Page 11 of Made for You

“Sure mom, that sounds great. I’m sure they’d welcome any help they can get.” She claps her hands together and grabs her keys.

“Excellent. I’ll drive, then you can’t find a reason to skip lunch!” She runs out the door and I follow behind her.

She parks next to the town hall and I trudge behind her, already looking forward to this being over so I can get back to my ever growing list of tasks before guests check-in tomorrow.

“Violet Turner, is that you?” Mom squeals.

“Mrs. Keaton?” Violet runs over to Mom and they hug, almost jumping in place with excitement.

“It’s been, what ten years since I’ve seen your beautiful face?”

“A little over, I’m so glad to see you!” She clasps Mom’s hands in hers and they walk over to the table where Margaret and Esther are sitting.

I groan, hesitating to follow when I realize the only open seat is next to Violet.

“You know, I’ve been married to Esther for fifty years. I know that look when I see it,” Franklin leans over to whisper to me.

“What look?” I cock my head to the side.

“The look of love. You and that girl were always glued at the hip when you were younger, and your usually sunny disposition went downhill with each year she didn’t come back.” He winks with a knowing smile.

“Franklin, I can promise you there is no look of love. I just have a lot to do at the inn and I’m wondering how long this will take.”

“Mmhmm, sure son.” He walks away from me taking his seat next to Esther, and I follow begrudgingly.

Margaret speaks first, “The first thing on our agenda today, is the fact that the hall where we host the dance is next to the bakery. Which means, it’s also flooded and destroyed. Since Hunter told us that his first priority is the bakery and the minimal damage to the coffee shop, we currently have nowhere to host the dance.”

They all look at me, waiting for me to...what? Offer the inn?

“You want the inn?” I finally ask.

“It is the only space between us.” Esther answers. Clearly they had a side meeting before I got here.

“Absolutely not. The renovations aren’t fully done, and even if they were, the farmhouse was built in the 1800’s, a time when open concept wasn’t a thing. The largest spot I have is my dining room, and it’s barely big enough for the six tables I have in there. There’s no way we can hold food, music, and people. Unless it’s just us attending.” I cross my arms, growing moreangry with each minute that I let her rope me into this. “Or the barn with no heat.”

“What about Rebels?” Mom chimes in.

“What is Rebels?” Violet asks, curious about the new business in town.

“Oh! It’s just wonderful. Roman started brewing his own beer, it got so popular he opened his own brewery a few years ago!” Mom gushes about herother son.

I wonder if she ever gushes about her asshole son who stupidly took over the old farmhouse inn he loves to hate.

Roman’s parents were never around. Spending more time networking than with their own children. He and his sister, Evelyn, spent as much time over the inn as Violet did in the summer. Mom used to joke she was the camp for lost souls, only now does it really ring true.

Violet takes out her phone and starts typing. She scrolls and taps for a minute before exclaiming, “Oh! It is perfect! Gran look at this space, we could decorate here,” she pinches at the screen, “and it would be beautiful. The perfect ambiance for love. Then the dance floor over here.”

She passes her phone around to Margaret showing her what she’s envisioning.

Again, all eyes turn to me. “What now?”

“Well you’re friends with Roman, soooo—” Violet looks at me like I’m stupid for not figuring this out.

“Yeah. I get it.” This time I pull out my phone and dial Roman’s number.

Luckily, or not, he answers on the first ring.

“Hey man, I’m here with the Valentine’s Day planning committee. You’re on speaker.”

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