Chapter 13
Claire picked up the keys to the shop on Monday morning.
Getting the store set up was a group effort.
Rachel had volunteered her husband and his truck to help them move the display cases and chairs into the shop after work.
Over the next few days, Claire, Marsha, and Lily packed up all the bags and shoes and brought them to the shop.
Lily helped arrange everything in the display cases.
Claire wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted the shop hours to be and figured she’d start with a shorter window, maybe eleven to three, and then stay open longer once people knew she was there.
She figured for the first few days, she’d bring her laptop and keep busy reading if the shop was slow—which she fully expected it to be, especially this time of year.
On her way in that first Friday, she picked up a bouquet of flowers at the market and brought one of her mother’s glass vases. She also stopped at the Corner Table for a coffee to go and arrived at the shop a few minutes before eleven.
Claire filled the vase with water, arranged the fresh flowers in it, and set them on the checkout desk.
She took a sip of her coffee, then set it down and walked around the room, checking to make sure everything was displayed the way she wanted it.
Cody poked his head in to say a quick hello and then disappeared just as quickly as chimes indicated a customer walked through his door.
The store really did look lovely. Sunlight shone through the big bay windows and put a nice spotlight on several of her prettiest Hermès and Chanel bags, which were carefully arranged with silk scarves in contrasting colors draped around them.
She also had a good bottle of champagne nearby with two exquisite hand-blown crystal flutes, which were inlaid with ocean blue swirls that looked like waves.
They’d stopped Claire short when she’d seen them in a gallery off Main Street.
She’d been window-shopping by herself one day and paying attention to how other shops organized their wares.
It had been early in the day, and the shop wasn’t busy yet, so she’d gotten to chatting with the woman at the register when she’d bought a set of four glasses to give to Marsha for her upcoming birthday. “These are just so stunning. I saw them in the window and had to come in.”
The woman looked pleased to hear it. It turned out she was also the glassblower. Claire told her she was going to be opening a shop soon, and as they chatted for a few more minutes, she got the idea to put some of the glasses in her display.
“I’d like two more glasses actually.” Claire explained what she was going to do with them, and the woman looked thoughtful.
“If you put them in your window, you might find people asking to buy them. I’m happy to give you my wholesale discount if you’d like to order a dozen of them. That’s my minimum order for wholesale,” she explained.
Claire didn’t have to think about it. “Let’s do it.”
The glasses weren’t terribly expensive, and since she’d gotten them at half price, if they didn’t sell, she could keep some and give some as holiday gifts.
She had a feeling the woman was right though.
The glasses looked beautiful in the window display as the sun streamed through and sent beams of color across the nearby white walls.
Claire had a feeling they might sell well.
It had occurred to her that it might be smart to have some inexpensive items available for sale, as most people who strolled into the shop were unlikely to purchase an expensive designer bag on the spot.
She was waiting for more items to come in, but so far, she also had some cute basic sunglasses and some gorgeous candles that were made locally with all organic ingredients.
The scents were pretty, like freshly washed linen, green apple, cinnamon, and white floral.
What had attracted Claire, though, was that the glass surrounding the candles was brushed to resemble the soft look of sea glass in ocean shades of blue, green, and gray.
Claire flipped the handmade wooden sign on the door from Closed to Open.
She then settled into her seat, opened her laptop, and sipped her coffee, which had cooled just enough to drink easily.
She spent the next hour surfing the internet and glancing at the occasional person walking by.
A few had stopped to take a closer look at her window display, but none had ventured inside.
She knew it was still quiet on the island though.
A lot of shops and restaurants hadn’t even opened for the season yet.
She had a twinge of doubt, wondering if maybe she should have waited another month to do her experiment, when there were more people shopping.
But she reminded herself that there were still plenty of people on Nantucket who could afford to buy her bags, and she’d be introduced to hundreds of them the following night at the country club gala.
She hoped that some of them might stop in after that, hopefully for her grand opening.
She knew Rachel was excited for it. She’d had plenty of suggestions for what to do.
