Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
When Diana had left her house that morning, she’d thrown the clunky old calculator into her bag on an impulse. She hadn’t really thought she’d need it. It was the modern age, after all. She had a cell phone.
She’d gotten through about three pieces of paper before pulling out the old-school style one, the kind with the roll of paper. She needed to be able to track her work.
And the result was showing… nothing good.
She pressed her brow against her clenched fists.
“Oh, no, that’s not a good face.”
Diana looked up to see her friend, Eleanor Ridley, looking chipper and adorable in a pair of overalls and a t-shirt.
This had been a common outfit for Eleanor recently, an easy go-to while she worked on the finishing touches of the bookstore she was set to open very soon.
Eleanor had arrived in Magnolia Shore a few months prior, fresh off a divorce.
Diana couldn’t help but privately feel that Eleanor’s ex-husband, whom she’d never met, was nothing more than a big old dope for letting Eleanor go.
His bad decision had been Magnolia Shore’s gain… and Eleanor’s too. Diana adored her newest friend and had loved watching Eleanor come into her own, not only due to her upcoming store, but also through her romance with Garrett Wilder, the formerly curmudgeonly hardware store owner.
Eleanor had blossomed, and now she looked as cheerful as a flower, her red hair tied back in an adorable little braid, a jaunty kerchief tied around her neck, probably to protect her from the sun while she worked outside.
Diana might be stressed about her accounts, but the boutique owner in her couldn’t ignore such a cute look.
“This is a great outfit,” Diana said, waving a hand to encompass all of Eleanor. “Love all of it.”
Eleanor gave a happy little shimmy. “Why thank you, my beloved friend! But this isn’t about me. Tell me about the grouchy face. What’s wrong?”
Diana let her smile drop into an exaggerated pout. It was a dramatic expression, to be sure, but it was also how she felt.
“Oh, I’m just looking over my accounts. Are you excited to get into the chaotic world of small business finances soon?”
Eleanor dropped into the seat across from Diana, a sympathetic expression on her face.
“Is everything okay?”
“Ugh, yes, I suppose it is,” she said. “I mean, my bookkeeper hasn’t really been logging expenses properly, and my tax documents will be a total bear to sort out when it comes around to tax time, and I’ve had to run the payroll myself recently…”
“Isn’t that kind of the whole job of a bookkeeper?” Eleanor asked, so gently that Diana knew she must look truly distressed.
“It is,” Diana confirmed grimly. “It is pretty much the entire job of a bookkeeper, yeah. And I think I’m going to have to find somebody else, but…”
“But that’s just one more thing on the list?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Diana sighed again, shuffling her papers aside into her folder. They were probably getting out of order, but they hadn’t been in any proper order to begin with, so that was no real loss.
She and Eleanor put in their orders. Diana went with a Cobb salad, since she knew that Juniper Café sourced its tomatoes from a local farmer who always had an absolutely delicious crop this time of year.
And they made the best bacon here. Eleanor opted for the sweet corn and tomato quiche, which came with a side salad that had arugula, red onion, and a light vinaigrette atop it.
They agreed, however, that the day called for iced tea.
While they waited and then ate, Eleanor regaled Diana with her progress on the bookstore.
It was a relief to hear about something going well, Diana thought, a touch sourly.
She was nothing but happy for her friend, of course.
Not to mention that Eleanor’s happiness and success had brought joy to Diana, as well.
Even before opening her bookstore, Eleanor had started a book club that included Diana and their friends Cadence Meadows, June Caldwell, and Miriam Landers.
They might all have different taste in books, sometimes very different taste, but they all agreed on one thing: getting together as a group to have snacks, drink wine, and chat about books was a pastime that never got old.
“I think our very next book club meeting might even happen at a fully open, public store!” Eleanor said excitedly. “It seems crazy to even think it.”
“You have been working really hard,” Diana pointed out.
“Yeah, I know,” Eleanor agreed. She paused to take a bite of her quiche, a contemplative look on her face as she chewed.
“I guess it’s just that the opening coming up has me thinking.
A year ago, I was still married, still living in Indianapolis.
And it’s wild to me that I didn’t even realize how empty my life was.
I’m honestly grateful to Brian for that, in some ways.
