Chapter 15 #3
Claire was discouraged when the shop was painfully slow the next day.
She’d hoped that some of the people who’d attended the opening the night before might come back ready to buy, but it was actually her slowest day so far.
She sold one pair of sunglasses and a paperweight.
Friday wasn’t much better, and she was feeling downright sorry for herself when lunchtime rolled around.
She decided to put up a Temporarily Closed sign and go pick up a sandwich at the Corner Table.
She stopped into Cody’s shop to see if he wanted her to pick him up one as well, but he already had a half-eaten sandwich on a paper plate by his register.
She could see he was busy with a customer, so she just waved and headed out.
It was nice to stretch her legs and walk the short distance to the Corner Table.
It was a gorgeous day. The warm sun felt good on her face as she walked.
There was a light breeze, and she caught a whiff of the salty ocean.
That was one thing she loved about Nantucket—no matter where she was on the island, if the wind was right, she could smell the ocean.
She stood in line once she arrived and contemplated the day’s specials.
There were quite a few people from Jamaica on Nantucket, and their influence was found in today’s soup special, a Jamaican chicken stew.
That sounded good to Claire. She ordered a bowl of the stew and a crusty baguette and butter on the side.
She headed back to the shop, flipped the sign back to Open, and settled at her desk. The soup was hot and savory, and it hit the spot. Cody popped in a few minutes later.
“That smells good. A lady stopped into the store looking for you. I told her you’d be back in a few minutes.”
“Thanks. Figures it’s been dead all morning, and the minute I leave, someone comes in.”
He grinned. “I think she’ll be back. She said she was at your opening the other night.”
“Oh good!” Claire hoped so. She hated to think she might have missed an opportunity for a sale.
An hour passed, and no one came in. Claire yawned. It was a little past two, and she was feeling sleepy earlier than usual. It might have something to do with all the carbs—she’d eaten the entire baguette, it was so good.
Finally, at a quarter to three, just when she was thinking about closing up for the day and had given up on the woman returning, the door opened.
Claire recognized Muriel, the rude woman from the club. It would be ironic if she ended up being a customer. “I heard you came by earlier. I’m sorry I missed you,” Claire said.
“I met a friend for lunch and figured I would just swing by after. I wanted to make sure to catch you before you close for the day.” Her tone was so pleasant, nothing like what Claire had heard at the event.
“Were you interested in anything in particular?” Claire asked.
“Yes. I want that cream-colored mini Kelly in the window. If it’s not already spoken for?”
“It’s available.” Claire walked to the window display and gently removed the bag. She handed it to Muriel so she could take a closer look.
Muriel ran her hands over it with reverence, savoring the smooth leather.
That particular bag was in pristine condition.
Claire had rarely used it. She tended to gravitate toward her darker bags.
Muriel walked over to the full-length mirror and turned to admire herself with the bag from several directions before handing it back to Claire.
“I’ll take it. And one of the gold wave bracelets.”
“Wonderful. I’ll get this packaged up for you.
” Claire went into her back room with the bag and found its box and duster bag.
She slipped the mini Kelly into the bag, then nestled it in the box.
She took Muriel’s platinum American Express card and rang up both purchases.
She handed Muriel her card and receipt, then wrapped the gold bracelet in tissue paper and put it in one of the big shiny paper bags along with the box.
She handed the bag to Muriel. “Thank you so much for coming back in. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome. My friend Bitsy who you met is planning to stop in soon too. She has her eye on that black Birkin.”
“Oh, wonderful. Thanks again.” Claire watched her leave, then a slow smile spread across her face.
She’d finally sold a bag from the shop. That particular mini Kelly went for eighteen thousand dollars.
Now Claire could breathe easy for rent for the month.
If her friend came back, that would be a bonus. She didn’t want to count on it though.
The other items she’d ordered should be in soon, and she wanted to see about adding more designer clothing.
Maybe she could put up a rack or two of assorted dresses and tops, skirts and pants.
She’d been thinking that she could start posting on social media, highlighting an item a day and also getting the word out that she was open to taking designer consignments.
Claire had wanted to start with the bags and shoes, but it was apparent that she needed to broaden her offerings. She thought she might start with Lily too and see if there was anything she might want to get rid of. Lily had some beautiful things that she wasn’t wearing anymore.
Lily loved the idea when Claire mentioned it at dinner that night.
They were finishing up a pizza that Marsha had picked up on the way home.
She’d also picked up a jar of hot fudge and a carton of French vanilla ice cream, so they could celebrate Claire’s big sale with hot fudge sundaes.
The ice cream cravings had started recently, and she had a bowl almost every night now.
“I might have a few things we could try in the store. A few of them may even still have the price tags on them,” Marsha said with a wink, and Claire laughed.
Her mother used to have a habit of buying things in a smaller size, hoping it would motivate her to lose weight.
That never worked. Marsha wasn’t overweight, she was average size, but she still remembered the days of being smaller.
“I’m being realistic. I’m never going to be a size six again, but I’m just fine as an eight or a ten.
I’m not going to stop going out to dinner after all.
” She paused for a moment, then looked around the table.
“Speaking of dinner, I invited Warren over Sunday night for a home-cooked meal. I’d like you both to join us if you don’t have plans. ”
Claire and Lily both nodded. It was a school night, so Lily would be home, and Claire didn’t have many plans these days other than the shop and book club.