Page 88 of Just For Her

“Social media, huh?”

“Sure. Beef up the Facebook page, post pretty pictures of merchandise on Instagram, maybe get some TikToks up and running… bet you could throw a few dollars the teens’ way to get them doing those dances in the store.”

“You’ve lost me.” Tove shook her head. “I understand the concept of social media, that’s it. All I care about is having a cute shop and making sure people have a good time. Oh, and stuff that sells, of course. Good quality stuff. Locally sourced, made, designed…”

“Expand ‘local’ to all of Oregon and you have quite a few things to stock. Especially if most of your tourists are coming from Portland, they’ll get a kick out of some limited-run specialty items down here. Like a special coffee packaging or tea flavor. You never know what you could convince other small businesses to do to expand their own bottom lines.”

“Hey, sounds like you don’t have too bad of a head for this either.”

Kayla grinned. “If you’d let me, I’d be happy to take care of the digital side of things. I mean… if you’re interested in having me around. I think it could use some of my skills better than waitressing does.”

Tove probably knew where this conversation led. “I’m still considering whether it’s a good idea for me to take on something like this. It’s quite the surprise.”

“Lots of surprises this year.”

Tove folded her hands on the table.How do I get through to her?Kayla held back the desperation telling her to beg Tove to take her back.That’s not how you do it…She wished it were that easy.

“Look…” Tove broke the ice with a sigh that rattled her ribs. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to show me who youreallyare. I’ve already apologized for making wild assumptions about you, but… I don’t want to jump into things again. That includes romantically. Or regarding business. I’m not able to cut ties with whoever will be pissed by my sudden actions. There was a time when I could take those chances…”

Kayla’s hand hovered near Tove’s. “Sounds to me that you have to do what’s best foryou.Sure, people in your family are gonna be pissed… but they’ll be pissed aboutanythingyou do at some point. What’s gonna happen when you’re old enough to retire? Or ifyouget sick and must step back from all the work you do for them? Tove, you’re your own woman. You’ve got your own house. Your own business, in some form or another. You’re way more independent than you credit yourself for. You can’t wait for the old guard to die.You’reold enough that the kids in your family look up to you. I mean, if I were one of your nieces or nephews…” Kayla pulled her hand away. “Or if I was some teenage Fredriksson hoping for help…”

“That’s a lot to ask of me. I’m not used to being on my own like you are.”

“It’s not that different, but nobody is holding out for money in my family.”

“Are you insinuating that’s whatIcare about?”

“No. I’m insinuating that you’re super comfortable with the status quo. Or you’re afraid of what some septuagenarian is gonna say. Tove, you’re twenty years shy of being one yourself! What are you doing with your life until then?”

Kayla hadn’t meant to hurl such words in her girlfriend’s direction.I’m not even insinuating that she’s weak or something… I swear.Kayla wanted Tove to be with her, sure, but she also wanted her ex-girlfriend to have some agency in that world. If she waited until the older generation of old-fashioned Fredrikssons died, well… how much of her own life would she have left to enjoy? Even if it wasn’t with Kayla, Tove wanted a fulfilling existence!

She expected Tove to snarl, to look away, or to snap something snarky about her age. Instead, a wry smile struck her side profile. After she giggled for a bit, she asked, “Are you sure you want to be with someone who will be seventy in twenty years?”

“I mean, I’ll be in my fifties by then. You’re giving me the badass preview.”

“You think so?”

“God willing, I live that long, happy and healthy.”

“I could die long before you.”

Kayla fidgeted with the tab on her Diet Coke can. “I could die anytime. You could die anytime. Trust me, I know how ephemeral our finite existences can be. Some of my old sugar daddies are dead now.” She attempted to drain the last few drops of her drink but came up empty. “My mom died at an age not too much older than me. I’ve spent my whole life wondering how much time I’ve got left. Just because I’m not sick now, and maybe won’t be tomorrow, won’t mean life won’t look a lot different a year from today. The same is true for you. We make the most of it.” She placed the can in the middle of the table and offered Tove a generous grin. “Time goes by so fast, doesn’t it? Feels like yesterday I entertained the thought of moving here.”

Tove was silent for a while. “You think about things way too heavy for your age.”

“I’m almost thirty-four.”

“When I was your age, I was so lost in my head that…”

“Tove, when you were my age, you had long bought this house. I don’t wanna hear it!”

Laughter sputtered between them. “Are you going to call me a ‘boomer’ next?”

“Only if I feel like forgetting about Gen-Xers again. That’s right. I know what you are. Now, hang on, I need to remember what the smallest generation by population is…”

“You said it!”

“Gen-Y? No, that’s Millennials. Gen-Z? Fuck, that’s the Zoomers. If only I could remember what letter comes before Y…”

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