Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Thank you so much,” the customer enthused as Diana finished wrapping her purchases.
“My mother’s seventieth birthday party is tonight, and would you believe that the only suitcase that got lost was the one with our party clothes in it?
” She let out a faintly incredulous chuckle.
“Anyway, you’re a lifesaver. This boutique is adorable, and now I will have my three boys in decent outfits for photos, instead of looking like they just fought sand monsters and lost.”
Diana smiled at the woman, who looked frazzled but happy, then glanced over at the door at her husband, who kept whispering, “Stay still, please, Ryan. Yes, you too, Kevin. Matt, why would you think I wanted your brothers to touch nothing but for you to touch stuff? We’re almost ready to go.
Just settle down for a few more minutes. Ryan! Come on, man.”
“You are more than welcome,” she said to the woman as they shared a fond, knowing smile as one boy after another gave in to the temptation to reach for something, only to be hastily curtailed by his father.
Despite their mother’s words, the kids didn’t look too sandy, for which Diana was grateful.
She was forever sweeping the floors in the summer when sand inevitably got tracked in as tourists went from beach time to shopping time.
She was, moreover, pleased that she’d been able to help the family on their urgent quest for formal outfits.
Diana’s kids’ section was extremely limited, as she mostly sold clothes for women, but they had managed to find something for all three boys, who appeared to range from about five to ten years old.
The woman hauled her packages into her arms, although she only carried them for a moment before her husband plucked them from her grip. Seamlessly, in a way that indicated long years of practice, the parents switched roles, the mom taking over corralling the boys at once.
“No, no, nice try. I’m not going to let you touch stuff either. Come on, let’s get out to the car. Say goodbye and thank you to the nice lady.”
“Goodbye and thank you,” the boys echoed obediently.
“Bye, guys,” Diana said with a wave, smiling after them. “Have fun at your grandma’s birthday!”
The moment the door closed behind the family, who were already happily chattering amongst themselves, Diana felt the energy go out of her like she was a balloon that had been popped.
She loved her store, loved her friends, loved her community.
But sometimes it just really hit her, that longing she tried to keep at bay.
She wanted a family. She wanted to grow exasperated when trying to deflect grabby hands.
She wanted to share a look with her partner that reassured her that things would be okay even when it all seemed too tough to bear.
She wanted to scramble to find little outfits when luggage got lost.
Her eyes inched toward her phone. She paused but then, with a sigh, she pulled up the dating app that June had loaded onto her phone.
She’d browsed it idly a few times, but she hadn’t connected with anyone yet.
Even now, as she flicked through some of the options presented to her, she found herself frowning.
Why did so many of these men have mustaches?
She was sure that there were many of perfectly nice men who sported the facial hairstyle, and she was sure that many of them had loving partners who didn’t mind feeling it tickle their upper lip when they kissed. But that was not for Diana.
She flicked through a few other options, pausing on a few before moving on.
This guy was a bit younger than she was looking for.
Although she knew plenty of people had happy relationships with age gaps, someone who was twenty-five was too young, in her opinion.
That guy said he was looking for someone who wanted to go fishing with him most weekends.
A nice enough hobby, she supposed, but not one that tickled her fancy.
She was just about to push her phone away in disgust, which was how she’d ended her previous few browsing sessions, when she came upon a profile that made her pause.
Kendrick Chandler, the profile said, was forty-two years old and a lawyer based in Rockport, which wasn’t too far of a commute. And he was handsome, even if she didn’t feel that spark, necessarily. But he looked nice. Nice enough.
She was just preparing to click on the button that would let her view his full profile when she was distracted by the door to her shop opening and… what looked like a bunch of bubble wrap with legs sticking out the bottom maneuvered through the door.
“Diana?” Cadence’s voice came from behind the mass of packaging. “Are you there? Help please?”
Diana cast her phone aside, hurrying toward the door to help her friend.
“What’s this?” she asked when they’d gotten the parcel, which was large, but not heavy, safely behind the counter and out of the way.
Cadence hastily brushed a strand out of her hair before leaning in quickly to give Diana a one-armed hug.
“Hi,” Cadence said breathlessly. “I have brought you the painting you need for your living room.”
Diana’s interest was piqued. “Oh yeah?” she asked. She peeled aside the bubble wrap, peeking inside. “Oh,” she said, hoping this sounded diplomatic. “That’s… interesting.”
Cadence gave her a knowing look that said that Diana had not been as subtle as she’d hoped.
“I get that it’s a lot more colorful than what you might have chosen for yourself,” Cadence conceded.
“But that’s actually what makes it a perfect focus piece.
If you choose a lot of neutrals for the rest of the room, or even for the rest of your house, you’ll still have this pop of color that keeps things from looking too bland.
Plus, this artist makes such beautiful works that I would not be surprised at all to find out that she’s famous one day. ”
“Okay, okay,” Diana said with a laugh, watching as her friend’s face lit up with joy. “You’ve made a great pitch. I will at least give it some thought, okay?”
Cadence threw her arms around Diana, and in that moment, Diana knew she’d be keeping the picture forever, even if she found herself frowning at it every day.
Cadence was going through such a hard time, and it said a lot about her friend’s character that she was channeling her energy into helping others and trying to stay upbeat, when Diana thought, in Cadence’s place, she’d be wallowing on the couch with a pint of ice cream and bad television.
So if figuring out what to do with a painting that was not precisely to her taste was what Diana had to do in order to send some of that joy back in Cadence’s direction? Well, she’d do it, and she’d do it with a smile on her face.
“If you really hate it, I can return it,” Cadence said, but Diana noticed that her friend’s light dimmed at the very idea.
“Honestly, I could sell it in about two seconds flat at the gallery, so don’t worry about that part.
I just really think it’ll fit in better than you think, once you get the rest of the house going around it.
Diana and Cadence might approach design from slightly different directions, as Diana focused more on apparel than the fine art that was Cadence’s specialty, but Diana could still appreciate the importance of context.
How many times, after all, had she sold an accessory that a customer clearly didn’t like at all when they saw it on the rack but grew to love as soon as they paired it with just the right outfit? Too many to count.
This did mean, however, that she would have to actually decorate her whole house, or at least her whole living room, to get that context to work. She narrowed her eyes at Cadence.
“Is this all part of your dastardly plan to get me to like my condo more?” she asked.
Cadence gave her a too innocent look. “Who, me?” she asked, humor glimmering in her eyes.
Diana laughed, shaking her head.
“Okay, you win,” she said. “I’ll decorate. And I’ll hang your painting.”
“Yay!” Cadence did an adorably dorky little victory dance that had Diana chuckling. “You will not regret it. I promise!”
As Diana snuck another look at the bright colors and bold lines of the painting that Cadence had brought her, she sincerely hoped that her friend’s words were true… but she couldn’t help but have her doubts.