Chapter 41
Over the next two days, Dot and Danny’s team painted, put up the bookshelves, relaid the carpets, brought in the new furniture, and restocked the books.
Mary and Jake took on painting the frames for the front two bay windows.
“I’ll tape, you roll,” Jake said.
“Deal.” Mary had on short denim overalls, a hot pink cropped tank, and white canvas sneakers, and had her hair in a high ponytail.
At one point, Jake ran a white paintbrush up one of Mary’s legs.
“Watch it, Jake Taylor!” she said, fully putting on her Staten Island accent. “I have three older brothers, you know.”
“Yeah, but one’s a priest.”
“That’s no use to you. He’ll only pray for you after kicking your butt.” She tried to dot his dimple with her paintbrush, but he caught her hand, and they wrestled for leverage.
BY SUNDAY MORNING, everything looked a mess.
“I don’t know how we’ll possibly finish by six tonight. This place is a wreck,” Dot fretted as she looked at the piles of books to be shelved. “We haven’t even hung the paintings up yet. And the children’s section is under a pile of scrap.”
Danny caught her shoulders and said, “We’ve got this.” Then he pulled a list from his back pocket and took a pencil from behind his ear. “Look. I’ve got it all planned out. You don’t have to worry. Let me run point here and I give you my word, it’ll be done.”
She realized she’d been trying to control everything. Maybe he was right. She should trust him and follow his lead.
“I just want it to be perfect,” she said.
“It’ll be perfect, I promise.” Danny held her gaze for a beat longer than normal. Then he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. While she was distracted, he brought his hand around and poured a small cup of water over her head.
“Ack! What in the world?” She shivered and shook her head. Droplets flew around her.
“That’s for the cupcake.” He backed away before she could playfully swat him.
“Hey, you two.” Tommy walked in with coffees from the Roasted Rooster coffee shop. “Black coffee for Danny and a vanilla latte for Dot.” He handed a cup to her. She was glad for the interruption.
Dot admonished herself, “Get your head in the game.” This was no time time to get sidetracked.
OVER THE NEXT few hours, Dot could see that Danny was right about it coming together.
After just three days of work, the floors gleamed with a new oak stain and the rugs perked up in color after their cleaning.
New shelves filled the store and were straightened, polished, and packed neatly with books.
The children’s section now had colorful plush cushions, cozy chairs, and a small table for crafts.
They’d painted the walls a creamy ivory and added sconces to bring in more light.
Slimmer yet comfortable seating was placed strategically to get people to sit and stay awhile.
And one of the best features was a table Danny had made himself that was perfect for displaying new releases, which would help draw customers to check out the latest stock.
While it was shiny and more modern, Readers Falls still felt warm and inviting. It smelled fresh, like new paint and sunshine.
“I love it when a plan comes together,” Danny said, as he gathered everyone outside. He’d had a new awning made for the store, and it was time to mount it before the Jankowskis got back.
“I just want to say, on behalf of Dot and myself, that it really means a lot to us that you’d give us one of your summer weekends to do this for Ted and Jeanie. They’re special people. And this community really needs this bookstore.” The team clapped their hands at that.
“I love how it turned out. And I . . . well, I love you all. Thank you for being here.” Danny blushed and looked away. He wasn’t used to giving speeches.
Jake saved him from showing any more emotion. “Let’s go, Reader Falls!”
Everyone cheered as Tommy and Fletcher, the two tallest men there, hoisted and affixed the new sign to the front of the store.
“Is it centered?” Fletcher yelled to Harper, who was on point to make sure it was placed correctly above the door.
“A little to the right. Now a little to the left. Down a bit. Okay. There! It’s perfect.” Harper gave a thumbs-up from across the street.
After Tommy and Fletcher came down off the ladder, Dot climbed up a few rungs to say a few words.
“Well, everyone. We did it. Look at this.” She gestured to the sign above, and toward the shop. “It’s even better than I imagined.”
Dot looked around at all these new friends, in this temporary home she’d only been in for a few months, and she really couldn’t believe her good fortune.
The work with For the Win had been rewarding, challenging, and fun.
But the people she’d met in Cedar Falls—well, she hadn’t realized she was building a community, too.
“Let’s give Danny a round of applause. His design, donations, and ability to manage a major project made it all possible.”
