Chapter 14
Three days passed, and Scarlet spent digging through books and articles in her aunt’s backroom. Realizing she was losing herself in the hunt for the missing girl, who was probably long gone, Scarlet tried to switch focus to cleaning up the shop.
It was mostly in order, thanks to her aunt’s amazing cataloging system, but it needed a fresh look if it was to draw any buyers. Scarlet painted the front door a vibrant teal and had the floor’s carpet steam cleaned, which meant the doors had to be open to avoid the moist air from damaging the book stock inside. But thankfully, the days were getting longer and sunnier, warming the air enough that the doors could stay open without the shop getting too cold.
Athos waddled across the floor while Scarlet painted the door. He dragged an old book on mathematics with a frayed leather cover and a print date of 1947.
Scarlet got up to chase him down when someone stopped just outside.
“Hey, are you going to re-open?” A woman with two young girls, one in each hand, leaned into the doorway.
“I’m just updating it while I figure out what to do,” Scarlet admitted. She was less and less inclined to give it up for good. She just hadn’t figured out how to manage it and her job back east just yet.
“It would be wonderful if you could. My daughters miss the craft hour in the evenings after school. It made it easier for me to work and not stress about getting home on time. They just rode the bus here and got to play with glitter.”
“I can see the benefit.” Scarlet smiled at the girls. “Glitter is always fun! I love putting it on fabric.
The young blonde lifted the hands of her girls. “I’m Melinda. And this is Cassie and Alia. It would be wonderful to have another crafty type run the shop. We miss story time and the bubble day, too. Oh, and we can’t forget the summer party!”
Scarlet felt a bit overwhelmed. Seeing Athos take a tumble over the book he was trying desperately to drag across the floor, she picked him up and freed the book from his little mouth. “I’m a bit overwhelmed by everything my aunt did. Any chance you could email me a list of everything you can remember and what it all entailed? I see lots of things in her schedule book, but she didn’t write out programs or anything. I’m not getting the sense she had any helpers.”
“She didn’t, not that I can remember. But yes, definitely.”
Scarlet fished a business card out of her pocket for her textiles job back east and handed it to Melinda.
“Wonderful. You know, the only thing I think this place could’ve used?”
“What’s that?”
“Coffee. I am worn out by the time I pick these two up, and it would be so nice to just sort of zone out while they’re in story time—if you start up the shop again, I mean.”
“That’s a good idea.” Scarlet eyed an oddly arranged corner in the front part of the store. “I appreciate your input. I haven’t made a final decision yet.”
“I understand,” Melinda remarked. .”Just know that we aren’t the only ones who miss this place. The corkboard outside the minimart is full of requests for activities. A few options are listed, but people miss this shop. It was the all-in-one fun place to be.”
“I appreciate it.”
Melinda ushered her kids up the road toward a little blue and white house on the corner.
The rest of the week, people like Melinda stopped by to say hi and offer their ideas and condolences. Scarlet had never interacted so personably with so many strangers before. She had to remind herself that they basically all knew each other; the town was that small. But it was a nice change from the busy, rushed pace of city life. And Scarlet was starting to like it.