Chapter 3
Courtney – POV?
Helen was officially the sweetest woman I had ever met.
Apparently, Ava and I looked terrible because she took one look at us and immediately whisked us away to one of the suite rooms and told us to get clean, relax and she would be back with some sandwiches and drinks before too long.
“Don’t worry about it, my dear,” she waved her hand when I told her we could at least get signed in and pay for the room, “I know where you’re staying,” she said with a wink and a smile then left the room in a flurry of pastel pink and white.
True to her word, she was back with a trolley tray of delicious sandwiches, little bowls of fruit, a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and ice-cold drinks.
“So, dearie,” she smiled at Ava, who was sitting quietly watching Trolls on her iPad. “What brings you here?”
I chuckle, “a man on a horse.”
She let out a snort that turned into giggles. “Ah, I see you met Hunter then. He is a good boy. A family friend and town troublemaker.” She wagged her finger at me, “don’t let his sweet looks fool you.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” I tell her, grabbing another sandwich, “we just moved here, and I have absolutely no desire to get into trouble … at least, into any more trouble.”
“Oh?”
I looked at Helen, with her wheat blonde hair tied up in a messing bun, her long flowing pink and white dress, she truly fit the part of Victorian Innkeeper, but there was something else about her, something that radiated friendliness and understanding.
So, I told her what I did.
Buying a property, sight unseen besides some photos, only to realize that I had been swindled and the place looked nothing like the pictures.
I explained that we had moved from several states away, and we desperately needed a new start and how I hoped that buying the house would be it, but with all the repairs and the general work that needed to be done, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get it done before winter.
She listened without interruptions, just letting me talk it all out, which I appreciated as my only companion for the past year had been Ava. Not exactly the best sounding board or wealth of advice, besides ‘eat a sweet, it makes the saddies go away.’
“Hmm, it sounds like you bought old man Kruger’s place.”
“Kruger?” I grimaced, “Lord, I hope his first name wasn’t Freddy.”
She laughed loudly, “no, dearie, it was Wallace, Wallace Kruger.
He was a grumpy old man, but he loved that house and his family.
His two boys went off to war and well, they never made it back.
It devastated him and his wife from what I was told but soon after they had a girl and she became their whole world.
“Years passed and when his wife got sick and passed, he didn’t have it in him to keep up the house. He went to live with his daughter, and the house was left alone for years. There were rumors that her grandson was trying to sell it, but no one knew for certain.”
“I guess he couldn’t sell it to anyone local because they would see the state of the property and run for the hills. Instead, he sold it to a schmuck that lived miles away.”
“Oh, hush now,” she scolded, as she picked up the dirty plates and loaded the trolley. “Do not say that about yourself. You moved forward with the information you had and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the best things in life come from unexpected choices.”
I moved around the table, helping her clean up as I thought about what she said. It was true that after walking through the house, thinking about the property, a sense of ‘rightness’ was there forming in the pit of my chest, like this was the place we were meant to be.
If I could just see things through to the end, then this could be our fresh start.
Our adventure.
“If I ignore the daunting thought of money, I can honestly say that I am excited about the place. It has so much potential to be exactly what I was looking for, so that is a major plus.”
Helen clapped her hands, “I knew it! I knew you had to have loved the place.”
I looked at her confused. “Oh sweetheart, if you were really devastated by it, you would be balling your eyes out.”
“True,” I said. “Helen?”
“Yes, dear.”
“I’d like to rent this room for a while,” I smiled at her, “and if you could point me in the direction of a bookstore. I need to get some sketchpads and pencils.”
She squealed like a little girl, “absolutely!”
“Come on, Ava baby,” I called out, pulling her shoes out of one of the bags. “We are going to the bookstore.”
“Yeah!”
After signing some paperwork, Helen convinced us to walk to the bookstore called ‘There Once Was,’ and stop at ‘Sugar-Candy Bakery,’ the place that made the delicious chocolate chip cookies we ate for lunch. She said it had plenty of space that I could lay out a sketch book and work.
After stopping at the bookstore and getting lost for too long, I managed to find a few sketch books, colored pencils and two novels, while Ava got a coloring book and crayons and three books.
We strolled down the streets that were lined with black gaslit lanterns that had hanging flower baskets decorating the stands. There were plenty of benches along the way for people to stop and relax or like most, have conversations with friends.
Everyone so far has been extremely nice and welcoming. Inviting us to come inside their shops to browse but really to introduce themselves and welcome us to the town.
Ava loved it. She was always happy to meet new people, but everyone kept giving her stuff, so she was over the moon.
She got a cute little bookmark from the bookstore.
A round badge that said ‘super star’ on it that flower shop lady pinned on her shirt.
A pink hammer from the grizzly old man from the hardware store, who turned cherry red when Ava kissed him on the cheek and declared that the hammer was the best thing ever.
