by Terri DuLong
From the way Basil was staring at her with adoring eyes, I thought she was right.
After we finished the wine, the three of us entered the schoolhouse.
“Okay,” Mavis said, walking to the center of the room and pointing to the blank wall. “I told the contractor that we’ll need him to build us wooden cubbyholes covering the entire wall to hold yarn. What do you think?”
I nodded. “Perfect.”
“I’m also thinking that perhaps some tables set up here and there with displays of yarn. And maybe one or two armoires holding the pricey yarn like cashmere and qiviut. What kind of furniture do you think we should have?”
I thought of the carriage house at Yarning Together in Cedar Key and nodded. “Yes, great ideas for displaying the various yarns. Well, maybe two sofas and a few comfy chairs, but we also should have a fairly large table for classes.”
“I agree,” Mavis Anne said. “We’ll go shopping together and make our decisions. Now, back here,” she said, walking toward the kitchen area, “I’ll let Yarrow tell you what she has in mind.”
We walked through one of the arched doorways and Yarrow pointed to her left. “Since the prep area is over here, I thought the contractor could build me a small counter to separate it from the seating area. And on this side, I should be able to fit in about six small round tables with chairs. The rest of the seating will be outside. Of course, the knitters will take their tea into the knitting area.”
“Sounds good,” I said. I could visualize the welcoming scene.
“Also,” she went on, “although tea is my main specialty, I’m thinking of getting a coffee machine. When we open, I’m going to be advertising for the general public, not just for knitters. And I’m going to use those French doors to the garden as my entrance. This way people coming just for tea or coffee won’t be traipsing through the yarn area.”
“Great idea,” I said. “I like it.”
“The contractor is also going to give the whole place a new coat of paint. I thought we’d stay with the white since we want brightness and light. But I was thinking maybe a border print at the top to make it feel cozier. What do you think?” Mavis asked.
“Oh, definitely. Yes, we want the shop to be a knitter’s home away from home.”
“Okay, then,” Mavis said, clapping her hands together. “I think we have a good start here. Now let’s go eat and see if we can come up with a name.”
“I’m going to be so spoiled living here,” I said and took the last bite of my quiche. “I may just be employing Marta to cook for me on a full-time basis. The quiche and soup were delicious.”
“She’s willing to work out any arrangement with you,” Mavis Anne said. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“It’s too bad David and Clive couldn’t join us.”
“Well, they had dinner plans with friends of theirs, but you’ll see quite a lot of them once you move in. Now, let’s brainstorm a name for the shop. Any ideas?”
Yarrow laughed. “Since I named my tea shop simply Yarrow’s, I think you can see I’m not very creative. Do you have any ideas, Chloe?”
“Well, I do have one for the yarn shop, but how do we want to do it? A separate name for each shop or a combined name?”
“It really doesn’t matter to me.” Yarrow shrugged. “What do you have in mind for the yarn shop?”
“Dreamweaver,” I said.
“Oh, how perfect!” Mavis Anne exclaimed. “I love it. A dreamweaver is something or somebody who creates dreams. And a yarn shop certainly encourages this. I love it, Chloe.”
“Nirvana,” Yarrow blurted out.
Mavis Anne and I both stared at her, not understanding.
“Nirvana,” she repeated with emphasis. “That’s the name I want for the tea and coffee shop. In Buddhism it means the state of perfect happiness or idyllic place. I want my shop to be that place.”
I thought it was the perfect name for Yarrow’s shop. “I think it’s you,” I said. “Plus, I think the names blend well together—Dreamweaver Yarn Shop and Nirvana Tea and Coffee.”
Mavis Anne nodded. “I totally agree. I love both names.” She raised her hand for a high five. “Ladies,” she said. “Here’s to a long and profitable business together.”
Chapter 16
I walked into the tea shop the following Friday to a huge round of applause and began laughing. “What’s this all about?” I asked.
“We’re thrilled with the name of the yarn shop.”
“It’s just perfect.”
