Chapter 23
23
“I’M READY TO STEEL MAGNOLIAS THIS BIRD.”
Julia lowered her coffee cup to the table, right next to her Nerf gun. “Fireworks are illegal to shoot privately in New Orleans. A lesson my mom learned the hard way.”
A long-withering sigh pushed from my lungs.
She patted my hand. “I’ll get you the contact info of the guy who removed the bats from my father-in-law’s house. He may be able to help.”
It was Friday evening, and Julia and I sat beneath the covered porch at the back of the café, indulging in our weekly carb binge. Normally we resided under the oak tree when dining outside. But normally, I didn’t have a merciless parrot with perfect aim wreaking havoc. That morning, when I’d brought Precious downstairs to do her business because Hayley had woken late, I’d done a double take at the courtyard.
Snow in New Orleans was something I’d only witnessed three times in my entire life. And during those instances, the white stuff had barely stuck to the ground, so I’d known I wasn’t walking into a winter wonderland. No, I was sidestepping poop landmines. Even the fountain and the table and its four chairs had been accosted. It’d taken all morning to hose and clean everything. To drain the fountain and fill it back up again.
Pouring salt into my wounds, I’d finally received word from the Small Business Administration. I hadn’t met the requirements for acquiring a loan. The value of Mawmaw’s mansion was a blessing in many ways, but a curse with grants and government loans since it counted against my business worth. I’d channeled my frustration into scrubbing every nook and cranny of the fountain and finalizing my next move.
But here and now, Julia and I caught up on our week, her delight over the developments with Micah clear.
She rested an elbow on the table. “It says a lot about Micah that he didn’t lead Sydney on. Plus, I don’t think you need to worry about feeling awkward around her. She didn’t give the impression they were serious.”
I scanned the trees.
“You know, for a woman in a new relationship, when everything’s supposed to be all exciting and fun, you seem to be on the subdued side.”
The beignets in my stomach churned at the oncoming conversation. “My SBA loan application was rejected.”
The lines marring her forehead disappeared, and she eased back in her chair. “I’m sure you’re disappointed, and I hate that for you, but I’m relieved. This entire endeavor, and how rushed it’s been, hasn’t sat right with me.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, studying the new freckle on my wrist. If only I had a dollar for every freckle on my body. It would be the gift that kept giving.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
I cut a quick glance from her to the table and to my lap, where I smoothed my napkin.
She straightened in her chair. “Spill it, sister.”
I straightened, matching her chutzpah. “I have a plan D.”
Her head tipped back with a groan.
“I’m not ready to wave the white flag.”
Crossing her arms, she stared me down with the same expression I’d seen her give her boys on multiple occasions, like when one of them had borrowed her car and returned it on empty. “If Ryan weren’t a factor, would you be this bent on this property?”
If I answered too hastily, her mom-glare would only continue. I pulled in a breath through my nose and squirmed in my seat. Would I still be pursuing the Vieux Carré Café if Ryan wasn’t involved? I thought back to when I’d first stood outside the place, waiting for Trisha, how mixed my feelings had been. Want versus need teeter-tottering in my gut. How those feelings had changed abruptly with Ryan’s appearance, my rear end thumping hard to the ground on the want side. Especially in light of this past week. “Ryan’s planning to copy Beignets & Books.”
Julia blanched. “Can he do that?”
“Pretty much. At least, to a certain extent. I caught him here Monday, conducting his own little research session. If he wins, he’ll have Claire’s dream location and be using her and Mawmaw’s recipes. Well, recreations of them.”
“That man is rotten.” A beat passed, her gaze turning reflective. “But if he doesn’t get the Vieux Carré Café, what’s to keep him from doing that anyway? Surly there are other properties out there.”
“Not in the French Quarter.”
She slid me her mom-look. “Aside from his lack of ethics, I can’t help but think this is your way of getting back at him for how he mistreated you.”
Heat flushed my skin, my hands balling into fists beneath the table. If only the Landry Mask worked with Julia. If only she didn’t know me so well. “Ryan is a part of the equation. There’s nothing I can do about that. Or him trying to copy my café. But the fact remains it’s still Claire’s dream location at stake.” My eyes stung. “I can do something about that.”
Empathy radiated in her steady eye contact, and her throat bobbed, as though she were choosing her words with care. “If Claire had remained on this earth longer, who’s to say her dream wouldn’t have shifted to another location? Or something else altogether? And wasn’t y’all’s carefully laid out plan to wait another six years before expanding?”
My chin trembled, and I slid my gaze away from hers, away from the truth she’d spoken. How many times had I stared at that plan, framed and hanging on the wall in my office? We’d given ourselves a five-year break after the courtyard renovation prior to another year of gearing up again.
“Have you been praying on this?” Gentleness layered her tone.
A dull ache began throbbing in my head. “Of course.”
“And listening for direction?”
“Yes.” I rested my elbows on the table, massaging my temples. “And I’m not hearing anything.”
“Maybe you need to give it more time.”
I dropped my hands. “I don’t have the luxury of time. There’s a countdown clock ticking over my head that ends July Fourth.”
“But it won’t end there.” Her voice brimmed with compassion and caution, matching her expression. “If you win what’s probably going to be a bidding war between you and Ryan, you’ll then be faced with the monumental project of opening another restaurant. Is that something you want to take on right now?”
