Sophie Love - For Now and Forever

“What’s going on?” Emily whispered in Serena’s ear, her first thought being that Rico had finally gone senile.

“Beats me,” Serena replied. “I’ve never even been in here.” She was looking all around her, her eyes round and intrigued. “What is all this stuff, Rico?”

“Hmm?” the old man said. “Oh, just things that are too big for the shop floor and too special to sell to anyone.” He walked up to where a dust sheet was covering something large and rectangular and peeped underneath. “Yes, here it is,” Rico said to himself. He began to pull the heavy dust sheet off. Emily, Daniel, and Serena sprang into action, taking corners of the dust sheet to help him.

As they pulled off the sheet, a marble surface began to emerge. Then the sheet slid fully off, revealing a gorgeous dark wooden reception desk with a marble top. It looked solid and sturdy and exactly what Emily had been looking for.

Emily gasped and looked it all over, discovering that on the other side there was a settee in red velvet attached to the piece, making it a front desk and seating area combined. It was an amazing, unique design.

“It’s perfect,” she said.

“This used to be in the grand foyer,” Rico said.

“The grand foyer of where?” Emily asked.

“Of the B&B.”

Emily’s mouth dropped open. “Of my B&B? This was the original piece?”

“Oh yes,” Rico replied. “Your dad absolutely loved it. He was sad to part with it but there just wasn’t enough space in the house. Besides, he didn’t want to do it an injustice. He wanted someone to use it as it was designed. So he gave it to me when he took on the house, hoping I’d find a buyer.” He tapped the marble slab. “No one showed an interest.”

It always surprised Emily when Rico spoke of the past. He seemed to have a crystal clear memory of certain events, but others he had no memory of at all. It was a stroke of luck that he’d remembered this one, and that the original front desk was exactly to Emily’s taste.

But her elation was short-lived and her mood dropped. Something like this would surely cost her more than she had.

“So, how much does it cost?” she asked, bracing herself for disappointment.

Rico shook his head. “Nothing. I want you to have it.”

Emily gasped. “Have it? I couldn’t possibly. It must be so expensive!” She was stunned.

“Please,” Rico insisted. “I haven’t been able to sell it for thirty-five years. And the way your face lights up when you look at it is payment enough. I want you to take it.”

Overcome with emotion, Emily threw her arms around Rico’s neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. I’ll take it but it’s just a loan until I get enough money together to pay you for it, okay?”

He patted her hand. “Whatever you say. I’m just happy to see it go to a loving home at last.”

“Wake up,” Daniel whispered in Emily’s ear.

She stirred awake and took the cup of coffee he was offering to her, then noticed that Daniel was dressed. “Where are you going?”

“I have something to do today,” he replied.

Emily looked around and noticed that the sun had barely risen. “Something? What something?”

He gave her a look. “It’s a secret. But not a ‘my name is actually Dashiel’ kind of secret. You don’t need to worry, is what I’m saying.” He pressed a kiss into the crown of her head.

“Well, that’s reassuring,” Emily said sarcastically.

“Anyway,” Daniel said, “I’d just be in your way.”

“Why?” Emily asked, bleary-eyed.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“Oh my God!” Emily gasped. “The town meeting. It’s today, isn’t it?”

Daniel nodded. “Yup. And I think someone’s having a meeting with Cynthia at seven a.m. It’s currently six forty-five.”

Emily leapt up. “You’re right. Oh my god. I have to get dressed.”

Though appreciative of Cynthia’s offer to talk to her about all things B&B, she wished the woman hadn’t insisted on such an early meeting time.

“That got you moving,” Daniel said with a chuckle. He finished swigging his coffee, then grabbed his jacket.

“Just don’t forget the meeting tonight, will you?” Emily said. “Seven p.m. at the town hall.”

Daniel grinned. “I’ll be there. I promise.”

Cynthia arrived at the house with her two pet poodles in tow. She was dressed in a fuchsia pink maxi dress, the color clashing horribly with her ginger hair.

“Morning,” Emily called out, waving from the door.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Cynthia said. She seemed to be in a rush as she hurried up the path.

“Thanks for meeting with me,” Emily added when the woman was a little closer. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Oh, I’d love some,” Cynthia said.

Emily led her into the kitchen and poured them both a cup from where the pot was still brewing. As she did, Mogsy leapt up at the glass door between the kitchen and utility room. Cynthia went over and looked through the glass.

“I didn’t know you had puppies!” she cried. “Oh, they’re just adorable!”

“The mom was a stray,” Emily said. “I didn’t realize she was pregnant then suddenly there were five puppies.”

“Have you found a home for them yet?” Cynthia asked, cooing through the glass at them.

“Not yet,” Emily replied. “I mean the pups are too young at the moment to leave their mom. And I can’t exactly kick her out to fend for herself. So for now they’re mine.”

“Well, once they’re done weaning, I’ll happily take one off your hands. Jeremy passed his entrance exams to St. Matthew’s and I wanted to get him a congratulations gift.”

“You’d take one?” Emily asked, feeling a sense of relief. “That would be great.”

“Sure,” Cynthia replied, squeezing Emily’s arm. “We look out for each other in this town. Want me to ask around? See if anyone else wants one?”

“Yes, that would be amazing, thank you,” Emily replied.

Emily went and fed the dogs, then the two women settled down at the table.

“Now,” Cynthia said, pulling out a thick folder. “I’ve gone to the liberty of getting you some of the forms that you’ll need to fill out. This is for hygiene.” She slapped a blue piece of paper in front of Emily. Then a pink one. “Gas.” Finally, she placed a yellow one on the table. “Wastewater and sewage treatment.”

Emily looked at the forms with trepidation. Something about their officialness made her feel woefully under-prepared.

But Cynthia wasn’t done. “I’ve got some business cards here for you, as well. Names and numbers of some really reputable guys. They’ll get everything up to scratch for you. I used them back in the day. Good guys, the best really. I’d trust them with my life.”

Emily picked the cards up and slipped them into her pocket. “Anything else?”

“Trevor’s going to try to make it difficult for you. He knows the names of every code violation known to man. Make sure you know what you’re doing in terms of the legal and logistical stuff and you’ll be fine.”

Emily gulped. She was feeling more apprehensive that ever. “And here’s me thinking I just need to give a heartfelt speech.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” Cynthia exclaimed, waving one of her hands, the bright pink nails like talons. “The speech will get you ninety percent of the way there. Just don’t let Trevor stump you with the other ten percent.” She tapped the papers on the table. “Learn your stuff. Sound competent.”

Emily nodded. “Thank you, Cynthia. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to me about all this.”