Artful Dream

Chapter 9

The rest of the morning had been busy for Maggie and Richard. She was dealing with a customer when her cell notified her of an incoming email. While the customer browsed the book he was about to purchase, Maggie glanced across to see the email was from Giovanni confirming they flight details and hotel reservation.

Once her customer had left the shop and seeing there were no customers over at Richards side, she flipped the door sign to ‘Closed’. Time for lunch.

Richard had sold three paintings totalling £20.000 and Maggie’s sales for the morning were just under £3,000. She even manged to sell that large book in the window which she found a few months ago in a builder’s skip. It was a beautiful pen and ink architectural book depicting churches from Europe during the 1800’s. As the customer was leaving, she remembered going in after it.

The book was lying exposed to the elements. The front cover had become detached and was lying under a pile of bricks. Seeing it there, she kicked off her shoes and clambered in after it. On returning to the bookshop covered in brick dust, she phoned her friend Josie a restorator, who managed to attach new end papers and re-bind the cover. With the book looking brand new, Maggie placed in her window and that morning it sold for £500!

With the shop now closed for lunch, Richard came over to her as she was about to read Giovanni’s email:

Dear Maggie,
We here at the book festival appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to be one of our guest speakers.

Please note the festival runs from 4th June to 8th June and your appointment as speaker will be on 5th June at 14.30GMT. The venue will be at your accommodation, Hotel Albani Firenze.

We have arranged two rooms for your stay, one for you and one for Mr Richard Maple at the Hotel from Saturday 2nd to the 8th June. Check-in upon your arrival.

Your e-tickets for the return flight are from London Gatwick to Florence. See attached below.

Sent on behalf of Signore Giovanni Rossi, Grazie Mille.

Maggie hit the print button and her ink-jet printer sprang to life. Upon retrieving them, she placed them safely in an envelope and popped them in her back.

"Right then," she said. "Lunch!"

The afternoon was a hot one, so Richard thought it would be a good idea to take a full lunch hour out the back of the shop in the courtyard. Maggie went to Mike’s Deli to fetch their sandwiches. On her way back to the shop she went into the opticians to collect her mended glasses and as a toast to Italy, a little something at the off-licence.

When she got back, Richard had dragged out the patio set from the shed and erected the two sun-lounges, with parasols, one either side of the little bistro table. By the time Maggie came into the little courtyard the midday temperature was pushing twenty-five degrees Celsius. She was wearing her prescription Ray-Ban sunglasses and carrying their lunch with a bottle of wine.

“Hello, what’s this?” said Richard as he spied the bottle. “You must be filling better after last night.”

She smiled, “Just thought a little toast to a good morning of sales plus our trip to Florence.” She placed their lunch on the table while Richard went to find some glasses.