If he hadn’t had the courage to call off our relationship, I might have stayed forever, thinking that was as good as things could get.
And look at me now! New friends, new business, new romance! ”
Diana failed to suppress her little flicker of a frown. She immediately felt terrible when Eleanor noticed it.
“Sorry,” she said at once, holding up her hands in front of her. “That wasn’t about you. You know I’m thrilled for you.”
Eleanor waved off the apology. “Of course I know that. So. Spill. What else is bothering you, besides all the paperwork hoopla. And don’t tell me it’s nothing.”
Diana, who had just been about to say precisely that, closed her mouth and gave Eleanor a chagrined look. Eleanor merely stared at her in a way that Diana could only assume had been honed by her experiences with motherhood. Diana was powerless to resist the stare.
“Okay, okay,” she sighed. “I just… I’m in my feelings about how I’m still single.
Logically, this isn’t related to the bookkeeping thing, but for some reason, it really dredged it up for me.
Like, if I had my person, I could go home and say, ‘Hey, I’m in this mess with my bookkeeping,” and they’d say, “Oh, man, that stinks. Can we brainstorm how to fix it together?’ And then we would…
I don’t know, have a glass of wine with our shoes off and we’d think of an answer, or maybe we wouldn’t, but at least we’d be together.
” She played idly with the wrapper from her straw. “Does that sound dumb?”
“No.” Eleanor’s tone was firm. “No, honey, that doesn’t sound dumb at all. Do you want advice or commiseration?”
Diana considered this. “Advice.”
Eleanor folded her hands in front of her. “Okay. Well, I say divide and conquer. It is one more thing, but finding a new professional bookkeeper or accountant, a good one this time, will take a lot off your plate in the long run.”
“That’s good advice,” Diana admitted. It wasn’t exactly as good as a supportive man, but…
“Then,” Eleanor went on, “any time you need somebody to come complain to on your couch, remember that I’m your girl. My kid is grown, honey. My evenings are free.”
Diana arched an eyebrow. “I don’t know what Garrett might have to say about that.”
“Garrett has about forty-seven baseball games saved up on his little baseball watching app,” Eleanor told her friend dryly.
“Did you know that there are a million baseball games a year? And apparently, if he doesn’t watch all of them, he will perish or something. Trust me, he has plenty to occupy him.”
“Weird,” Diana said. “I somehow cannot picture him watching a baseball game.”
“Oh, he’s very grumpy while he does it.”
“Just kidding. I can now picture it perfectly.”
Eleanor laughed. “Don’t distract me, woman! Because, step three: cut yourself some slack.”
“Ew, I hate that advice,” Diana joked… although part of her kind of meant it. It was hard to be gentle with herself, even though she knew it was important and would have a positive effect.
“Tough love, sugar,” Eleanor countered. “Be sweet to yourself—or else.”
“Fine,” Diana agreed with a theatrical sigh. “I’ll take it under advisement.” An idea flickered across her mind. “Do you know what would be a really great distraction that would help me be so easy on myself?” She grinned beatifically.
Eleanor gave her a suspicious look. “What’s that?”
“A grand opening party for your store!” Diana exclaimed, waving her hands excitedly. “Everybody loves a party. Let’s throw together something fun, get people to really pay attention to the great new bookstore in town. I know approximately a bazillion people who would be super excited.”
“I question your math on the population of this town,” Eleanor said. “but I like where your head is at, otherwise. Would it… have a theme?”
“Yes, obviously,” Diana said at once. “Love themes. So fun.”
“Maybe… Hawaiian?” Eleanor gave Diana a hopeful shrug.
“Absolutely,” Diana agreed. The theme itself didn’t really matter as much as her friend’s excitement did. She had no doubts that once Magnolia Shore got to know Eleanor Ridley better, they’d love her… and her store.
The pair of friends spent the rest of their lunch brainstorming details for making the launch party the best it could be.
Diana threw herself into thinking about décor options, menu selections, and possible events or activities to lure in families with kids.
In the back of her mind, however, her worries lingered.
Her store’s finances needed to be repaired sooner rather than later.
And she would have to take care of those repairs alone.
She could only hope that just because she was alone now didn’t mean that she would be alone forever.