The Start Of Something New (WSSME Sequel)

Chapter 37

I drag my feet as I come inside the shop, the bell ringing as I push the door open. I see Soph standing behind the counter looking at me with excitement in her eyes, barely able to stay in place as she watched me walk up to her. I look at her expectantly, my eyebrows raised.

"What's wrong?"

"You'll never guess what happened yesterday!" she exclaims, bouncing on her feet.

I stare at her, my eyes squinting. "If you're this excited... did your mom agree to renovate like a single tile of this place?" I ask, placing my bag on the counter as I look around the shop, pointing at a corner. "That one needs it the most."

She looks at where I'm pointing, shaking her head. "No, Anna, this is a lot better than that!"

"What? two tiles?"

"No!

"All the tiles?" I gasp.

"Anna," she groans. "I have been talking to Mrs. Bardot."

"Ok?"

"She's selling the restaurant building."

"Oh."

"To us."

"Oh."

"Can you believe it?!" she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. "We are going to own our own flower shop!"

"That's great," I say as she jumps in my arms. "How are we going to pay for it though?"

"She agreed to let us pay it off as we go," she says, smiling at me. "Isn't it amazing?"

"What's in it for her, sounds too good to be true," I say, shaking my head.

"Well... Jenny might have had a hand at it. Apparently, the place in its prime was run by Mrs. Bardot and Jenny's grandmother, she didn't want to let go of it."

"Until now?"

She shrugs. "I guess she saw me as a younger version of herself, like a relieving of her romance in modern times," she says dramatically. "As long as we let her stay at her current apartment on the second floor of the building... oh did I forget to mention we are getting the whole building? Including two apartments? We're going to have our own apartment," she says, jumping up and down again.

"This is too much..." I breathe in. "Soph, what the hell! I leave for a week and all of this happens?"

"I know, I'm still processing it all."

"We need to get a plan going," I say, shaking my head. "How are we going to do this? And the renovations? How are we going to pay for them while also paying for the store?"

"We'll figure something out," she says, taking out a notebook from under the counter. "Investors?"

"Are we about to pretend we know how to do these things?"

"Doesn't Daniella?"

⁂

Daniella looks at the three of us with a raised brow, leaning back on her chair. "You're joking, right?"

"No?" Soph says, not noticing Daniella's irony.

"Sure, I'll help you," she sighs. "I'm sure we can get a few deals, but I'm not sure if we can get investors... I don't mind chiming in—"

"No," I interrupt her.

"Anna..."

"I have an idea," I say, shaking my head. "Ed's house."

"Are you selling Ed's house?" Soph asks, her eyes widening.

"Even if it's not enough to pay for the whole thing, it's a start," I say, glancing at Mrs. Bardot who is more entertained with her crocheting than our conversation. "And we can always find a way to pay off the rest."