The ache in my head amplified to pounding. What I needed was two Advil and a café au lait. With a shot of espresso.
“This doesn’t sit well with me.” Julia placed a palm to her chest. “It’s too hurried. Sometimes, I think the enemy wants us to rush-rush-rush. To stay busy and stressed, which leads to bad decisions.”
“But I don’t see anything wrong with doing everything I can for this opportunity. I may not even get the property.”
“True. I just don’t want all of your free time gobbled up again, especially when things have improved with Hayley.”
My heart clenched. Our relationship had gotten so much better the past month.
“And now you have Micah in the mix. How are you supposed to grow a relationship with him?”
“Micah and I are taking it slow.”
She tossed me a dubious glance. “So what’s plan D? Asking your parents for a loan?”
A slight weight lifted from my heart with the shift away from talking about the tender, personal areas of my life. “They were actually plan C, and they’d be the clean option. But I can’t do that. I couldn’t stand to be beholden to them.” Besides, after the luau there was no way Mama would invest.
“Then what are you going to do?”
I squared my shoulders, drawing on my reserves of strength. “It’s a two-pronged approach. I’m going to do a big push for booking special events, which means gaining security deposits, which in turn means solidifying incoming cash flow. I’m also putting together a solid business plan based on expanding locations and will begin looking for a silent partner.”
She touched the base of her neck, her head tipping sideways. “I wish you could peek inside my brain right now, at how hard it’s spinning.”
“It’s not going to be difficult, just time-consuming.”
She pulled another mom-face.
I shook my napkin out, a few powdered sugar remnants falling to the floor, and placed it atop our dirty dishes. “How are things going with your cleaning products?”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Real suave with the subject change.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“I’ll let it slide for now.” A smile tipped her lips, a glint igniting in her stare. “Nancy’s Naturals increased their last purchase order.”
Joy burst through me. “Of course they did!”
“And Wyatt is such a whiz with technology. He’s creating a website for me to test how online sales would be and that whole process.” Her face glowed with delight and possibility.
My heart swelled at how far she’d come in gaining confidence. “Ah! I love it!”
She laughed lightly. “You sound exactly like Samuel and the boys.”
“If you need help, let me know.”
“I will.” Her grin tapered, and she reached across the table, squeezing my hand. “I wouldn’t have made it to this point without you.” A sheen covered her eyes.
Emotion swept through me.
“Oh,” she straightened, blinking her unshed tears away, “Debbie, the woman you met at the crawfish boil, she’s decided to sell her elderberry syrup at the Crescent City Farmers Market.”
Sweet satisfaction curled in my chest. “That’s wonderful. I’d given her my card but hadn’t heard from her, so I was wondering.”
“She about died when she discovered all the legal stuff involved. The licenses and tax certificates.”
“And general liability insurance.”
Julia nodded. “I’m helping her with it as best I can.” She tucked her long brown hair behind her ear. “It makes me wonder how many people with a dream are overwhelmed by the legal and business items and give up like I had.” Her gaze, filling once again with emotion, held on mine. “Thankfully I had you.”
“Stop trying to make me cry.” I dabbed the corners of my eyes with my knuckles.
She chuckled and sniffled, wiping the tip of her nose with her napkin. “Sorry. It just has me wishing for a program to help people like me and Debbie. Something broken down. Like those F OR D UMMIES books. Except even more basic.”
“Like a how-to-get-started class.”
“Yes! Because that first step is super intimidating.”
The notion quickly took root, little shoots of possibility sprouting. “The first session could be people talking about their ideas.”
“Brilliant!” She scooted to the edge of her seat. “Goodness knows it was hard for me just to talk about my cleaning products. I felt so inadequate.”
“It could be something like a business-idea support group.”
Julia’s eyes rounded, and her head bobbed. “That would’ve been so helpful to me all those years ago.”
Different class topics bloomed through my brain, my pulse picking up. “And how much fun would it be to use your products as an example? A real-life success story to infuse true encouragement.”
She stilled, her mouth forming in the shape of an O. “That’s even better. See? This is why you’d be so good at heading up a program like this.”
Reality dropped like a guillotine, severing the path my mind barreled down. My spine wilted. “I don’t have time for something like that, especially not now.” My scampering heartbeat slowed, and I picked at the coral fingernail polish on my thumb. “It’s a great idea.” I peered at Julia. “What if you did it? You could use the courtyard as a place to gather.”
She scoffed. “I’d be in the class as a student. You’re the one with the know-how.” She perked. “What if you charged people to attend? And offered an online version? You could put that money toward the new restaurant.”
I shook my head with a weak smile. “It’d take too long to pull something like that together. I’d need a legit curriculum to charge people, and that would take time and resources. Plus, people may not show up. It’s too risky right now with the July deadline I’m on.” I brushed the specks of nail polish from my lap. “At least Debbie has you. And please remind her I’m only a call away.”
“I will.” The excitement from her voice had plunged, along with her expression. “And I understand. Maybe someday when things slow down again for you.”
A chasm of emptiness opened between that possibility and reality. I rubbed the Crease. If I did purchase the Vieux Carré Café, that would be a really faraway someday.