Page 94 of New Day at the Beach House

Kat nodded. “Well, I’m glad we’re going. I could use a few things myself.”

“Do you have to dress up for Future Florida?”

“It doesn’t seem super business-y, but sort of smart casual. I think nice work-appropriate pants with cute tops and maybe a light jacket or cardigan would be fine. Although I could use some better shoes. All I have here is sandals, flipflops, and sneakers. But I’ll be bringing all my shoes back from Landry, so I don’t need to buy more.”

“That reminds me,” Claire said. “I’m going to need some really comfortable shoes for working in the bakery. I’m going to be on my feet a lot.”

“You know what you should look into? Nurse shoes. Those Danish clog things.”

Claire nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. Lots of chefs wear clogs like that. There’s a health-care workers shop in the same strip mall as Classic Closet. Maybe we can stop in there and have a look.”

“Definitely,” Kat said. “You have to have good shoes. If your feet hurt, so will the rest of you.”

Her words, as innocent as they were, sent a small wave of doubt through Claire. “Am I too old to be doing this?”

“Mom. What are you talking about? Of course you’re not too old.” Kat laughed. “If anything, you’ve aged in reverse since we got here. And eating right and exercising will help keep that process going. Look, I can’t speak for people your age, because I’m not there yet, but I know you and I have no doubts about your ability to do this. Neither should you.”

Claire smiled. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“You’ve worked tirelessly over the last few decades as a mom and a wife. Now it’s time to put that same kind of work into your own business. It might even be easier. You won’t have me or Dad to clean up after.”

Claire snorted. “No. Just customers.” And, hopefully, lots and lots of them.

Trina found a Help Wanted sign at the CVS, just like her mom had suggested. She bought a fat black marker as well. Once she was back in the car, she wrote her phone number in the space provided.

When she got to the salon, she realized she had nothing to hang the sign with, but one of the guys working inside gave her a roll of blue painter’s tape. It worked just fine. After taking down some of the paper covering the windows, she got the sign posted. She just hoped someone noticed it.

Then she went back to her car and got her notebook and binder so she could stay on top of what had been done and what still needed doing. Back inside, she used a big box that had apparently held a cabinet as a table. It was better than nothing and with no reception desk, she didn’t have much choice unless she wanted to put her stuff on the floor. Which she didn’t.

Not long after that, her phone chimed. She took it out and found a notification telling her that the ad she’d placed on the Gulf Gazette’s online job board was live.

“Excellent.” She’d definitely get some calls now.

A couple of the men who were there working were actually cleaning up from the painting they’d finished. Two more were putting up the wallpaper.

Trina stood back, admiring the paper, and picturing how the salon was going to look. She still couldn’t believe it was happening, but that feeling wasn’t likely to go away anytime soon. That’s just how it was with dreams that came true.

She couldn’t believe Mimi was getting married again, either, except that she kind of could. If there was anything her grandmother liked, it was being in love. Trina smiled. How fun would it be to go wedding dress shopping this afternoon?

She borrowed the big push broom from the workers and started sweeping the floor. There was a lot of dust and debris, and she knew it would have to be done again. Ethan had told her the floor would be cleaned and polished before the salon opened, but she couldn’t help herself. She wanted things to look tidy.

She had a big pile of stuff swept up and was only half done when Ethan came in carrying a large box. “Hey, Trina.”

She stopped sweeping. “Hi, Ethan. What’s in there?”

He smiled. “One of the new light fixtures. The shop called to say they were in so I just picked them up. I’m going to get them hung today.”

“Oh, wow. All of them?”

“All but the chandelier that goes in the reception area. That won’t be in for another day or two.”

“Still, that’s awesome. I can’t wait to see them.”

He nodded. “I’ve got that shelving unit you wanted for the storage room, too. I’ll put that together this afternoon as well.”

She couldn’t have been happier. “The place is really coming together.”

“It is.” He glanced at the broom. “You know the floor isn’t going to stay clean, right?”

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