Calls and hoots for Danny rose up from the crowd.
“And in just fifteen minutes, the Jankowskis will be here. So, are we ready?”
“Yes!” the crowd answered.
Tommy and Jake popped bottles of champagne, and Mary and Grace passed around plastic flute glasses for when Ted and Jeanie pulled up.
A few minutes later, they saw the Jankowskis’ royal-blue Ford Escape turn onto Main Street.
“Here they come!” Danny called out. Then to Dot, more quietly, he said, “Pray that they like it.”
“They’ll love it. How could they not!” She elbowed him in the ribs, and they went to meet the older couple in the parking lot at the corner.
“Welcome home! How was the competition?” Dot asked as soon as Jeanie opened her door.
“We came in second overall. Look!” Jeanie held up a big red ribbon. “I’m over the moon about it. Ted danced like he was twenty years old again!”
“We had a great time. I’ve never seen Jeanie look prettier.” Ted put an arm around her shoulders. “But we rushed back. We can’t wait to see what you’ve done!”
“Well . . . Ted and Jeanie, if you’ll allow us . . . we have some blindfolds,” Dot said, handing one of the blindfolds to Danny. They started to put them on the older couple, who were giggling at the fuss. “We’ll guide you over.”
They walked down the block and Dot signaled to the small crowd of helpers to get ready.
They stopped across the street from the shop.
“This is how Ted first surprised me when he bought the bookstore,” Jeanie said.
“We know. Ted told us all about it. We wanted it to remind you of that day and all you’ve done with this place since then,” Danny said.
Jeanie reached for their hands and squeezed.
“Ready?” Dot looked at Danny. “On three. One. Two. Three!”
They pulled off the blindfolds and Jeanie’s hands flew to her mouth. The workers and volunteers cheered.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it,” Jeanie said.
Ted hugged Danny. “My boy. Look what you’ve done!” Dot could tell it meant so much to them both, the man who’d never had a son and the son who’d never known his father.
Grace handed Ted and Jeanie a flute of champagne.
“Come see!”
The crowd applauded and flanked either side of them as they went into the store.
Ted and Jeanie were amazed.
Jeanie’s hand again covered her mouth. “I almost don’t recognize the place and yet it still seems like our store, just . . .”
“Better!” Ted finished Jeanie’s sentence.
Harper and Grace showed them the refashioned children’s section, and Ted tried out the new couch.
“Wow. Comfortable!” he said, pleased as he could be.
Danny caught up with Dot over by new releases.
“Well. Mission accomplished. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“We make a good team.”
“We do.” He winked at Dot, and she rewarded him with a joyful smile.
Then they sat down on the new sofa, put their feet up on the long ottoman, and basked in the afterglow of accomplishment and the feeling of new beginnings.
AT THE FRONT of the store, Mary sipped her champagne and checked her phone. There were three texts from her mother and several from her brothers.
“Call me, sweetheart. It’s your grandmother.” Mary kept scrolling through the messages trying to get a read of what was happening.
Oh, no, not Nonna.
Jake saw her face fall. “What’s wrong?” he asked, gently touching her shoulder.
“It’s my Nonna. She’s in the hospital. She may have had a stroke.” Mary scrolled through the messages from her mother. “I need to go home. My mom says there’s an eight-fifty flight tonight.”
“Let’s go get you packed. I’ll take you to the airport. We can get you to New York tonight.”
“I don’t think we’ll make it in time.”
He looked at her like she didn’t realize who he was and who he worked for.
“We will.”
And so, she let him drive her to their house in his police cruiser so that they could push the speed limit. At home, she threw a few things in her carry-on and then they sped off to the airport.
JAKE AND MARY arrived at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport with half an hour to spare. He got out of the car and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk, pulling out the handle so she could roll it easily into the terminal.
“Thank you.” She stood on her tiptoes and lifted her face up to Jake. Her lips found his and she felt a pull of longing to stay and a dread to go home in case Nonna didn’t make it.
“Go on now, New York.”
“I’m not sure when I’ll be back,” she said.
“I’ll be here. Whenever that is.”
And she knew she could trust him. And she realized that trust in a man was a different feeling for her. She turned to go into the terminal then stopped to look back.
He was waiting until she was safely past security.
He nodded.
She nodded.
“See you soon,” Mary whispered and waved.