Chapter 18 #2
“If it wouldn’t be any trouble,” Elaine was saying, breezily.
“I see you’ve already got a place over there on that shelf where other advertisements and posters are taped up.
I’d just love it if you could add this to it.
We’re advertising the grand opening of The Birchwood House, not the hotel itself per se, so you’d be able to get rid of this poster soon enough if you wanted to. ”
The cookware shop owner agreed cheerfully and went off to hang up the poster for Elaine. She sighed with satisfaction in a way that Shep couldn’t help finding endearing as she closed her folder of posters. She was just turning to go when she caught sight of Shep and Iris approaching.
“Well, gosh, look at this!” Elaine exclaimed, looking delighted.
“I’m surprised to see you here.” She made eye contact with him as she said it, although it was clear she meant it affectionately, Shep felt himself reddening at the ears.
What she meant was that she was surprised to see Shep outside of his bear-cave kitchen, and he couldn’t blame her.
It was true that he hardly ever went anywhere else, certainly not in the morning when places like this were bustling with customers.
“So fun to run into you, Elaine,” Iris said, hugging the other woman. Shep couldn’t help noticing that ever since Elaine had barged into his kitchen, Iris had been treating her as though they were the only two members of some kind of secret sisterhood.
The only two women in the world who have seen the inside of my kitchen, he thought, almost amused by the concept.
Although it was true that he never would have voluntarily let Elaine come into his kitchen, she was also one of his favorite people in town.
Heck, maybe one of his favorite people anywhere.
There went his ears again, turning pink.
“We heard that you’re putting up posters for the hotel’s grand opening,” Iris said eagerly. “My gosh, that’s coming up quick. Are you excited? Do you feel ready?”
Shep personally would have felt himself reeling after being asked two emotionally charged questions like that in a row, but Elaine didn’t miss a beat.
“I’m so excited and we’ll definitely be ready in time, although there’s still plenty of work to do.
” Elaine laughed. “One of my tasks is putting up these posters for the grand opening. I’m nearly done with that though, so I’ll get to check that off the list.” As she said the words, Elaine gestured as if she was striking off an item on a giant list that was hovering mid-air.
She leaned into the motion so gleefully that it was almost like a dance move.
Shep found his heart beating faster when he saw it.
How was it possible for someone to feel that free to be themselves in public?
She seemed comfortably at ease and yet vivacious in a way that most people weren’t.
“We should put a poster in the window of the bakery,” Iris said eagerly to Shep. “Announcing the grand opening.”
Shep frowned, immediately opposed to the idea.
He’d never put a poster in the front window of his bakery before, not for anyone.
How would one even go about doing such a thing?
Would you use tape? That would be very difficult to remove.
Sticky putty? But then wouldn’t the sticky putty be visible in front of the poster?
Surely they wouldn’t put the poster on the outside of the window, right?
They would have to put it on the inside?
He was so busy thinking about all the problems such a thing would cause that he forgot to voice his protestations out loud.
“Oh, that would be amazing!” Elaine said, delighted.
“Well, of course.” Iris nodded. “Townsend’s is the business partner of The Birchwood House, after all. Of course we’ll put a poster in our front window.”
As Iris reached for one of the posters that Elaine was holding, Shep suddenly found his voice. Almost involuntarily, he protested, “We don’t put up advertisements.”
Both women turned to him. Iris looked indignant and Elaine looked slightly amused.
Shep shook his head, trying not to sound gruff and grumbly but not managing to change his tone in the slightest. “I’ve never allowed advertisements in my windows before. I don’t see that we need to change a guideline of fifty years just because of a party that will be over soon enough.”
Defiantly, Iris took the poster from Elaine. “We’re putting this in the front window of the shop and that’s final, Shep. It won’t hurt you at all, and we’ve got to show support to our business partners.”
Shep’s mouth popped open, and he was about to protest that it might hurt the shop window if they ended up having tape stuck to the glass until the end of time, but he immediately closed his mouth again.
Elaine didn’t say anything, but he caught her looking at him with a disappointed expression. His heart sank. He should have realized she would feel bad about his refusal to put the poster in the window, but hurting her feelings had never been his intention.
I’ve got to get better at being aware of other people’s feelings, he thought. That’s always been the kind of thing I can’t seem to anticipate properly. But I’m sure it’s like any other skill—the more I work on improving it, the more easily it will come to me.
He glanced at Elaine, wondering if she felt let down by his behavior.
Had she expected more from him? Most people didn’t seem to, at least not people who knew him, but he and Elaine had opened up to one another somewhat the other day.
Perhaps she was feeling as though there was now a special bond between them, and she’d expected him to treat her differently.
Did he feel that way too?
He cleared his throat. “It does make sense to put this poster up in our front window. It’s true Townsend’s has never done anything like that before, but it’s also true that we’ve never been business partners with anyone before. I’ll put it up immediately in the front window as soon as we get back.”
Clear stickers. There were things like that, weren’t there? He was sure of it. That’s what he would use. Clear, gel stickers that would easily peel off the window when it was time to remove the poster.
Elaine offered him a small smile. “Thank you, Shep. And you too, Iris. Townsend’s is so popular, I’m sure it will help spread the word about the grand opening better than any of the other places that put up a poster.”
“And our front window looks out across the main street,” Iris agreed cheerfully. “Even people who aren’t coming inside the bakery will see it.”
Elaine smiled, looking happy, and then she said warm goodbyes to Iris and Shep. He watched Elaine walk away for a moment, noticing the way she held her folder of posters to her chest as if they were something precious instead of just stacks of paper and ink.
He was beginning to contemplate the idea of treating everyday things with more appreciation the way Elaine seemed to when he noticed that Iris was looking at him. He turned to her and grunted as a way of asking her what was on her mind.
“You should let your guard down a bit with Elaine,” Iris said, her brows lifting knowingly. “A good thing won’t stay open forever, especially if it’s always met with resistance.”
“What do you mean?” Shep asked, startled. Was Iris actually implying what he thought she was implying? What kind of a good thing?
She didn’t mean a romance, surely?
“I just mean,” Iris said slowly, as if she was choosing her words carefully, “that right now she doesn’t have any walls up toward you.
But if she keeps feeling like you’re pushing her away, I think she’s going to start putting walls up, whether she really wants to or not.
I think that’s just how people work sometimes. ”
Shep blinked, unsure of what to say. Iris could have knocked him over with a feather. Elaine seemed like such an immovable force, such a strong character. The thought of her putting up walls toward him made him feel sad.
Iris is right, he thought. I need to make sure I don’t make her feel the need to put up walls against me. I should think more about the way I’ve been responding to her and be sure to treat her more kindly.
“Come on,” Iris said, smiling at him as if she could read his thoughts somehow. She patted him on the back. “Let’s go get some pans.”
He found himself smiling at her. Iris was undoubtedly one of the best things in his life. For someone to be as patient as she was in the face of his never-ending gruffness was a feat indeed. She was a true friend, and he felt grateful that she’d been outspoken enough to offer him advice.