CHAPTER THREE
“Hey, Dad,” Faith said after getting his voicemail message. “Just wanted to make sure you remembered to take your medicine. Call me.”
Faith sat at her mother’s desk—well, her desk now—surrounded by boxes of books and mountains of paper. It had been a week since the funeral. Nine days since finding out she was the new, proud owner of Page Turners.
Honestly, she didn’t know any better than Grace and Joy what her mother had been thinking. Faith couldn’t run a bake sale—she’d proved that at the town’s Founder’s Day fundraiser. How was she supposed to manage a business? Heck, she barely even liked to read.
Over the last week, she’d been so busy with her hair salon schedule, taking care of her dad and younger sister, and coping with her loss, there hadn’t been time to go over the books. Today was the first full day she’d committed to really diving into the store’s financials. From what little she’d seen so far, things didn’t look promising.
She pulled the fortune-telling eight ball from her purse. “Are we gonna make it?” She shook the orb and looked into the glass window where the words “reply hazy, try again” flashed back at her.
“Not helpful,” Faith muttered to herself.
“What are you doing?” Tess asked, coming in the open door.
Faith glanced up. “Ah, thank goodness. I need you. Oh wait, first, how’s your brother?”
“Grumpy,” Tess said. “My folks brought him home last night, and he’s whining worse than a baby.”
“A lot of pain?”
“That too, but the crying is about being back in Green Valley Falls. He’ll get over it. How’s it goin’ here?”
Faith was no whiz at math. In fact, except for cutting hair and basketball, she wasn’t really a whiz at anything. But anyone with basic arithmetic skills could deduce Page Turners was hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate.
“Well, I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure you have to make more money than you spend to stay in business.”
“The store’s not profitable?” Tess’s brows creased.
“I’d definitely like a second opinion, but not from what I see. I haven’t gone back far enough to see if it’s only since Mom got sick or if it’s been this way for some time.”
“All right, well, Nick is settled, and I’ve caught up at the store. I can help. Wanna invite Juliet and Alex over tonight, and we’ll make it a party?”
“Oooh. Great idea. I’ll use the group chat and text them now.”
Alex managed a bunch of vacation rentals, and Juliet owned a dog boarding kennel. Tess had a business degree and ran the outdoor supply store next to Page Turners.
An orange and white striped cat jumped onto the desk, made a circle, and curled up over last quarter’s numbers.
“You got a cat?”
“No,” Faith said. “I don’t know whose it is, but every time I come in here, it follows me.”
“Wait, someone is bringing their pet to work and didn’t ask you about it? That’s not cool, Faith.”
Faith ran her hand along the cat’s back. “I know. I’ll figure it out.”
Tess looked at her phone. “All right. Everyone’s in. We’ll meet here after you close up at seven. I gotta get back to work.”
“Thanks, Tessy.”
Faith was neck deep in balance sheets, swimming in numbers, when one of the employees popped her head in.
“Ms. Sullivan,” Morgan said. “I’m so sorry to interrupt. And I really hate to do this, but I’m not feeling so great. Can you get someone to cover story hour? It starts in half an hour.”
Morgan looked on the verge of fainting—or throwing up—and whispered the words so softly that Faith barely caught them.
“You do look a little green,” Faith said. “I’ll do it. Just leave me the book you planned to read and head out.”
“Thank you,” Morgan said. “Hopefully, I feel better tomorrow.”
Thirty minutes later, Faith sat on a fat floor pillow, a half dozen antsy kids sitting cross-legged in a semi-circle around her.
“Where’s Ms. Morgan?” one asked. “She promised I could turn pages.”
“She’s not feeling well,” Faith explained. “But I could use a helper.” The little girl came and plopped down onto Faith’s lap.
“My mom said the F-word today,” a little boy announced. The woman seated behind him closed her eyes, shook her head, and inhaled deeply.
“So what? Mine says the S-word all the time,” another replied. The woman behind him turned a shade of deep red.
