Chapter 11 #2
Cliff is the reason I was able to get a leg up in this industry at such a young age. He connected me with Mollie in Nashville, which led to me eventually opening up Lilith & Lace. I owe my career to the man, and I am eternally grateful.
“I love it. My mom is totally gonna kill me, but it’s worth it.
The kids are going to think it’s so funny,” Olive beams at her new tattoo while I wrap it up.
I’m impressed that she’s going to show it off in her classroom and not cover it up with long sleeves.
I didn’t think teachers could have visible tattoos, but it seems even the folks here in Fox Hole are getting with the times enough to know that ink doesn’t make you unemployable.
“Being an adult is pretty damn great sometimes, isn’t it?
” I wink. I get Olive settled with her care instructions and out the door, then head back to my station to clean up.
Delilah will be here any minute with Sadie, so I can pierce her ears.
We said she could pick any earrings she wants for her starter pair, but I already set aside a couple of purple gem sets I think my girl is going to go crazy for.
“How are you liking being back in town?” Cliff asks as I spray my chair with disinfectant.
“It’s been really fucking great, actually.”
The old man scoffs and I laugh.
“I’m serious. Everything is slower here, you know?
It’s a relief not to have my books stuffed full with egotistical wannabe country stars asking me to draw them a unique spin on cowboy boots and acoustic guitars against a wooden fence.
I like working through my flash sheets. I like only taking appointments when I feel like it.
And I’ve been thinking about working on some pointillism stuff since I have the time.
I want to expand beyond my usual neo-traditional style. ”
“Hey, I’m not complaining. It’s just that the Ivy I knew couldn’t get out of Fox Hole fast enough. I think there are still skid marks in the back parking lot leftover from the day you graduated high school.”
He’s not wrong, but nothing changes a person like time.
“Yeah, well, the Ivy you knew was an eighteen-year-old kid who wanted to see the world. I’m an adult now, Clifford.”
“Call me Clifford again and I’ll sic my wife on you.
She’ll rope you into a Monopoly tournament and you’ll never see the light of day again.
” I laugh, even though I know Cliff is a hundred percent serious.
His wife Rosalie is a board game czar and she refuses to lose.
She worked the front desk here back in the day and I’ve found myself at the business end of a never ending game of Scrabble on more than one occasion.
“So you’re not itching to get back to Nashville anytime soon? ”
I shrug. “Not really. I think I’m kind of over Nashville. Everyone has to come home at some point, right? What’s with the third degree, anyway?”
“I’m retiring.”
That stops me dead in my tracks. Cliff is The Inkwell. The two are synonymous, I didn’t think one could exist without the other.
“You’re not serious.”
“As a heart attack. My kid is having a kid, so Rosalie and I are moving to the Chicago ‘burbs to be closer to our family.”
Oh my god, Cliff is going to be the world’s cutest grandpa. I hope the kid calls him something like ‘Pee Paw’ or ‘Cheese Man’. But I keep that thought to myself for my own personal safety.
“Good for you, old man. But what does that have to do with me?”
“I want you to take over. Buy The Inkwell from me. Or, hell, just take it off my hands. I don’t need the money, but I need to know that my life’s work is left with someone who gives a damn.
I’ve gotten offers from all kinds of corporate blowhards who wanna turn the place into a Matcha Cocktail Ear Piercing Slash Sound Spa Oasis or some shit, but I always turn them down.
Figured I’d rather see the place close then become something it’s not.
But if you’re back for good, then I don’t gotta shut down. I can pass the torch.”
I stand there, frozen in time as his offer hangs between us like a promise.
“Cliff…that’s…I can’t…”
“I don’t need an answer right away, Ivy. Take some time. Talk it over with Delilah. I’m not making any moves until I know what you want to do. I know you turned me down before, but like you said. You’re a grownup now. Think it over.”
Cliff pats my shoulder as he passes me by, leaving me dumbstruck with a bottle of disinfectant in one hand and the weight of the world in the other.
It’s not the first time Cliff has brought this topic up with me, though he never flat out offered me the business.
When Grandma Millie passed away and I was here in town for the funeral and to settle her affairs, Cliff mentioned that I might one day use my inheritance to buy his shop.
The small fortune that Millie squirreled away her whole life before leaving to me was Fox Hole’s worst kept secret, so even though I was only twenty-two, he knew I was good for the funds.
Thirteen years ago, I’d laughed in Cliff’s face.
There was no way in hell I’d saddle myself to Fox Hole for anything.
Now? Now, I don’t know if I could imagine anything more perfect.
The bell over the door rings and a very excited Sadie comes bouncing in, ready for me to pierce her ears.
She’s followed by a very nervous-looking Delilah, not at all ready for me to pierce her daughter’s ears.
And while Sadie picks her earrings and sits bravely in the chair, I can’t stop thinking about all the milestones like this one the three of us—four, counting Little Bean—could have together if I take Cliff up on his offer.
It feels like the universe is setting me up for the easiest decision of my life, as long as I keep it to myself until Delilah settles whatever is going on in her head.