Page 96 of All I Ask
I groan and drop my head. “That entire thing sounds great, but it’s nothing like Derek and me.”
“No? You mean that the father isn’t like his ex-wife and he didn’t come back?”
“Sure, it’s like the book, now that you put it that way.”
The phone rings and we both smile, knowing it’s Mrs. Dickman and that we have a surprise for her. “You want to get it or should I?” I ask.
“You’re the manager and should be the one…”
I smile and grab the phone. “Island Antiques, this is Teagan.”
“Teagan, dear, it’s Mrs. Dickman…I wanted to inquire about the chairs.”
I don’t know if it’s Derek’s returning and me wanting to bring things back to where they might have belonged all along, but I’ve been scouring the antique world for Mrs. Dickman’s chairs this last week. I’ve called every antique store that I could find in the state of Virginia. Then, when I exhausted that, I went to Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and finally, when I got to Connecticut, I had a break.
“Actually, I’m glad you called, I do have some news.”
Her gasp is loud and I can’t help but smile.
“You do?”
“I do. I was able to locate one chair.”
“Oh! Teagan!” I can almost hear the tears through her voice. “You found one?”
“I did. My mother is heading up there in the next few days and is going to grab it. I’m hoping we find more. The other store owners I contacted are all on the hunt as well.”
She sniffles once. “You have no idea how much this means. Thank you.”
“It’s not all of them, but piece by piece we’ll find them.”
“That’s how life works, my sweet girl. Piece by piece we find what we’re missing and sometimes we become whole again.”
How right she is. “We’ll keep trying.”
“Thank you.” Her voice is shaking and then she disconnects the line.
Nina has tears rolling down her face. I swear, this girl is such a sap, but then again, I’m tearing up too. Mrs. Dickman has been waiting for so long and I almost hate myself for not understanding more how much she’s missed what she’s lost.
“You’ve made her very happy.” Nina wipes under her eyes.
“God, we’re a bunch of babies.”
She laughs. “It’s romance, Tea. It’s a beautiful part of her story that you’ve given her back. To us, they were stupid chairs, but to her, they represented the love she had for her late husband.”
I nod, knowing exactly what she means. “I want to cry.”
Nina wraps her arms around me and she pulls me close. “I always knew you had it in you. We just needed Derek to come back to remind you that you do believe in love.”
“Oh, dear God. I wouldn’t go that far.”
She slaps my arm. “Stop it. Now, tell me about the kiss.”
I smirk. “Which one?”
Nina squeals again. “I knew it! Did you do more?Pleasetell me you had sex because that would be exactly like the book I read before this one.”
“Umm, no.” I laugh. “We are taking things really slow.”