“My dad says my mom has a hot ass,” a third chimed in.
“Okay,” Faith interrupted. “Who’s ready to start?”
Six little arms thrust into the air, and they settled down and were quiet. Halfway through the book, Faith noticed the moms sneaking off one by one to look around. Huh. That must be the ploy of story time—to lure the parents in to shop. What else were they gonna do while their kids were busy? Check me out. Learning business already .
They finished the story with minimal interruptions and only a few more embarrassing family secrets exposed. The biggest kerfuffle resulted from an unapologetic fart, which set the group off into fits of giggles. It had taken her five minutes to regain control.
For the next several hours, Faith immersed herself in the data, trying to get a handle on everything before her friends came over. All three arrived as she was closing the store.
“Hey, Shorty,” Faith greeted as Alex—the only short one of their group—entered, holding a large pizza. “Mariani’s? Yum!”
Juliet and Tess filed in behind Alex, each carrying a bottle of wine. “After talking with you this morning, I thought we might need this,” Tess said.
“Can’t argue with that,” Faith said.
They ate quickly and got down to business. “As far as I can tell, we operate on a medium-sized loss every month. But those months have added up, and now we’re in real trouble.”
“Okay,” Tess started. “There are two main things to evaluate. Cutting costs and adding revenue. Let’s start with costs. What’s your biggest expense?”
Faith studied her notes. “The lease, followed by employee salaries.”
“Can you cut someone?” Alex asked.
“I don’t think my mom would want me to fire anyone.” While they talked, Faith shuffled a stack of tarot cards she’d found in the desk.
“Maybe not,” Juliet said. “But she also wouldn’t want you to lose the store.”
“True,” Faith conceded.
As they mulled over ideas, the cat sauntered into the room.
“When did you get a cat?” Juliet asked.
“I didn’t,” Faith said. “I think it’s Ruby’s but haven’t confronted her about it yet.”
“She just lets it live here?” Alex asked.
“Honestly, I haven’t been around enough to notice until today. I certainly didn’t know it was spending nights here.”
Tess set her coffee mug of pinot grigio on the edge of the desk, and Faith made a note to bring in some wine glasses.
“Faith, you’re spreading yourself too thin. You’re not gonna be able to do this just coming over here an hour or two here and there. At least not at first. Maybe once you get things back on track.”
“Tess is right,” Alex said. “Have you considered putting the hair stuff on hold for a minute and moving over here full-time?”
Faith pulled a card out of the tarot deck. Something about despair and depression. Not helpful. She returned it to the stack and watched the cat trot out of the room.
“I’m considering it,” she said. Being booked to the gills at the salon left her no time and little brainpower to give the bookstore the attention it needed. “Irene has been managing things here. I was kind of hoping she’d stay on.”
“Except she’s managing it straight into the ground,” Alex said. “You gotta put on a business hat and make some tough decisions. You won’t be everyone’s best friend.”
“I know that’s not you,” Tess said, holding up a hand to ward off Faith’s protest. “You’re so sweet to everyone. But Alex is right. Irene shouldn’t stay on as manager.”
Faith plucked another card from the deck—the Knight of Wands. The small print said it had to do with energy and passion. Deeming it impertinent, she crammed it back in with the rest.
“You could take over that role,” Juliet said. “Assuming your mom was paying her more to manage, that instantly saves you money.”
“You make it sound like I could do better,” Faith said. “There is no guarantee of that!”
“You’re smart and a quick learner,” Juliet said. “And we’ll help you.”
Faith had her doubts but was encouraged by her friends’ faith in her.
“What about cutting hours? Would that hurt anyone?” Alex asked.
“Well, let’s see. Irene only comes in to avoid spending time with her husband. So she should be okay with it. Ruby just loves to read and would probably come in for free.”
“Nice. Who else?”
“Brandon goes back to school in a couple of weeks, so he’ll be less available anyway.”
“Who is going to care?” Alex said.
Faith shrugged. “No one depends solely on their salary to live. Morgan’s saving for college, so she might get miffed.”
