40. Millie
CHAPTER 40
Millie
B etween preparation for the spring festival, fitting in time to hang out with Will, and figuring out what to do with my event business, the last month has been busy. Somehow today is already April 11th, and tomorrow is the spring festival.
Family dinner is tonight, so it’ll be good to sit and take a break for once. Will is meeting me there because he’s bringing his grandpa.
One of my favorite things about our family dinner at the ranch is how much it has grown over the years. Will has always been there, but he was always there because of Jeremy. Now, he’s there with me.
Once Jere and I made other friends, my parents had to buy a new table to fit everyone. With Grant, Flo, Ava, and Riley joining us almost every time, in addition to the five of us who were there before, we didn’t have the space.
I’ll never forget asking Mom if I could invite friends from school. Jeremy complained I had more friends over than he did, so he invited Grant.
And that’s how it’s been ever since .
It’s one tradition I never want to lose, regardless of how busy any of us are. It’s one (or two) nights a month when we stop working and spend time with each other. For some of us, it’s the only time we get to see each other in person. Lately, that’s been especially true for me.
Tonight is special because it’s the last Sunday Florence will be there before she journeys to Norway. She will be gone for three months, but we’re still sad to see her leave. It’s not the worst time difference, so we plan to schedule group FaceTime calls, but it’ll be weird to not have her in town.
So, I decided to make her favorite chocolate chip cookies tonight. It’s the only thing I bake. I’m the flower person. I leave the baking to Miss Jane, or literally anyone else. But for some reason, everyone loves these cookies.
Jeremy beats me to the ranch by a minute. He’s getting out of his truck when I pull in next to him.
“Hi, Mills,” he greets as I step out of the car.
I wave. “Hi, Jere.” The cookies are on the floor of the back seat, so I grab those before I walk over to give him a hug.
“Cookies? You know it’s not my birthday anymore, right?” Jeremy says. I have to slap his hand away as he tries to steal one. We aren’t even inside yet.
“These are for Flo, Jere. Stay away.”
“You’re not sharing?”
“I am, but later. I’m not going to let you eat them all.”
“Fair point.” He shrugs and chuckles. “Where’s William?”
“On his way.” We walk toward the front of the ranch.
“So, you two are official now?”
I stop in my tracks. “What do you mean?”
Jeremy backtracks and loops his hand through my arm, pulling me along. I roll my eyes but oblige, letting him drag me the rest of the way to the house.
“I’m not dumb, sis. I knew you two weren’t together.”
“Mm, I don’t know what you’re talking about. ”
“I’m happy for you, okay. I can tell. He’s my best friend, you’re my sister.”
My jaw drops. “I’m not your best friend?”
He unloops his hand from my arm to open the front door. “Nope.”
I chuckle. “Well, yes. He’s moving into my house in a few weeks.”
“Figures. That man has been in love with you for the longest time. He tried to hide it, but once someone asks about your sister all the time, it becomes suspicious.”
Picturing Will asking Jeremy about me is funny because I didn’t hear them talk about girls often. It makes me want to ask more questions, like when he asked about me and what he asked. Was it when he was in the city? Or was it when he came to visit and saw me?
I don’t have enough time to dwell on it because Mom hollers my name from the kitchen, so I put a pin in the topic for later. Jeremy gives me two thumbs up, his version of “good luck,” because Mom will likely rope me in for some kitchen duty since I’m one of the first ones here. Meanwhile, he will sneak somewhere and hide. Oh, the joys of being the oldest.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Kristie.” I wave at them both and place the cookies on the counter.
Kristie lifts her hand to say hello, but she’s in the middle of reading a book.
“Did you need something?” I ask Mom.
“Yes, I accidentally took mail home from the shop yesterday but knew I was going to see you today.”
“Oh, amazing.”
Mom grabs an envelope from the opposite counter and hands it to me.
“Something for your business?” she asks.
“I decided to register a separate LLC for it and go for it.”
“That makes sense. What made you decide that? ”
“Kristie told me she’s able to work more hours.”
Kristie throws a thumbs up but still doesn’t talk. I don’t blame her though. When I’m lost in a book, I don’t want to be bothered either. “And I thought it might be good to have them be separate businesses. So, one for Rose & Ivy and one for my event business.” I open the letter to find the business number needed to order wholesale for events. For being a small town, it’s nice to be able to order things for clients if they need. And I have all of this for the flower business, but I wanted things to be separate.
My first love will always be the wildflower field outside the ranch. And I still plan to grow that business, offer classes, things like that, but now I’ll have more help. Mom still helps part time, and with Kristie being able to work more shifts, I’ll have more time for the admin side of both businesses.
And of course, the many task lists that I will need to make to stay on top of both of them.
Will has offered to hold me accountable, especially with him wanting to change things at the record store if all goes well. He made me promise that I wouldn’t ask my dad for updates every day about the grant money because he knows as much as I do, and he wouldn’t be able to tell me anything anyway.
We will find out about the decision for the grant money on the same day as the spring festival, because for some reason they thought it would be a good idea to announce the grant winners to the entire town. I believe everyone will get at least some money because there aren’t that many small businesses in town that either want to grow or are in debt like Will, but it’s still an interesting choice.
When Will told me he was informed they were announcing the board’s decision that day, I almost didn’t want to accept it. I didn’t want the day that we have been working toward for two months to be a negative memory if things don’t work out. But Will reassured me that it wouldn’t, regardless of what happens. He made a good argument that the reason why they wanted to announce it that day was because they wanted to show how the town comes together and how everyone supports one another.
And if there’s anything I’m always for, it’s supporting others.
I’ve had everyone in Willow Pines support me and my business. From the weekly orders for flowers to using me for an event, there’s never been a month that I’ve worried if I’d make it. If I ever complained about being in the red, somehow the entire store would be full of people the next day.
“I’m so proud of you Millie,” Mom says, giving me a hug.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Laughter reaches the kitchen. The others have arrived.
Florence, Ava, and Riley come barreling through the hall, attacking me with a hug.
“You made cookies!” Florence exclaims, already shoveling one in her mouth. To be fair, I made them for her, so I’m not mad.
“You’re leaving us, so I figured it was a good excuse to bake,” I say.
“I’m not leaving you forever,” Flo mumbles through her bites of cookie. “I think your boy toy is here.” She tilts her head toward the door frame leading out to the hallway.
And sure enough, Will comes in a moment later, holding a bottle of wine. His grandpa walks in behind him, going straight to Kristie to say hello.
“Hi, love,” Will says and kisses me.
“Hi.” I press my lips together in a half-hearted smile.
He wraps his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. I lay my head on his chest.
This is normal. Us, here, with everyone around us. No one bats an eye at us either, which they would always do whenever someone would bring a plus one to dinner. When someone new is here, they would be bombarded with questions and we would all act differently.
That doesn’t happen with us because Will is already family.