Page 84 of New Day at the Beach House

“Okay.”

They got situated out there, her mom in one of the chairs, and Trina back on the couch. Her mom sipped her coffee for a few minutes, just looking out at the water.

After a while, she let out a happy sigh. “I’m so glad we’re staying here. I really love this place. Not just this house but look at that water. There is nothing in Port St. Rosa that compares to this view.”

Trina looked up from her list-making and thought about that. “That’s for sure. There’s nothing in Port St. Rosa that compares to Ethan, either.” Or Miles, for that matter.

Her mom laughed. “Very true. And I just remembered Ethan said you can pretty much start holding interviews at the salon if you want. He said you could set up a card table and some folding chairs in the reception area and work out of there.”

“Really? That’s great, because I was just thinking I need to get started on the hiring end of things.”

“Why don’t you swing by the CVS on the way in and see if you can pick up a sign for the window that says Help Wanted? You could add your phone number to it and start taking names and numbers. We can get an ad online, too. Ethan said the Gulf Gazette has an online job board that’s pretty active.”

Trina nodded enthusiastically. “I definitely want to do that.” She grabbed her laptop and opened it up, giving it a couple of seconds to come to life. “I’m going to see about putting an ad on there right now.”

She did a quick search for the Gazette’s website, then clicked on it and found the job board. She registered an account, verified it, and opened up a form to place her ad. “New Salon Hiring All Positions,” she typed as the headline.

In the body of the ad, she put, “Stylists, Receptionist, Shampooer, and Assistant.” Then, “Competitive wages, fun environment, brand new everything! Text or call.” She added her number and read what she’d written to her mom.

“Sounds good to me. I bet you get calls today.”

“That would be amazing.” Trina hit Publish. “And I’ve just realized I need to set up a Facebook page for the salon. I’m not doing a website, but I should at least have a Facebook page, don’t you think?”

“I do.”

Trina clicked over to Facebook and started setting that up. “I’ll at least get it started. I won’t be able to do too much until I have some photos. I need to figure out our operational hours, too.”

“It’ll all come together very soon.”

“Sooner than you think,” Trina said.

The sliders opened and Mimi came out with a big mug of coffee and an even bigger smile on her face. “Morning, my girls. How are you this beautiful day?”

Trina glanced at her mom. “Good, Mimi. You seem chipper.”

“I am.” Her grandmother took a seat, letting out a sigh that matched the smile on her face.

“Any particular reason why?” Roxie asked.

Willie’s smile got slightly bigger. “Let’s just say I have some news.”

Roxie looked at her mother. “News?” She could only imagine what her mother had to tell them. Willie led a very interesting life. “Does this have anything to do with last night and Miguel?”

“It does,” Willie answered. “And I know you’re probably going to be shocked, but hear me out before you decide I’ve lost my marbles, will you?”

A little tingle of panic zipped through Roxie’s stomach. “This sounds perfect for a first thing in the morning conversation.”

“Well, it’s something you both need to know,” Willie said.

“What is it, Mimi? The suspense is killing me,” Trina said.

Willie paused and took a long sip of her coffee, no doubt using the moment to build suspense. Roxie almost laughed. Her mother was so predictable. About some things. About others? Not so much.

“That is good coffee,” Willie said.

Roxie huffed out a breath. “Ma, please. Like Trina said, we’re dying.”

Willie smiled. “Miguel asked me to marry him.”

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