Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
C ora’s mind spun as she said goodnight to Brandon. He didn’t kiss her, but she was certain he wanted to. And she would’ve kissed him back if he had.
When he left, she went to her room, and her body buzzed with a new excitement she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Was this too good to be true? Was Brandon the real deal? Today felt real. She felt something with the way he looked at her, but she had been fooled way too many times before.
“So?” she asked, walking into Muriel’s bedroom. “What do you think?”
Muriel bounced on the bed, putting on lotion. “I like him, a lot.”
Cora ran over to her bed and bounced on it. “I know, he’s really nice.”
“Really nice,” Muriel said. But her eyes shifted.
“But…” Cora asked, feeling it coming.
“Are you going back to the city then?” Muriel creased her eyebrows.
“No.” Cora wasn’t thinking about leaving. “He’s just visiting.”
“But, you’re interested in him?” Muriel waited for Cora.
“I think I might be,” Cora said, thinking about the day. It was perfect. “I have such a great time with him. We’re going to hang out tomorrow.”
“It’s just…” Muriel began to say but stopped.
“Just what?” Cora asked.
“It’s just that you always fall really hard for a guy, and then it doesn’t work out,” Muriel said. “Like Julian.”
“This is nothing like Julian,” Cora said. Muriel may know some things, but not about Julian. “Brandon is nothing like Julian.”
“Whether he is or not isn’t the problem.” Muriel got up from the bed and put her lotion on the bureau. “It’s that you see everything through rose-colored glasses, and then things go bad for whatever reason.”
“Oh, okay.” What was the point of this?
“I’m not trying to be mean,” Muriel said. “But he lives in Boston, and you’re trying to start a business in Maine. Are you going to go back to the restaurant? Live in the city again? Forget all this work and try to do something out of your studio apartment?”
“We’re just hanging out at this point.” Cora had expected her sister to feel as excited about a boy liking her as she did. “I thought you’d be happy I’m moving on from Julian.”
“You don’t need a guy to get over Julian,” Muriel sighed. “Will you be okay when he comes up for the bachelor’s party?” Muriel looked in the bureau's mirror to talk to Cora.
Cora had almost forgotten about the bachelor and bachelorette party that had been planned weeks ago. “Of course.”
But should she just tell her sister about Julian? Give her a heads up he wasn’t going to make the bachelor party or that he shouldn’t be invited?
“I’m just trying to save you from another broken heart.” Muriel tilted her head to the side. “Long distance is hard.”
Cora had a fitful sleep, tossing and turning all night. Her sister’s words kept her awake. Was she moving too fast already? And how would it work? She had told so many people she was staying around to make this fabric design, like her mom, Bonnie, and Muriel. But a five-hour drive was a lot for any relationship, especially one that was just starting, and especially with Brandon’s hours working at the restaurant. When would they even see each other?
Maybe her sister was right. Maybe she picked relationships that were doomed from the start.
When she arrived at the mill, Bonnie met Cora at the door.
“I think I figured it out,” Bonnie said, eagerly escorting Cora toward the old loom. After Cora showed Bonnie her fabric samples and told her about her plans to open her own shop in Blueberry Bay, Bonnie went to work recreating her father’s material.
“Feel it,” she said to Cora as she handed her a sample.
Cora could tell just by looking at the material that it was softer than any other they had made before. The sheen coming off the material’s woven fibers showed how truly beautiful linen could be.
“It’s gorgeous!” Cora squealed as she touched it. “Bonnie, you did it!”
“No,” Bonnie laughed. “You were the one who brought it back to life.”
Cora laughed as she looked around the front office. Usually, the place appeared clean, and things were in their place, but today, scraps of material were strewn about, balls of thread had piled up, and empty coffee cups and bags of food were sitting about.
“That’s great news.”
Bonnie nodded, pulling Cora to another piece. “I made two blends.”
The second piece of fabric was even softer than the first. “Oh, this is so nice.”
Bonnie beamed at that. “I think we have your fabric.”
“My fabric?” Cora shook her head. “This is your father’s fabric.”
Bonnie shook her head. “Your fabric for your Blueberry Bay Linens.”
Cora looked down at the material. It had been the kind of relationship she had always wanted to gain with Madame Dubois—a collaboration with someone who loved textiles as much as her, who wanted to make something really beautiful and special together. Cora hugged Bonnie, and Bonnie squeezed her, to Cora’s delight. “Now, tell me what you’re making first.”
“I want to start with kitchen items like tablecloths and napkins,” Cora said. “Tea towels and aprons, too. Focus on the kitchen at first, and then move to other living spaces like the living room and bedroom.”
“Get me your patterns, and I’ll have my workers get on it right away,” Bonnie said.
Cora had drawn out her brand’s logo last night on her computer. “Do you think your machines can make this label?”
“Love the blueberries.” Bonnie’s brows lifted in joy. Three plump blueberries sat surrounded by their dark evergreen leaves. It was the perfect logo for her brand.
“But I have no capital or anything to pay you with yet,” Cora said.
“Believe me, Cora,” Bonnie said. This is an investment in my future. You are my investment. This company needs a fresh vision like yours. You design the fabric, and I’ll make it for you.”
Cora didn’t understand what was in it for Bonnie. “What if no one wants to buy my stuff?”
“No one ever understood why I kept ol’ Bernie all these years,” Bonnie said. “I hadn’t even touched the darn machine for over a decade, stuck in the middle of my office, taking up space! And here I am, starting a whole new era with your linen line with it. My rule in life is not to go by what others think and do. Only do what makes sense to you. And you make sense to me.”
Cora thought about when she worked with Madame Dubois. The whole time, she suffered from imposter syndrome. She never felt like she was smart enough, cool enough, or good enough to be there. She never dared ask to be paid because the story in her head told her she wasn’t worth paying. Why did she think so badly of herself? She had people who believed in her, so why didn’t she?
But was she doing the same thing she had with every relationship in her life with Bonnie, moving at lightning speed just to crash and burn? And would this cement her in Blueberry Bay forever?
Images of her mother’s glowing cottage filled with the people she loved flashed in her mind as a serene sense of calm poured over her. Cora could do this. No, she would do this.
She held out her hand. “Let’s make some fabric together.”
Bonnie’s face brightened as she took Cora’s hand. “That sounds like a plan.”
As Cora shook Bonnie’s hand, her heart pounded with excitement. Her thoughts raced between clam chowder and long-distance relationships.