Before I knew it, I had been in my new dwellings for a month. I did hang out with Dawson quite often, and he hung around the shop drinking more coffee than normal.
The store looked sensational, and the office was actually a well productive working space now. I filed everything in the empty filing cabinets that were buried with boxes and boxes of stuff that I was sure Starlight didn’t even know she had. I used some of the petty cash and Dawson built shelves in the storeroom for me. I had everything organized and on shelves. I had found some really funky things in the storeroom and continued to make the dining room more, customer friendly. There was a box that I was sure Starlight had gotten for that purpose that had yellow and white checkered tablecloths. I brought out three booths that were also buried in the back, and Dawson screwed them to the floor for me in front of the glass windows. I brought out three more tables and covered them all with the tablecloths.
I also found a whole stack of beautiful Indian paintings that needed to be on display. They were beautiful. The first day that I had hung them on the hooks that Dawson also hung for me, I sold three of them. I hung some uniquely made dream catchers which were also selling like crazy. I found the company that had made them and ordered another box in all shapes and sizes.
Lauren and Dawson helped two Sundays in a row, scrubbing and re-staining the wood floors. I couldn’t wait for Starlight to get back to see her new store. I also hoped that she wasn’t going to be mad at all of the changes that I took upon myself to do.
A young girl from the next town over stopped in one day and had just opened up a cookie and cupcake store and wanted to know if I would be interested in placing an order. I had told her that I would order once and see how they went and if they did okay I would order more. They did more than okay, and she was bringing fresh orders daily. The display case that Dawson helped get from the back room to beside the counter was perfect and I even had room for Phyllis’s Saturday morning doughnuts in the case. I was the one to get the cookies, cupcakes, and pastries from the case. I hated the way it was before and people could just finger whatever. I felt much better about taking the food out with my plastic gloved hand.
Dawson was there, as normal, earlier than he needed to be on Saturday morning. I was frantically cleaning and making sure everything was perfect for Starlight. I was a nervous wreck and hoped that she was okay with all of the changes.
“Will you get over here and sit down,” Dawson pleaded. “I know Starlight. She is going to love it.”
I got a cup of coffee and sat at the booth in front of the window with him, patiently waiting and wishing that she would get there already.
“You want to go eat some ribs tonight?” Dawson asked as we waited.
“Hmm, maybe,” I replied.
“Maybe?”
“Well it’s six o’clock in the morning. I can’t think about supper until I have breakfast and lunch.”
Dawson laughed. “Okay, let me know after lunch.”
I ran to the back room when I heard the door unlock, knowing that it was Starlight. She came in with huge eyes, and her hand covered her mouth. Dawson had followed me back, wanting to see her reaction, as well.
“Oh, my God, Riley, did you do all of this,” she asked in awe of the neatly organized storeroom that you could actually see the floor, and it was clean.
“Well, I had some help,” I answered, smiling at Dawson. “I would have never been able to do it all myself.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet, Starlight. This girl is a working machine. Welcome home,” Dawson added.
“I don’t think I am home. This is not the store that I left.”
She walked down the hall and opened the office door and gasped. I had hung pictures on the walls, the desk was clear, except for the computer and a folder in a medal slot with an order for some psychedelic flip-flops that I wanted to purchase for the store. It was now pretty warm out, and with the tourists that I had been getting in the store, I knew they would sell.
Starlight couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
She opened the drawers and filing cabinet with the wisely placed tabs with a tangible system. She couldn’t seem to close her mouth. She continued and walked in both the men’s and women’s restrooms. They too were transformed into delicately decorated rooms. Both rooms had an Indian theme and the décor all came from things that I had found in the storeroom, except for the paint. We did paint those two rooms because they desperately needed it. The rust colored paint with the Indian design looked almost urban.
“Riley, I am speechless,” she exclaimed.
“So you’re not mad?”
“Mad? No way. I am in shock that you did this.”