I was afraid to go into any more stores, because our bags were getting heavier and now that we walked quite a ways, I’d be the one carrying everything.
But it was totally worth it to see her smile and to experience the town of Once Again.
We finally made it to Sugar-Candy Bakery, and it did not disappoint.
The entire inside looked like it was a converted barn, with wooden walls, barn doors and low lighting that just begged for someone to sit and relax.
And we did. Ava spotted a table in the back that was large enough for us to spread out near the window so we could watch the towns people go about their day and have an incredible view of Mt Happily After.
“Well, aren’t you the cutest thing ever.”
Startled, I looked up to see a young woman, maybe my age, standing close to our table, wearing a dress with so many layers and frills, she looked like a doll.
Ava’s big hazel eyes took in the newcomer, before she smiled big. “Thank you! I’s like your bow!”
Looking up at the stranger, she did indeed have a bow on her head, which matched well with her ‘Lolita-style’ outfit.
“Aah! Thank you, I made it myself.” She dropped into a curtsy, “my name is Mako.”
Ava sat up straighter, “my name is Ava baby and this is my Coco.”
Mako looked at me with a smile pinching her lips. I chuckled. “Actually, your name is Ava and mine is Courtney. It’s nice to meet you, Mako.”
Ava looked confused, her little eyebrows were drawn down tightly, but Mako interrupted whatever she was going to say. “Would the two of you like something to eat or drink? I can recommend some yummy stuff.”
Ava giggled, “yummy for my tummy,” she said as she hopped off her seat and followed Mako. Having no choice, I went after them to see Mako, crouched down and pointed out all the deserts to Ava.
We ordered some veggie rolls, bread with different types of spread and of course, some yummy deserts, and Mako sat down with us and told us about herself, how she was a tough military brat but when her father was stationed in Japan,
she found herself surrounded by girls that actually acted like girls, and wanted that for herself, thus the cutesy, feminine Lolita-style.
It worked for her. She was petite, so the clothes made her look like a walking doll. Not something I could ever hope to pull off. I was average but with curves … a lot of curves.
According to Ava, I was squishy and fluffy.
We spoke for a while more and promised to meet again soon, exchanging phone numbers as Mako had to get back to work at the flower shop where she was in charge of making the bouquets and flower arrangements.
Everyone was so nice and kind, it already felt like home.
I left Ava to her coloring book as I pulled out a notebook and made a list of all the things I wanted to get done with the property and made some sketches of what I hoped the inside would look like as well as the outside garden spaces.
Hours flew by and although I could still work, I could see Ava was drooping. It had been an eventful day, and I’m surprised she lasted this long.
“Okay, sweet pea, lets clean up then we will head back to our room.”
She perked up a little bit, but I knew as soon as I got her ready for bed, she’d be out like a light.
We cleaned up our table and started to pack up our stuff. Ava was meticulous in getting her crayons just right in the box, and packing her books carefully back into her bag, along with her special hammer that she had out while coloring.
I managed to get everything back into my bags, along with a few other gifts that people had given Ava, consolidating as much as I could.
Mental note: get a bookbag.
I really liked the idea of walking around and visiting stores but trying to carry everything was not going to be feasible, but if I had a bookbag it would make things better.
I was making a mental list of the things I wanted to do tomorrow; grab my camera and go back to the property to take pictures of each room, get measurements and make notes of what I could see to be the problem areas.
I wanted to see how bad the decking was and if any of it was salvageable or maybe if I could save some of the wood pieces.
Then there was the problem with the grass. I didn’t have any lawn equipment, nor did I want to buy any right now, but maybe I could get a weed-eater, even though I wasn’t confident it would be strong enough to cut through the tall grass.
Sighing, I saw Ava head towards the door, when Stella, the owner of the bakery called out, “oh Courtney.”
I turned back to see that she had leaned over the counter, holding a small brown bag. “Here are some left over cookies and bread. Why don’t you take these so you two have something to munch on later.”
“Oh, wow, thank you so much,” I moved back to grab the kind gift.
“Think nothing of it, dear. We are happy to see new faces here in town.”
“It’s a little surreal and unnerving how nice everyone is,” I said as I tried to find space in my bag to put the food. “I’m kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know.”
Her face crinkled in a smile, “I know the feeling, but most people don’t move to such a small town without their reasons, and everyone here has had their reasons. We all understand and just want each newcomer to feel like part of the family,” she said as she patted my hand.
I was unprepared for the wave of emotions that threatened to spill out and it took me several minutes to get myself back under control.
“Oh my,” Stella’s concerned voice brought me back to the present. “Don’t know many people who would have a standoff with that man.”
Confused, I looked out the glass front and saw my little four-year-old Ava baby pointing her finger at quite possibly the largest man I had ever seen.