More Than a Soldier

Chapter 54 - Finding a Location

Y/n's POV:

Since adoption day, everything has really started to pick up. Scarlett had to start working again and was out most days getting ready for going to the Czech Republic. I was also working more with Alan. He's working on a movie called Ready Player One and I've been shadowing him to see how he works on a project from start to finish. Sophie and I are also doing a lot more for the new café and we're making the most of the time we have before Ava finishes for summer and requires more of my attention.

Scarlett has been in Europe now for a little over two weeks. Although it was hard to say goodbye, I know how excited she was for this movie, and I can hear it every time we talk on the phone. She loves the cast, and she is always saying what a fun set it is. She's sent some photos and she looks so good in costume. Her hair is my favourite length at the moment, and I love the look she has for this movie.

The time difference makes it difficult to talk sometimes. She's 9 hours ahead, so we're often trying to catch each other just before Ava goes to bed and Scarlett heads off for the day. But we're making it work and she's due home this weekend for a couple of nights.

She is literally landing early hours on Friday morning and then has to get a late night flight on the following Monday. I told her she didn't need to do it as I know how tired she is with filming. But she insisted. So, I'm planning on making it the best weekend. I'm going to dote on her and make sure she has a relaxing weekend with the three of us. Nothing too strenuous. Just family time.

With Scarlett gone, it's made the weekdays a little lonely at home. But both Alan and Sophie have managed to fill a lot of the void. I feel like I'm finally getting back into the swing of things from a work perspective and getting my first pay check from Marvel has helped to ease my worries about pulling my weight in this relationship. As much as Scarlett says I don't need to worry about it. I do. I want to provide for them as best I can. I also need the mental stimulation.

Today, Sophie, Hannah and I are going to look at a couple of potential venues for the new café. With Ava at school, it means we can properly look, and I'm not being distracted by the bored 8 year old who doesn't want to be there. Sophie managed to convince Hannah to join us in our new venture. She is going to be the manager of the new place to allow Sophie and I the chance to take a step back once it's up and running.

There is no one else I'd rather have doing this with us. Thankfully, she accepted easily. She's almost as excited as we are and it's great to have her insight in to things, as well as someone to play peacemaker if ever Sophie and I disagree on anything. Which we've not encountered yet, but I'm sure we will!

So, on top of finding the perfect place for us to set up shop, Sophie is now also interviewing for a new manager of her current café. She considered promoting one of her current staff, but Hannah did such an amazing job, the others never really had to step out of their comfort zones. Instead, she's decided to hire someone totally new, and Hannah is helping her in that process too.

I'm so proud of Sophie when I see her work. Her café has done exceedingly well, and I think it surprised her with how well she's been doing. She had to increase her staff and capacity to meet the demand she was getting, and I know it was all because of the atmosphere she has created there. It's a quiet, safe place for people to go. To escape from the world for a moment. I hope that we can create something like it ourselves. A place with its own personalility.

Our real estate agent had three places on the cards for today. The first one was a complete dud. It was so dark and not big enough for what we have planned. The second one faired better but was on a main road and we weren't sure how much foot traffic we would get.

Ideally, we wanted somewhere that was near the college, a park or business centres. It would give us a customer base that we could build upon. If it's in walking distance to some main sites or attractions, it would help a lot.