10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Willow the Wise
SAL
Early the next morning, Sal called Willow before stopping over at her café. “Hey, let’s have breakfast,” she proposed.
“Sure. You know I’m here anyway,” Willow responded.
When Sal arrived at the café half an hour later, Willow immediately gave her a look of concern. Deep creases formed in the middle of her brow as she frowned. “Woah. What’s been keeping you up at night?” she asked. Was it that obvious that she stayed up all night after making love to Rafa?
“I’ll tell you over a long black this morning,” Sal said as she removed her coat, sat down, and buried her face in her hands
Willow remained silent and gingerly offered Sal her order. “Here.” She slid the cup across the table. Sal took a slow and languid sip, properly appreciating it. Willow always brewed an excellent long black. “Feel better?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Sal exhaled. She stared into her coffee mug for a bit and summoned the courage to speak. Then she finally said, “Willow, I need you to do me a huge favor.”
“What do you need?”
“Can you come with me to the Philippines? Rafa can’t go.”
Willow breathed in. “For a holiday?”
Sal shook her head and took one more sip of coffee.
Over breakfast, Willow found out about Harmon, Autumn Town, the wager, and how things were tighter than ever now that the sale of the paintings was canceled.
By the time Sal finished, Willow had already made her own coffee and finished half.
She had a pensive look to her, and Sal couldn’t help but ask, “What are you thinking?”
Willow let out an embarrassed smile. “Oh…” she said as though surprised, “I was just wondering when I last went on an adventure. I’m sorry, I know it’s insensitive; you have a lot on your plate.” She sighed.
“No, it’s not, really. When was the last time?” Sal indulged her.
Willow traced the lip of her mug. “It’s been eight years since I returned from Ireland and set up Willow’s Web.” Willow’s face lit up when she spoke about her café. “I was super determined to make sure this place thrived. Here I am, years later.”
Sal smiled affectionately. It felt comforting to hear someone else share their love for a business they felt passionate about.
If anything bad happened to Willow’s Web, she’d do everything to keep it running too.
It was more than just her nest egg; Willow’s Web was a symbol of who she was.
That’s why Sal knew Willow of all people would understand why she had to go for Autumn Town.
Over the years, Sal would listen to Willow share how she lovingly chose and worked on every varnished wooden plank, polished table, and hanging lamp with her own two hands. She knew what it meant to have one’s soul attached to something they’d built.
Willow took one more sip of her coffee and said, “I think I’ve carried Willow’s Web long enough through her infancy.
” She ran a hand along the smooth wooden table, as though she was talking about her café like it was her child.
“She’ll be fine without me. I’ve got good people here who can take over.
Besides, I’ve never been to the Philippines—this would be fun. ” She beamed.
Sal let out a grateful, relieved smile in response.
“How long will we be away, then?” Willow said, not giving Sal enough time to say thank you.
“Two months,” Sal replied. “Harmon will shoulder the airplane tickets, but we’re pretty much on our own from there.”
By the time Sal had explained everything, Willow looked more decided on going with her.
“So to summarize…” she said while picking up a pastry and munching on it, “You agreed to a wager with the hot snob from the art show, Harmon—a plot twist nobody saw coming.” She raised her eyebrows.
“And you’re supposed to scout for museums with the guy, and make an art show that’s supposed to be better than his, even if he’s the best at it.
” She took another bite of her pastry. “And win.”
Sal gave a tight smile. “It wasn’t the best decision…” she said, leaning back.
“You think?” she said with a light laugh. “But like, how do you win?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sal shrugged. “The person who meets a minimum threshold for sales, most crowd turnout, and higher critique score will win.” She had oversimplified it, but that was the gist of how she could beat him. As long as she beat him in at least two of the three conditions, she could keep Autumn Town.
Willow lit up when Sal explained this. “Sounds like a challenge!” she said, pulling back her big mass of hair into a half-pony, as though showing that she was about to work at her café again and that the conversation was settled.
But Willow stayed at her seat and leaned forward, looking more eager than a few minutes ago.
“I’ll ask one of my staff to handle the café while I’m gone,” Willow said. “But then, what about Autumn Town?”
“Oh, I had a talk with Auden yesterday. She agreed to do her internship there while we’re away. She says it would look good on her résumé,” Sal replied.
“And the issue with the money?” Willow raised her eyebrows. That was the most urgent thing surrounding Autumn Town. Autumn Town was breaking even, but Sal was not liquid enough to account for any unforeseen circumstances.
Sal pursed her lips. “I can use up whatever is left of Claire’s inheritance for our Philippines project, but after this, we’ll really be in the red.”
She had hoped that the exhibit featuring the Art Cards from Nowhere would finally give them some wiggle room, but that was all water under the bridge now.
There were sales from Claire’s sculptures and the art students’ paintings, but it was barely enough to cover anything major.
If she didn’t make enough money, and soon, running Autumn Town would put them in the red, and eventually, she would have to sell it, or close it down. Just the thought of it vexed her.
Sal finished up her breakfast plate with her usual favorite bacon toastie, and then said, “We agreed on the itinerary after the mediation…if that’s what you call it. We’ll be visiting some museums in major cities in the Philippines.”
Willow clasped her hands together while containing an excited grin. “Okay then, looks like we have a plan,” she said more joyfully than Sal expected. “But you’re missing one crucial bit that turns this wager in your favor.”
Sal frowned, amused. “What am I missing?”
“You’re doing this at your home court, the Philippines, and I’ve been dying to go on a holiday with you there,” Willow said with a huge smile on her face.
Sal laughed. “Will, this will not be a holiday though,” she said affectionately.
“I’ll treat it as such while activating the best friend card,” Willow replied. “And by the looks of it, you’ll need all the help you can get.”
Sal noticed a couple of locals approaching the café; seeing as the morning rush was about to start. Willow tapped her hand and squeezed it. “It’s going to be okay,” she said before the next slew of customers arrived.
Maybe Willow was right; maybe it was all going to be all right. Something inside Sal felt nervous about it though. St. Stephenshire was her home now; could she really go back to the Philippines and win against Harmon? The only way she would know is if she took the chance, and so she would.