“I can’t wait to see all the yummy yarn you’ll be carrying.”
The comments tumbled out as I made my way to an empty seat on the sofa.
I let out a deep breath. “It is rather exciting,” I said. “And I’m glad you approve of the name.”
“Oh, we do,” Louise said. “And we also love Nirvana for the tea shop.”
“I agree. It was like kismet the way Yarrow just instantly thought of it.”
“We still have to get together and decide which yarns we’ll be selling,” Mavis Anne said. “Maybe we could discuss it today when the knitting group is over.”
“Sounds good,” I told her.
“And when this place closes in a month, we’ll be meeting at Koi House?” Maddie asked.
“Absolutely,” I said. “Friday seems to be a good day for everyone, so we can still meet on Friday afternoons.”
“That would be great,” Maddie said. “I close the florist shop at one on Fridays. Hey, a woman has her priorities.”
Conversation went back and forth while we knitted and enjoyed our tea.
“Has anybody heard how June is doing?” Louise asked.
“I spoke to her the other day on the phone,” Maddie said. “It’s not easy raising a five-year-old grandson, but she’s struggling along.”
“Well, she didn’t have much choice, did she?” Mavis adjusted the reading glasses on her nose to peer over them. “Poor thing. No father in the picture for Charlie, and June’s daughter is in rehab.”
“Oh, that does sound like a difficult situation. Is she one of the knitters here?” I asked.
“She used to be,” Yarrow said. “But when Charlie came to live with her a few months ago, her life was turned upside down.”
“Yeah, but she now has Charlie all settled in a good day program here in town, so she said it won’t be much longer till she returns to join us.” Maddie looked up from the sweater she was working on and smiled. “Plus, at least she has Tony, her husband, to share everything, and that makes it a little easier.”
“Yeah, but still, it certainly can’t be easy dealing with a child full-time in your fifties,” Louise said. “Although never having had children of my own, I’m only guessing.”
“No, I think you’re right,” I told her. “I’m sure glad I had my boys when I was young. I think that’s part of the joy of grandchildren—we can send them home when we’re tired. I can’t even imagine taking care of children full-time now.”
The topic of conversation made me wonder how Parker was really coping. He’d left me five years before to marry his girlfriend, who was three months pregnant; now at age fifty-five, Parker was raising his own daughter, Aubrey. From the news relayed to me by Eli, Kelly wasn’t about to give up her job at the real estate company Parker owned, so their daughter had been in day care since she was an infant. But his evenings and weekends were consumed with child care. Although I’d never met Aubrey, Eli and Treva visited Parker once a year in Savannah and Eli was forming a relationship with his half-sister. I never admitted it, but when Eli sent me digital photos of their visits, which included shots of Aubrey, I always felt a twinge of jealousy that Parker got the daughter I’d always wanted.
By four o’clock the women had left the tea shop and Mavis Anne and I were ready to discuss business.
“Any more tea?” Yarrow asked.
“None for me,” I said.
“What I’d really enjoy is a glass of wine.” Mavis Anne returned her knitti
ng to the leather bag beside her. “In the new shop I think we should keep a stock of wine on hand. You know, for special occasions.”
Yarrow laughed. “Oh, you mean like the close of the work day?”
“Precisely,” Mavis said. “Okay, we need to decide what types of yarn we’ll be carrying and which distributors we’ll be using. Any suggestions, Chloe?”
“Well, we have to carry the usual—sock yarn, worsted, fingering yarn. There’s so many yarn companies now, but some of my favorites are Universal, Plymouth, Cascade, and Lorna’s Laces.”
Mavis made notes in the notebook on her lap. “That’s a good start. I’ll give them a call tomorrow. They’ll need to send a rep out so we can pore through their catalogs and get our orders in. And of course we need to order needles and all the accessories.” She looked over to Yarrow. “Will you be using the same distributor for your tea?”
“Yes, but I need to find somebody to order the coffee from, so I’ll get going on that.”
