Page 9 of Sugar and Spice Kisses

“Hell yes. Why is this here?” It seemed so strange for this to all be hidden away. “I don’t remember there being a bakery here.” I looked closer at each appliance. It was obvious they’d been taken care of and cleaned regularly.

“There was a bread company that started here. They were very small at first and only sold to restaurants in the area. But as they grew this wasn’t big enough for them anymore. They ended up getting a warehouse in Reno. Now they’re very big and sell bread and baked goods to the casinos in the area.”

“Wow, good for them.” I wiped a hand on the top of the mixer expecting to find dust but finding none.

“They’ve kept it clean and maintained. You could literally move in here tomorrow and start. I mean if you wanted to.”

I looked around taking it all in. It was set up perfectly with wide work counters and lots of baking trays, mixing bowls, and everything we’d need except the ingredients. “How much is it?” I braced for the answer, but she looked around the place like it was filled with lots of good memories and wasn’t just a random business space.

“What can you afford?” she asked, surprising me.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s been empty a few months now, and like I said the previous tenant didn’t use this space at all. I’d really like to see it used, and I know your business would be the perfect match. I don’t want price to be the reason you decide against it.”

“I’d have to check my books, but if we could increase our output and sales, then we should be able to pay a fair price. Not that I know what space down here usually rents for.” I knew I shouldn’t be so forward, but something told me this wasn’t a time to hold back.

“It’s less than the storefronts, plus it’s far enough away from Main Street that the price is also less.” She wrote down something on a slip of paper she pulled from her purse and handed it to me.

“What’s this?” I asked before looking. On it was a dollar amount that was so low I couldn’t see how this could possibly be the amount of rent.

“That’s the price to rent this space. I told you it’s very reasonable.” She grinned, and I had a feeling there was way more going on than I was aware of.

“That can’t be right.” My eyes were wide in shock, and probably a little excitement at the prospect of working in this space, but I was still hesitant to get my hopes too high.

“It’s right. My father owned this building and when he retired, he gave it to me to do with as I wanted. What I want is to have up and coming businesses all here in one space. Next door is another new business that will open in around a month. Same with another further down the street. I’m willing to take a chance on you by giving you this opportunity. All you need to do is make your business grow. So, what do you think?”

“I—I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe this is real.” I was speechless and kept waiting for a camera crew to jump out and tell me it was all part of an elaborate joke.

“It’s real. I’m willing to take a chance on you and Eli. You both work so hard and I think you deserve a chance to see where your business can go. So, what’s it going to be?” She crossed her arms and waited for me to answer.

I looked around the space one more time and without another word I was shaking her hand and thanking her for such a huge opportunity. “Oh, I’ll be thanking you with all the cookies I’ll be ordering for future events we have planned for the downtown area. I love the idea of having special cookies available for some events.”

“Whatever you need, Mrs. Jones.”

“Mrs. Jones is my mother, please call me Emily. And if you need any help moving in just let me know. I have a crew that’s more than willing to help. Oh, and you’ll need this.” She dropped the key in my hand before excusing herself to rush off to another meeting.

I stood alone in the space that was apparently going to be the future home of P.M. Kisses, and hoped Eli agreed it was a good decision.

Nine

Eli

As soon as I walked in Aunt Carol had a huge list of things we’d be working on. We packed up the last of the winter items and decided which ones we’d save for next year and which ones we’d put on clearance. Then we made the Valentine’s Day display more prominent since it was coming soon. I set out all the cookies we’d made so far and replenished the supplies for the Design Your Own Cookie Box area.

“This has done so well,” Aunt Carol said as she stood with her hands on her hips watching me.

“Yes, I was just telling Randy over the weekend. Oh, and we came up with something new.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” she said and waited for me to speak.

“Well, we were trying to make an edible container for cookies, but apparently, we don’t know how to do that, and we don’t have a lot of time to put into it right now. But I had the idea to use broken cookies and packaging them with a little container of icing. Randy suggested we could call them cookie nachos. Because you could either dip the cookie pieces in the icing or pour it over the top. Plus, we can use all the cookies that don’t pass Randy’s inspection.”

“Oh, Eli, that’s a very good idea. I’d love to have some of them here. Maybe you could try them out and see how they do?” she suggested. The gift shop had hosted a few of our new products, and it proved to be very useful in gauging customers’ reactions.

“Thanks, I was going to ask you if you’d mind.”

“I never mind, you know this,” she said, and the two of us went back to putting a few more things away for next year and rearranging what was out on the floor.

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