Hearts Under Fire

Chapter 2 - Would You Give It to Me?

“Two farmers chat, leaning on a fence. A third farmer passes by, pulling his cow on a rope. The first farmer says ‘Hey! Great cow.’ ‘Thank you,’ he replies, flattered. ‘Would you give it to me?’ the first farmer asks. The third farmer smiles ironically and walks away. Then the second farmer turns to the first one: ‘Did you really believe that he would give you his cow?’ ‘No, but if he did?’”

“What’s the point of this story?” Martina asked, perplexed.

“Just wait for when Marzarotti comes and you’ll see,” Jenny said, something clever shining in her blue-green eyes.

“He’s coming here?”

“Yep.”

“Then your joke has something to do with that?” Martina asked pointing to the ceiling, indicating the storage unit owned by Marzarotti directly above their shop.

“There you go,” smiled Jenny. “I’ve got a great plan.”

Jenny’s shop, Youth, which specialized in teen fashion, was located in the historic center of the Italian tourist town where she lived. This gave its showcases a high volume of passersby, but there was a big problem with storing her merchandise.

The shop was just a thousand square feet and Jenny didn’t like to stuff it full with items and displays, which would give off a sense of oppression. The customers would feel suffocated in there, especially with only ten-foot ceilings. On the contrary, a pleasant, trendy, and airy place would attract people, even if only out of curiosity. And, once inside, they might be in the mood to do some shopping.

That’s why Youth was so welcoming. Its recessed lighting system made the clothes look great and the space pleasantly bright. There were displaying piles of folded T-shirts, shirts, and polos, arranged to beckon inside. Jackets, jeans, and other items hung on racks all around basically working as colored mobile walls. And she always had some pop and rock music playing in the background.

“No way!” said Martina, excited. “You’re thinking of renting Marzarotti’s unit, aren’t you?”

“Sort of.”

“Then, no more back and forth?”

“Yep. I can’t do that one more day,” sighed Jenny.

To solve the storage issue, Jenny had been using her father’s garage as a warehouse. But it wasn’t a comfortable solution.

Her parents lived in a neighboring town, four miles away. And the garage wasn’t that big. The suppliers left the merchandise there, so she had to go back and forth every time to restock the shop: drive to her parents, open the garage, load the car, drive up to the historical center, park the car—it was closed to traffic—load a trolley and push it up to Youth. This routine had been going on for almost four years. It was killing her and Martina, who took care of it when Jenny was too tired.

Sometimes, Jenny had been tempted by the idea of just making better use of the space in the shop, but she didn’t feel like sacrificing the beauty of her creation to make things easier. She found it terrible on the eyes and really bad for business.

“So you’ve already paid off your dad?” Martina asked.

“Not completely, but I’m almost done,” Jenny said, pride shining in her eyes.

Maintaining her independence was vital to Jenny. That’s why she hadn’t rented a warehouse space yet …

Her very first plan had been to contact a bank, since her personal funds covered just two-thirds of the sum for buying the shop. She would have used the shop itself as a guarantee for the loan.

“Why you wanna throw away all that money on interest?” her father had fumed. “Let me be your bank. You’ll pay me back to the last penny, but without the rush and interest.”

She hadn’t wanted to. She hated feeling in debt. Her need for independence had made her promise herself that she would never ask for anybody’s help. And what was the foundation of her business? Daddy, will you help me buy the shop? Simply unbearable. On the other hand, the chance to save the interest on the loan was a good reason—idealism is a great thing, but at the end of the day …

“Don’t let your pride turn into arrogance,” her mother said, finally convincing her.

Her business had gotten off to a great start—without the rope of a loan around her neck, she could breathe more easily. When her turnover increased, the back of the shop became too small to stock the merchandise. She needed more space, but to rent a place compelled her to lessen the monthly amount she paid her father. She was so annoyed by the awareness of being helped by her family that she couldn’t wait to get rid of that feeling, the simple weight of it. So she decided to use his garage: it was free, and this allowed her to pay him off faster.