“Great,” Mavis said. “And Chloe, you and I should begin working on some items for display in the shop. It always attracts sales when a knitter can see the finished project.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I have a lot of patterns from various companies, so I’ll look through them and my yarn stash. Also, I was thinking of designing maybe a shawl pattern, and we could sell the yarn at the shop and offer a knit-along for the women.”
“Oh, I like that idea.” Excitement sparkled in Mavis’s eyes. “Yes, feel free to begin working on a design. I think the women will enjoy doing something like that together at the shop.”
The three of us looked up as the door opened and Chadwick Price walked in. Damn, but that man was handsome.
I felt his eyes connect with mine and a huge smile crossed his face. “I thought I might find you ladies here.”
“Chadwick, how nice to see you,” Mavis gushed. “Sit down and join us. Yarrow will get you some tea.”
He laughed and raised a palm in the air. “I’m afraid I can’t stay, but I wanted to drop off the invitations for my Fourth of July fund-raiser,” he said, passing an embossed invitation to each of us. “I hope you’ll be able to join us too, Chloe.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised that I was included. “Oh . . . well . . . thank you.”
“Of course she’ll be there,” Mavis assured him. “Especially since Chloe is about to join the ranks of business owners in the community.”
His eyebrows arched and a smile crossed his face. “Really?”
“Yes,” Mavis explained. “Chloe and I are starting a yarn shop together. We’re hoping to open late September.”
“That’s wonderful news. Where’s the location?” he asked, directing his gaze toward me.
Before I had a chance to answer, Mavis said, “The old schoolhouse behind Koi House. It’s a great central location for downtown and it will be perfect. Yarrow will be in the back half and she’ll have a tea and coffee shop.”
“Ah, so you finally convinced her, huh?” he said, letting out a chuckle. “You’ve always wanted to utilize that spot, and it sounds like this will work out perfectly. Congratulations to all of you. With you living in Koi House, Chloe, it really will be ideal.”
I saw both Mavis Anne and Yarrow turn to me, waiting for an explanation as to how Chadwick knew this piece of news.
I nodded. “Absolutely ideal,” I said.
“Okay, well, it was great to see you and I hope all three of you will make it for the fund-raiser. I have more invitations to drop off in town, so I have to run. And Chloe, I haven’t forgotten about that dinner invitation.”
The moment he walked out the door, Mavis Anne exclaimed, “What exactly is going on that we’ve not been privy to?”
I shook my head, laughing. “God, you guys remind me of my sister and Aunt Maude.” I explained about lunch at LuLu’s and the promise that he’d call to take me to dinner.
“Well, my, my,” Mavis Anne said. “Sounds to me like you have a very interested beau, and a woman could certainly do worse than Chadwick Price. He’s always reminded me a bit of my Jackson. Lots of charm and good looks but a sincere type of man.”
“I agree,” Yarrow said, a grin covering her face. “Chadwick is quite a catch. You’ll be the envy of every woman in Volusia County.”
I raised my hand in the air and shook my head again. “Hey, hold on. We had one lunch that he invited himself to and a promise of a dinner. That’s it. Besides, I’m not sure I’m ready to get involved with somebody right now. I’ll be busy enough with the opening of the shop and my move.”
“Right,” they said at the same time. I noticed the smirk covering their faces as they nodded.
Chapter 17
I woke on the last day of May and smiled up at the ceiling. Once again, my life was about to change. I’d be moving into Koi House later in the day and beginning a new chapter. Probably the first of many. Meeting Mavis Anne and Yarrow had started the ball rolling and I felt very grateful.
I still thought of Gabe every single day but after a year, the pain of loss was beginning to heal. I felt quite fortunate that I’d be living in Koi House, and in about three months I’d be co-owner of a yarn shop once again. Life was very good.
Following our walk on the beach, Basil and I returned to the condo. I didn’t have much to pack and get together, but I wanted to leave the condo in the same condition I’d found it. Even though Henry assured me a cleaning girl was coming and not to bother, I did a general clean-up.
