Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Julia’s brow was furrowed in concentration as she scrolled through her phone.
She was sitting at the kitchen table, searching for place setting cards for her and Cooper’s wedding.
She wanted to get something that perfectly matched the vibe of the décor they’d chosen, as well as the quaintly elegant vibe of Turtle Dove Hall.
She smiled as she found place setting cards that had a gilt edge and black sketches of lavender along the borders.
These look perfect, she thought eagerly. I’ll just send these to Cooper and see what he thinks. Hopefully he likes them just as much as I do.
Once she’d sent Cooper a link to the place setting cards, she turned back to her planner, which was open to the page where she’d written out her wedding to-do list. She’d been trying to chip away at all of the tasks that had to be done bit by bit, since it all took so much of her time and energy.
She absolutely adored planning her wedding, but it wasn’t the kind of thing that a perfectionist like herself could do in an easy-breezy amount of time.
She carefully considered each of her decisions before making them, and she tended to get lost in the process of planning.
She was just jotting down a note on her to-do list when her phone began to ring. She blinked when she saw that it was her mother calling.
“Hi, Mom! What’s up?”
There was a short pause, and then Julia heard the sound of Vivian clearing her throat.
“Julia. Do you know what time it is?”
“Uh—” She glanced at the clock. “A little after ten. Why?”
“You’re late for your shift.”
“Oh!” Julia squeaked, standing up in a flurry. “Oh my gosh, Mom—I completely forgot. I’m so sorry. I’ll be right there.”
Vivian laughed. “It’s okay. We’ll see you soon.”
“I completely lost track of time. I’ve been looking for place setting cards, and—oh, never mind. I’ll race over there. See you soon.”
“Don’t rush! Bye, honey.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Julia hung up the phone, shaking her head at herself.
She was still wearing pajamas and her bathrobe, and she raced upstairs to change.
She scrambled into a pair of black slacks, glossy flats, and a deep purple sweater.
Normally she would have paired a necklace and nice earrings with an outfit like that and taken the time to do her makeup carefully before going to work, but she decided to skip all that.
I’m late enough as it is, she thought with a wince. I can’t believe I forgot about my shift! I’ve never forgotten about a shift before in my life. This whole wedding planning thing has got me totally distracted .
She grabbed her purse and hurried out the front door. Ordinarily she walked the short distance to The Lighthouse Grill, but under the circumstances she decided to drive to save time. A few minutes later, she was scrambling out of her car and hurrying into the pub through the back door.
Vivian was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen, so Julia went out into the dining room to try to find her. She spotted her a moment later, talking to Sally near the front doors.
“Hi, Mom.” Julia gave her mother a hug. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I totally lost track of time.”
“You’re okay, honey.” Vivian laughed. “It’s not like you to be late like this, though. I was hoping you could help us with waiting tables. Stacey is out sick at the last minute, so we’re short.”
“Oh sure.” Julia was used to jumping in and helping wait tables, even though her job was technically managing the pub’s finances and it usually involved her being holed up in the pub’s office until she ventured forth for food and coffee.
“You’re lucky you’re not getting fired,” Sally teased. “A whole two hours late for a shift? My, my.”
Julia grimaced. “I am really sorry. It won’t happen again, Mom.”
Vivian patted her shoulder. “One has to be forgiving with family, even when they’re your employees.” She chuckled.
Sally smiled as she watched the interaction between mother and daughter. “Having family to run a business with must be a beautiful thing. Even if they’re late sometimes.” She laughed.
“It really is wonderful,” Vivian agreed warmly.
“You really bond with the people you work with, because of all the teamwork. And our family already has a strong bond, which the pub has served to make even stronger. It’s wonderful to get to support each other during the workday and problem-solve together.
Julia’s been an absolute wizard with the pub’s finances.
She brought us out of a pretty tricky bad patch. ”
Sally nodded, and Julia wondered if Vivian had confided the details of her father’s gambling debts to Sally.
Sally and Vivian had been friends for many years, but not particularly good friends.
Julia guessed that was due to the fact that both women were often very busy more than anything else, since it was clear they both liked each other very much.
She could see a definite affection between the two of them.
“It does sound wonderful.” Sally smiled, but Julia could see a sad look in her eyes. “I’ve always had to do everything on my own, really. I mean, I like being independent, and I have stellar employees, but there have been times when I’ve wished I had someone to bounce ideas off of.”
“Well.” Julia patted Sally’s shoulder encouragingly.
“It seems as though Rosewood Beach’s two most formidable businesswomen have been joining forces lately, so now you’ve got someone in your corner.
I heard how you and my mom got the food distributor schedule back on track with just a few phone calls. That’s teamwork if I’ve ever seen it.”
“Well, I just followed in Vivian’s footsteps and called my distributors like she did.” Sally smiled. “She made the magic happen.”
“Oh no.” Vivian shook her head. “They were slipping up with the meat deliveries again. Your phone call to the higher-ups fixed things on my end too.”
“Well.” Sally grinned, looking pleased. “I guess you must be right then, Julia. Vivian and I make an excellent team.” She and Vivian shared a smile.
Julia grinned at both of them before making her way into the kitchen to grab a spare waitressing apron. She didn’t mind waitressing, although she preferred to be away from chaotic and messy things like dirty plates and hyper customers.
It’s going to be extra hard for me to focus today, she thought with a chuckle as she stepped back out into the dining room. I may be here physically, but my mind is still on all of the unfinished wedding tasks lingering on my to-do list.
She pictured her planner, lying open on the kitchen table at home, with a cup of coffee beside it.
She wished she was back there working on arranging her and Cooper’s big day instead of shuffling around the dining room, but there was no help for it.
Her wedding day would come, and in the meantime, she needed to do her best to focus on the task at hand.