Worth the Wait

Part 2 - The Arrival

Part 2 - The Arrival

Rose’s POV

        Morning finally arrived, along with the rush to get things ready. Beth and I scrambled over the final details, three times apiece. Smooth country music was playing over the speakers, iced tea was waiting in pitchers, and Beth’s parents toasted us with a cute little speech. 

        When we were ready for the grand opening, we unlocked the doors to find a small crowd waiting patiently to begin. Among the crowd we saw many customers from Beth’s parents’ antique shop. Seemed like they did their fair share of advertising.

        People were everywhere for the first couple of hours. It felt like every woman east of the Mississippi had come to see what we had to offer. Fitting rooms had waiting lines, and Beth was swamped at the cash register. If we were to be keeping up this kind of business, we would have to hire more help. Luckily, Beth’s younger sister offered to help to allow Beth and I to roam and answer questions.  

        We went from group to group answering questions and listening to some suggestions for future designs. We even had a few special requests ordered.  

        When lunchtime came around, we were exhausted. Beth sent Justin to get some food, and the crowd seemed to thin out a bit. Beth and I stood there transfixed on the amount of people who came to the opening. It was amazing how this shop started out as an idea on paper and became something tangible. We were both humbled immensely.  

        Justin walked back in carrying sub sandwiches, and Beth basically ran into his arms. She decided to take her break first, leaving me to take care of the shop. Not that I minded, I was waiting for Christine to show up anyway. A half hour later, my best childhood friend came walking through the doors, a large smile on her face. When her eyes scanned the room and found me, she burst into a run and caught me up in the biggest hug she could manage in the small space we had. Laughing, she pulled back and exclaimed, “I missed you so much!”

        Not being able to help myself, I started laughing with her. “I missed you too, hun! I’m so glad you could make it!”

        She glanced about and took in her surroundings. “I’m glad I came too. Why didn’t you ever tell me you liked fashion so much? I would’ve exploited this talent long ago.”

        “I just found out about it when I came down here. I guess you could say that it was a part of the whole ‘finding myself’ process. I honestly couldn’t be happier.”

        Her eyes lowered as her face took on a somber expression. “At least that makes one of you.”

        “What do you mean by that sweetheart? Did something happen? Are you alright?” I asked, alarmed by her expression.

        She shook her head, “It’s not me, Rosie. It’s someone else.” She looked around before starting to speak again. “And now is not the time to discuss it.”

        “Later?” I prompted.

        She nodded. “Of course. We have so much to catch up on.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “But first, what can I do to help?”

 * * *

        By the time we closed for the night, all parties concerned were dead on their feet.  Beth was curled up in Justin’s arms on the sofa and Christine was slumped in a chair. We sold almost every piece of inventory we had on display and just about everything we had stocked in the back. We began taking special orders for items we could not sell because we wouldn’t have anything left in the store. Our supplier was going to get a kick out of all the requests. If today was any consolation to how the next few months were to go, then we would have no problem.