33. Need Some Muscle
THIRTY-THREE
Need Some Muscle
TARA
With John firmly ensconced upstairs in Steve’s apartment with his first few boxes of belongings, Tara returned to the shop. John was probably already setting up his PlayStation, Tara thought as she made her way to the top floor to retrieve a few of the boxes of treasures she found during her exploration the other day..
She set the last box down with a grunt, ignoring the text alert coming from her phone. The stockroom had plenty of space for a small handful of boxes full of old ledgers, pictures, and other delights, but this box was of special interest. What’s one more box, right?
She reached inside and pulled out a small envelope. With a smile, she opened it up to find pictures of her grandparents and parents from when she was a young girl.
She stood up, placed her hand on her back, and leaned back in a quick stretch. Not enough, she folded her arms across her chest, then folded her body in half to work out all the kinks. Her back popped a few times as she leaned forward. With a slight turn to each side, she loosened her muscles. Then, she placed her palms on the floor and lifted her toes to stretch her leg muscles while she was at it.
The only challenge left was standing back up.
Just one more box? Ha! She was feeling it now. Next time, she’d get some help from others to do the literal heavy lifting.
Standing up, she blinked through a slight head rush, then turned her attention back to the box of photos. Her phone beeped again, so she pulled it out of her pocket to check her messages.
Her stomach dropped the moment she read the name on the screen.
Ethan.
Ethan: Hey Tara
Ethan: I miss u
Ethan: I know u miss me, too.
Ethan: We both made mistakes, but I’ll take u back.
Tara couldn’t believe her eyes. “You’ll take me back?” Tara huffed out. “Wow.” She silenced her phone and shoved it back in her pocket.
Beside the envelope full of pictures, the box was a veritable treasure trove of family pictures from a bygone era, none of which she’d ever seen before. She already planned on hanging a few up behind the front counter. Still, since many pictures of the building were taken throughout the years, she figured they would look great on the wall, at least temporarily, in the next storefront space as added decor during the Ohio Author’s event.
“Ohio Author’s event,” she muttered as she picked up a second box of pictures. “I need to think of a better name for that.”
Tara started sorting pictures of her grandparents and great-grandparents, all taken in front of the store. She grabbed a handful to get enlarged and placed them all in a large envelope. She could drop these off at the town’s last remaining photography studio on her way home and pick them up tomorrow or the day after for framing.
With the fun part of her day over, it was time to hunker down and get to work on the shop’s finances.
With her brows knitted together, Tara pored over the receipts for the last month to learn which days did best and which needed additional help to bring in more customers. Okay, fine. Every day needed help bringing customers in, but she hoped to start with specific days to target.
The shop itself was holding up, but it barely seemed to make ends meet. She learned her dad dug into their savings last year to make sure they paid all the bills after one of their office tenants moved out. Once in a while as a temporary means of getting by is one thing, but it wasn’t sustainable for the long term. They needed to bring in new business tenants or make some tough decisions.
Shutting down the computer with a sigh, Tara picked up the invitations she printed off for the gathering of the new women’s association they hoped to start up. She’d deliver those and then head to the fire station.
Not above a bit of bribery, Tara delivered the invitations for the new business association. She dropped the last one at the Gabi’s Gift Shop located next door to the fire station then took a deep breath before opening the glass double doors leading to the firefighters lounge.