Page 59 of Falling for You Again

“Sure,” he says without his usual spark. He leaves and the glass door swings shut behind him.

I call Aaron. I can’t think about what to do next until I hear the truth. He answers on the first ring. “Hi, Meli.”

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About the building? Did you know your company bought my uncle’s building?”

There is an extended pause. “Didn’t you?”

He knew. I feel sick. I sever the call.

He immediately calls back. I send him to voicemail. He rings right back. Again, I terminate the call. This time, he texts.Please call me.I silence and pocket my phone and take in the abnormally quiet shop. I see dusty equipment and smell fresh-cut wood. But when I peer closer, I see the memories of working alongside Uncle Bear and hanging out with my parents. The ghostly echo of my grandfather. In less than a month, everything here will be gone. The equipment, the wood, the shop, my uncle, my parents, and the building that holds us together.

I’m too distraught and heartbroken to work today. I’m too ashamed that I trusted Aaron to go along with his idea of marriage.

I close up the shop and leave the building.

A half hour later, I enter Stone & Bloom’s showroom. The employee offices are upstairs and not open to the public, so I go straight to reception and ask for Emi. She comes down five minutes later, lookingsummery fresh in a vibrant-orange, modern-print midi dress with Mary Jane heels and button earrings. I briefly consider giving up on Artisant Designs and coming to work for her so I can wear something other than shirts, coveralls, and boots to work. Then I imagine myself building the same kitchen cabinet boxes over and over and chase the thought away.

Emi rushes over to me with the biggest smile, super happy to see me. Her cheer doesn’t nudge me out of my funk, and my composure falters as we hug. “Oh, Em.” I cry on her shoulder.

She holds me at arm’s length and searches my face. “What happened?”

“It’s hopeless. Everything’s falling apart.” I wipe my eyes, mortified I’m crying in public.

“Let’s go for a walk,” she readily suggests. Emi knows me, and she knows I need to talk things out when I’m perplexed, disappointed, or upset. In this case, it’s all three.

“It’s too muggy outside.”

“How about tea, then?”

I nod. Tea sounds good.

We walk over to the showroom’s café, and Emi buys us each an herb tea. We sit at a high table with plush stools.

“I’ve been meaning to text you to meet up for coffee. I miss having you across the hall.” She rips open her tea bag and lets it steep in the hot water.

“I miss you too,” I say. We’ve texted and chatted here and there since Aaron and I married, but it isn’t the same as when we were neighbors. We haven’t talked these past few weeks as frequently as we used to. When I haven’t been at the shop or working on my business plan, I’ve been with Aaron, and Emi has been adjusting to her new position at Stone & Bloom.

And all this time, not once did Aaron mention the building.

“Since I haven’t heard from you much, I assume you’re adjusting to married life and things are going well with your new husband?”

“They were.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Uncle Bear sold the building to the Savant House.”

Emi’s mouth falls open. “He what?”

“That’s why he wanted them to buy the shop and create a position for me. He didn’t think I could lease a space affordable enough to stay in business, or that I’d want the shop without the building we’ve always had. He figured if he could get enough money for the shop and put it in trust for me, with that and a job with benefits at Savant, he’d feel less guilty about selling everything. I mean, he didn’t actually say all that, but that’s definitely the way I see it.”

“You should relocate the shop. You can always negotiate a lease. Businesses do it all the time.” Emi sets her tea bag aside and blows across the hot surface before taking a tentative sip.

“I know, and I should, but it wouldn’t be the same,” I say, glum.

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