exactly!” Afiya sat next to her friend and took her hands. “That's what we should tell the Mayor and everyone else who wants to sell.”
“Honey, there's a down side to all this peace and tranquility,” Hilary reminded her gently. “The lack of jobs and opportunities for young people.”
“So you're with them?”
“I'm with you,” Hillary told her patiently. “But I'm letting you see both sides of the coin. I was talking to Amber Lyn the other day and she sounded pretty excited at the idea of a mall being erected. She spoke about the employment opportunities with all the stores and the fact that they could have choices when shopping.”
Afiya looked at her moodily for a moment. “I'm not giving up my store.”
“I don’t expect you to.” They both looked up as the bell tinkled. “How about we shelve this discussion for later and go make ourselves some money?”
*****
Afiya took her place in the back seat at the town hall as she waited for the meeting to begin. She looked around and realized that it was well attended. It was the first Saturday in August. The county fair was scheduled for next Saturday and plans were in high gears as the park was being decorated. She'd noticed with grudging admiration that King’s Corporation had a lot to do with the new swings and the addition of the water slides. They were certainly doing a lot but it still didn't stop her from resenting their presence in her town. If only they were there to renovate and not tear down. Her eyes were caught by the tall, handsome man sitting in front of the podium along with the Mayor and the town’s clerk Mrs. Bayfield. Afiya noticed that his eyes went around the room as if assessing the emotions of the people there. Mrs. Bayfield got to her feet and banged the gravel on the raised podium to get everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy Saturday evening schedules to come and contribute to this very important meeting.”
Afiya looked around as her friend slipped in next to her. “What did I miss?” she whispered.
“Nothing. She just started. Where were you?”
“Trying to plan a date with Bob.”
“Really?” Afiya eyebrow’s rose in humor.
“Stop looking at me like that! He's actually a nice guy underneath all that dirt from his gardening.”
“I'm not talking about the dirt, Hillary. I'm talking about the fact that he's not a very reliable person when it comes to relationships. He's been married two times.”
“So what?” she hissed. “I'm lonely and horny.”
“Dangerous combinations.” They both looked up as Garrett King took his place at the podium. “My name is Garrett King and I am the CEO of King’s Corporation. I've spoken to a number of you since I've been here and I must say that I've gotten quite a warm welcome.” He waited out the applause and then continued. “I came upon this small town by chance. I wanted to find somewhere that needed something more and was ready for change and I thought that this was it and I was right. My company has plans to take this place and put it on the map.”
“What if we're satisfied with it just the way it is?” Afiya heard herself speaking up, causing all eyes to turn to her.
“Do you speak for everyone?” he asked her in his deep attractive voice that conveyed the utmost authority.
“I'm sure I speak for the majority when I say that Roseville is a peaceful, quiet town and that's for a reason. Whenever changes are introduced anywhere there are consequences. You're going to have all kinds of elements entering and with that there will be crimes and very soon violence. We haven't had a murder in our town for years and we certainly want to keep it that way.”
There was silence as the people thought about what she'd just said. Then Garrett spoke up. “Would you mind telling me your name?”
“Afiya Lowe and I own Treasure Troves on Main Street,” she said defiantly.
“Ms. Lowe are you aware that the young people in Roseville are leaving town because of lack of employment? Are you also aware that the town is on the brink of being a dying one if something isn't done? I know how hard it is to embrace change, but it is of course necessary. What we are planning to do is to save the town and to make sure that the young people stay here and build up this place. Do you object to that?”
Afiya fumed as she felt the rest of the people staring at her. “No, I don’t,” she told him tightly. “What I object to is your corporation coming here and taking over as if you've lived here all your lives.”
“I'm certainly not planning on doing that,” his green eyes looked at her coolly and Afiya had a feeling that he wished he could tell her exactly what he thought of her. She'd read up on him and learned that he was a billionaire who had scraped from the bottom to reach the top and had done so with a lot of grit and determination. She'd also seen the thin, emaciated women he associated with and knew what his type was. That made her resent him even more. His eyes swung to the rest of the people seated there who weren't saying anything, making Afiya feel as if she was the only one who was against the whole thing. “I'm here to offer change for the better. I see opportunities where this place can be so much better. I'm not here to change the small town charm but to add some big town excitement without changing much, and I just want you to give me a chance to do so.”
*****
Afiya accepted the small plate of goodies that had been prepared for the meeting and forced a smile of thanks on her face. She'd known these people since she was a little girl, when she used to come and visit with her grandmother, and had always thought of them as family but now she wasn't so sure. “My dear, I hope you don’t feel bad that we didn't all rush to our feet in support of you,” Mrs. Gordon, the librarian, said to her softly as she came alongside her.
Afiya turned towards the middle aged woman with a cool look. She'd worked at the library during the summer when she'd come here for the holidays and had spent the time stocking shelves and taking breaks to read the books. “I suppose I'm the only one who cares that the town is being taken over by a big corporation.”
“My dear please don’t say that,” Mrs. Gordon guided her away from the table and into a corner where there were chairs strewn about. “I lost my only child to a big town because there was no employment here to offer her. Glenna hardly ever comes home and now she's married with two children and I hardly get to see them. She's heard about the improvements planned and is making plans to come back here. I'm so excited about that! I live in that big old house all by myself and am hoping that they'll indeed come home.”
They were so deep in conversation that they hadn't noticed the man coming towards them until he spoke. “Mrs. Gordon would you please give me a minute with Ms. Lowe?” his charming smile was only for the elderly woman who preened as she got to her feet.
“Of course, Mr. King.” She pressed her hand against Afiya’s hand as she got to her feet and left. He took the seat she had vacated.
“Is your problem with me personally or with what I'm trying to do?” he asked her coolly. He had a plate in his hand and he took an orange slice and popped it inside his mouth as he looked at her. Up close he was even more magnetic than when he was up on stage. His almost white blond hair stood out starkly agains
t his tanned skin and was a striking contrast.
“Both,” she told him equally coolly.
His eyes twinkled in amusement as he looked at her. “Not everyone seems to agree with you.”
“They're looking at the dollar signs. I'm looking at the long term effects of what this will do to this town.”
“And what is that?”
“The very same things I mentioned in the meeting.” She put aside her plate. She'd lost her appetite. “Mr. King, I'm here to tell you right now that I'm not selling my store.”
“You haven't heard my offer yet,” he said softly.
“I don’t need to hear it,” she told him coldly. “Do you think that you can use your money to buy everyone?”
“I'm offended Ms. Lowe at the idea that I am buying these people. I am a business man and I have seen a business opportunity that will benefit my company as well as the town.” His tone was mild but his expression was flinty.
“Are you planning to change the name to Kingsville as well?” she asked him sarcastically, her eyes flashing.