“Definitely have some good champagne. And a few tasty nibbles. Make them decadent and fattening. That way, they will just have small amounts. Oh, and have a vegetable tray. Those are hardly ever touched, but they look nice and healthy.”
Claire had laughed but agreed. “I’ll make my caramelized onion dip.
That’s always a hit. Maybe I’ll get some caviar too, with all the side accompaniments, the little blini pancakes, chopped egg, and onion.
Crème fra?che and plenty of potato chips.
Some people prefer that if they’re off gluten. Maybe some shrimp cocktail too?”
Rachel had nodded. “Get it at Trattel’s. Theirs is the best. I’d get a few pounds and just keep refilling the plate. There probably won’t be leftovers, but if there are, they won’t last long.”
“Right. Maybe some fudgy brownies for dessert. That always goes well with champagne too.”
“That sounds perfect. I can’t wait. It will be a fun way to celebrate your new business.” Rachel had sounded so positive, which Claire appreciated.
She was still nervous though. “You’re sure people will come?”
“I’m certain they will. Mention it when you meet people tomorrow night, and I’m sure Jenna will spread the word, and I will too.” Rachel had grinned. “It’s something to do on a Wednesday night.”
Claire smiled and appreciated Rachel’s enthusiasm.
She hoped she was right. She was a little nervous about the event tomorrow night.
She hadn’t seen most of these women since the last time she’d been back to the island, before everything happened with Ellis.
She wondered how many of them knew she was pregnant and going through a divorce.
She knew how fast word often spread. She didn’t mind people knowing; she just wasn’t sure what the vibe would be like, especially now that she was also trying to open a business.
Would they be excited for her? Or look down their noses at someone who was selling off her expensive items?
Intellectually she knew not to let other people’s snobbery bother her.
But that was easier said than done. She also didn’t want people feeling sorry for her.
So she just didn’t really know what she was walking into.
But she hoped that most would be supportive, and more importantly, she hoped they’d support the store and stop in soon.
Marsha had raised her eyebrows when Claire had told her she’d donated a three-thousand-dollar purse for the silent auction.
She knew that sounded excessive. But she also knew that if she advertised, that would be expensive, and giving away a beautiful bag was possibly the best advertising, as it would reach her exact target market.
She sipped her coffee and continued her internet research to see what other similar shops sold as smaller items. Realistically she knew she was unlikely to sell a bag a day or even a week.
She hoped for one a month or at a minimum every other month.
But maybe there were smaller items that might sell more often?
An hour passed without a single person coming into the shop. Claire was disappointed but tried not to show it when Cody popped in a few minutes past noon to ask how things were going.
“It’s slow, but I expected that.” Claire smiled and tried to resonate calm and confidence. She’d heard the chimes of Cody’s shop ring out steadily and had hoped some of those visitors might stop in out of curiosity. But maybe people looking to buy furniture weren’t her target audience.
“It will pick up once people know you’re here. I’m going to go grab some sandwiches. Can I get one for you?”
Claire hadn’t thought that far ahead. She should have brought a sandwich or at least a snack. She was about to refuse gracefully when her stomach rumbled so loudly that they both laughed.
“I’ll take a turkey sandwich if it’s not too much trouble?” She reached into her wallet for cash, and Cody waved it away.
“Your money’s no good today. My treat. Consider it a welcome lunch.”
“Thank you.” She made a mental note to remember to bring two sandwiches tomorrow. One for each of them.
Cody put a Back in Ten Minutes sign on his door, locked it, and went off to get their lunch. When he returned, there were several people waiting outside his shop. He let them in and dropped off Claire’s sandwich along with a bag of chips.
She’d just taken her first bite when her front door opened and her first potential customers walked in. Claire put her sandwich down and hid it behind her open laptop.
Two women about Claire’s mother’s age stepped into the shop and looked around curiously. Claire caught their eyes and smiled. “Welcome. Please look around and let me know if I can be of any help.”
“Did you just open?” one of the women asked.
“Yes, just today actually.”