I didn’t want to leave Basil alone in a new house right away, so after lunch I drove to Publix to stock up on food and then drove back to get Basil and our belongings.
I had just finished loading the car in the parking garage when Louise pulled up.
“Is today the day?” she asked, crossing the parking lot toward me.
“Yes, Basil and I are headed to Koi House now.”
She leaned over and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re moving into that house. As silly as it sounds, over the years Mavis Anne has convinced me that house truly has a soul. She’s been moaning about it being empty since she moved in with David and Clive, so I know she’s thrilled. She feels you’ll stir some love back into that house.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m not so sure about that, but I’m very happy to be renting it. You’ll be there for the knitting group a week from Friday, right?” It had been decided that even though the tea shop was still open for a few more weeks, we’d begin meeting at Koi House.
“Wouldn’t miss it for anything,” she said and headed to the elevator. “See you then.”
I pulled into the driveway of Koi House, shut off the ignition, leaned over the steering wheel, and stared at the house. No doubt about it. It was a gorgeous house. I loved how my bedroom turret jutted out and added character to the structure.
I let out a deep sigh. It was then that I noticed swarms of butterflies floating past the car, over the house, and toward the back garden. I couldn’t explain why, but I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
“Come on, Basil,” I said, getting out and reaching for his leash. “Time to get settled in our new home.”
I unlatched the gate and walked around to the back door. Fumbling with the keys, I found the correct one and we walked into the kitchen. This room truly was a chef’s dream.
“Here ya go,” I said, bending down to unclip Basil’s leash. “I’ll let you go explore.”
My eye caught the beautiful vase of fresh flowers on the counter. A note beside it was from Mavis Anne, welcoming me to my new home. Beside the vase was a wooden holder with a stick of incense.
Here’s some sage and cedar to welcome you. Allow your personal energy to envelop your new home, Yarrow had written on a notecard covered with butterflies.
And next to Yarrow’s note was one from Marta telling me she’d prepared a chicken pie for me, which was in the fridge and only needed to be reheated. Her welcome to me.
I let out a deep sigh and smiled
. I had felt uncertain when I’d first come to Ormond Beach a month before, but I had no doubt now that I’d done the right thing.
“Where are you, Basil?” I called as I walked through the house to the front room. No Basil. “Where did you go?”
I heard whining coming from upstairs and took the staircase up to the hallway. “Basil?” I called again.
This time he barked—from my bedroom. I walked in to find him curled up on the bed, tail wagging and quietly whining.
“Ah, you found our bedroom, huh?” A smile crossed my face but again, I felt a distinct drop in the temperature in this room. I suppose I might welcome this fact when the temps and humidity climbed, but right now I felt a sense of unease. Damn. I wondered why Mavis Anne had pretty much insisted that I take this bedroom when two others were empty.
“What’s up, buddy?” I said, walking over to scratch Basil between his ears.
I walked to the French doors, unlocked them and stepped out onto the covered porch. Turning around, I called, “Come on, Basil. Come see our balcony.” But he remained firmly planted on the bed and let out another whine. I inhaled the warm air. This was the perfect time in Florida, with no heat and humidity yet. The slight breeze brought just a hint of salt air off the Atlantic.
“Enough stalling,” I said, walking back inside. “I have to start unloading the car. Are you coming, Basil?”
But Basil looked up at me, wagged his tail, and put his chin back on his paws.
“Okay, lazy boy. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I had just begun to unload the trunk of food bags when I heard David call to me. I turned to see him walking up the driveway.
“Welcome,” he said, passing me a bottle of wine. “I wanted to get over sooner to leave it in the kitchen for you, but I got caught up working on a flower arrangement for a client and lost track of time.” He leaned over to kiss both my cheeks.
“Thank you so much, David,” I said, reaching for the wine. “This is so nice of you.”
“It looks like I arrived just in time. I’ll help you take your stuff inside.”