“Tourist season is almost over, so staffing won’t need to be so robust,” Tess said. “At The Outpost, everyone gets reduced hours in the fall.”
“True,” Faith admitted. “My mom did always cut down to one staff person in the off-season. They’re probably already expecting it.”
“You could also look at cutting the bookstore hours once the tourists are gone,” Juliet suggested. “Open later or close earlier. Or both.”
“If I do all that,” Faith said. “Maybe I can avoid firing someone.”
The cat returned and jumped onto Juliet’s lap. Juliet, lover of all animals, sat back to give it more room and pet it.
“What was your mom’s salary like?” Alex asked.
“Pft. Lame,” Faith huffed. “I easily make three times as much at the salon.”
“That’s too bad,” Juliet said. “But with a little work, you could turn this place around and start making some money.”
Faith pulled the Ace of Pentacles from the deck. The fine print on this one claimed, “new career or financial opportunities.” Finally, a card that made sense.
“You gotta believe in yourself, Sullivan,” Tess said. “You can do this. Without ‘divine guidance.’” She put the last words in air quotes and nodded at the cards.
“I don’t even know what they mean. I found them in a desk drawer and was just messing around.” Faith set the deck aside. “Why did my mom leave me this place?”
No one had an answer for that.
Tess changed the subject. “How’s your dad?”
“Not great.” Faith sighed. “He barely talks. I do all the grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning while Hope runs amok. I can’t stay there forever, but I can’t leave yet.” Faith had moved back home after the funeral, thinking it would just be a few nights.
“It’s only been a week,” Juliet said. “He’ll get better.”
“I hope so,” Faith said. “I want to get back to normal. Do you know it’s been four months since I’ve been on a date?” How would she find her soul mate if she never met anyone new?
“That is a record for you,” Alex said. “But you’ve had a lot going on.”
“How are you doing?” Juliet asked, always the intuitive one.
“Pretty good, considering.” Faith paused. “With so much time to prepare for the inevitable, I made my peace with her dying months ago. I almost feel mourned out. Is that a terrible thing to say?”
“Everyone deals with death differently,” Tess said. “Remember how upset you were when they first gave you the prognosis? It’s like you went through the grief stages then. Before she died.”
“She was in so much pain at the end, I saw her passing as more of a blessing. My dad obviously did not.”
“Time will help,” Alex said. “You’re a dutiful daughter to take such good care of him. And Hope.”
“Poor Hope,” Faith said. “I worry about her. She starts her junior year soon and constantly wants me to take her driving and to the mall for back-to-school shopping. I’m trying to make time for her, but it’s tough with my schedule. You know how brash and cheeky she can be. Now she’s more bitchy than sassy. Like she’s mad at the world.”
“She probably is mad at the world,” Tess said. “Time will help her too.”
Faith prayed that was true.
“Speaking of dear old dad, I better get going. If I don’t feed him, he might not eat.”
“We’ll set another date to talk about revenue enhancement,” Alex said, and the others agreed.
During their discussion, Faith had jotted down the action items that needed attention ASAP. First, she’d quit scheduling salon appointments after noon. That would free up several hours every day for the bookstore. She would schedule an employee meeting to discuss cutbacks and talk to Irene about the management thing. Finally, she would find out who owned the furry freeloader and put the kibosh on that.
The cat had curled up in the big, comfy chair in the corner and fallen asleep.
“I guess one more night won’t matter,” Faith mumbled as she turned out the light. “G’night, Kitty.”
She bid her friends farewell, locked up, and drove to her dad’s house. It was only nine o’clock, but he’d already retired to his room. She hadn’t been home to cook and wondered what he’d done about dinner. A half dozen granola bar wrappers in the trash can solved that mystery. At least he’d eaten something.
When she peeked in on Hope, she was sound asleep. Must have the early shift at the coffee shop tomorrow.
After getting ready for bed, Faith logged into her favorite dating website. It had been months since she’d had a date. It was time to change that.