Page 38 of New Day at the Beach House

Trina went in and got her coffee. It smelled so good. It was exactly what she needed. Well, this cup and maybe two or three more.

She rejoined her mom. The sun was strong and bright now, the remnants of pink in the sky gone. “What are your plans for the day?”

Her mom shook her head. “Not sure. Is there anything you need me to do?”

“We’re getting low on groceries.”

“I can handle that. Anything I can do for the salon?”

Trina sipped her coffee and thought about the list in her head. She wished she had her binder in front of her, but she remembered quite a few of the items on it. “I need to talk to the sign people. I need to figure out what products I’m going to use as well as offer for sale. I need to buy towels, and I need to order tools.”

“Tools?”

“You know, blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons, brushes, combs, Barbicide…”

“Right,” her mom said. “Can I help with that, though? Seems like something you’d want to pick out yourself.”

“It is. I’m going to try to do some of it this morning before Kat and I leave to meet up with Miles and Alex.”

“Well, I’m happy to help if there’s something you think I can do.”

Trina nodded. “Do you think I should get white towels? Or black towels?”

“Not hot pink?”

Trina laughed softly. “I think there’s too much chance they’ll bleed color when washed. And not everyone will be flattered by that much pink close to their face. I think something neutral is better.”

“Then white,” her mom said without hesitation. “Black will fade, and you can bleach the white ones.”

Trina smiled. “Good point. Could you order those for me? If I send you the supplier’s link?”

“Sure. How many?”

“Four dozen should be enough to start with.”

“I can definitely get that done for you. Won’t you need a fridge and a coffeemaker for the breakroom, too?”

“We will. Good thinking. You want to handle that?”

Her mom glanced over. “You trust me to get them?”

“Sure. The fridge doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just something to hold drinks and people’s lunches. Although an ice maker would be nice. You might want to check with Ethan about the size, too. The coffeemaker really only needs to be sturdy.”

“You want a Keurig?”

“I don’t know.” Trina made a face. “Then you have to stock all those little cups and make sure you have the kinds people like. I think it’s easier just to have the standard one-pot kind.”

“You know they make the kind that do both. Big pots as well as the little cups. If you got one of those, you could offer more variety. I can take care of buying it for you.”

“Yeah? That would be perfect. Thank you. I’ll check those things off my list. Email me the confirmations when you get them, too, okay? I’m trying to keep track of everything.”

“I will.”

They sat in silence just drinking their coffee and watching people on the beach. Lots of walkers. Some people with dogs. A few with small children who were already claiming their spot for the day. One man had a kite.

“What time do you have to leave?”

“About quarter to two,” Trina said.

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