(Chris reminds her of her friend from college, a Chinese guy who helped her through those difficult months after her father disappeared and she found out she was pregnant.)
Hannah takes an immediate liking to Christine Cain. Even though they’ve never met in person, when Hannah enters the Brown Dog Deli, Christine embraces her in a warm hug. She’s striking with medium brown hair, doe eyes, and a heart-shaped face but the energy she exudes is infectious.
“I’ve been so excited to meet you. Professor xxx speaks so highly of you.”
Hannah smiles. So Christine checked her out. “He speaks highly of you as well.”
“Let’s sit outside.” Christine leads her through the restaurant to an open air terrace where they sit down opposite each other at a square table.
After ordering coffee from the waitress, Hannah says, “I’ve been studying your portfolio, and I’m impressed. Your choice of colors for your feminine designs are so unusual. I work with a lot of romance authors. They will love them. But your mainstream illustrations are bold and eye-catching.”
Christine beams. “Thank you.”
The waitress brings their coffee, and for the next thirty minutes, they talk about the technical aspects of design. “I love having a cool friend to talk geeky stuff with,” Christine says.
Hannah laughs out loud. “We’re a rare breed.” She’s tempted to hire this young woman on the spot. Christine has all the qualities she’s looking for in an employee. But to do so would put things in motion. There would be no turning back. She would have to spend her house money. She wants it so badly she can taste it. Yet she’s scared to death. “You mentioned on the phone that you’re not certain you want to stay in Charleston. Have you given that any more thought?”
“I’d like to stay in Charleston if I can find the right situation.” Christine sits up straighter and moves to the edge of her chair. “So, Hannah, I’ve been wondering, if you would consider taking on a partner. I don’t have any start-up cash, but I’ve lived in Charleston all my life, and I have a ton of contacts. My parent are real estate brokers here. They know everyone in the city. They own a building across Broad Street.” She tosses her thumb over her shoulder. “The second floor has been vacant for years. They’ll let us set up our offices there, rent-free. I suggested we meet here in case you wanted to look at the building. Plus, my parents will let me stay on their health insurance plan through the end of next year.” She pauses to take a breath, before continuing. “I interviewed with a lot of companies last spring and was offered a bunch of jobs. But I turned them all down, because none of them excited me. Not the way the prospect of being your partner excites me.”
“I can see you’ve given this a lot of thought.” Hannah pauses as she considers how to respond. Going into business with a virtual stranger is nuts. At the same time, she has a feeling, deep down in the pit of her stomach, that this is the right move. To have someone share the burden of the risk takes the edge off her fear. “What the heck. Let’s go check out your parents’ building.”
Christine and Hannah jump to their feet and make their way back through the deli to the sidewalk. At the corner, they wait for the light to change before crossing the street. They enter the real estate office, and Christine waves at an attractive man who is speaking intently with someone on the phone.
“That’s my dad,” she explains. “Mom’s not working in the office today. She has a bunch of showings.”
At the side of the room is a staircase leading to a large open space with hardwood floor and windows overlooking Broad Street.
Christine knocks on the wall at the back of the room. “I was thinking we could paint this wall a dramatic color with our logo front and center. We’ll have to come up with a catchy name. Something like Chris Hannah Studio.”
Hannah repeats the name. “Very current. I like it. Do you go by Chris?”
Christine shrugs. “Most of the time. Call me whatever you want.” She circles the room. “I was thinking a large oriental rug in soft colors on the floor with lucite desks and white lacquer credenzas on the walls for storage. If we find we need privacy, we can create a screen by hinge shutters together to section off part of the room.”
Hannah easily envisions the setup. “A feminine powerhouse.”
“Exactly.” Chris offers Hannah a high five. Then her face falls. “I’m overwhelming you. I come on strong sometimes. I understand you need to think about this. You may not even want a partner.”
Hannah goes and stands by the window, staring down at the traffic on Broad Street. The buildings location is ideal, close to Gus’s school and to where she hopes to live. “I definitely need to think about it. But I’m not opposed a partnership. I recently turned down a similar opportunity, actually. It wasn’t the right fit. However, I think you and I fit together like biscuits and molasses.”
Chris joins her at the window. “When are you moving to Charleston?”
“Soon. My son starts preschool on July first. I have a three-year-old child, Chris. I hope that’s not a problem for you.“ Out of the corner of her eye, Hannah watches for Chris’s reaction.
Her face lights up. “Are you kidding me? I think that’s so badass! I love kids. What’s his name?”
“Gus.” Hannah turns her back to the window. “Thanks for showing me the space. If we decide to move forward with our partnership, I’ll take your father up on his offer of free rent. But only until we get our feet on the ground.” Checking her watch, Hannah starts toward the stairs. “I better be going. I have an appointment to look at an apartment in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll walk out with you.”
Chris’s father is still on the phone. They wave to him as they exit the building. On the sidewalk out front, Hannah says, “We’ll continue our discussion. I’m looking at several apartments, but if you’re free this afternoon, I’ll call you when I head back to Palmetto Island.”
“Please. I’ll be waiting to hear from you. In the meantime, I’ll come up with some more ideas.”
Hannah snickers. “I can’t wait to hear them.”
Birdie is in the kitchen making corn bread when Hannah comes in with Gus. “How was Charleston?” she asks as she spoons sour cream into her batter.
“I had an interesting development. Let me fix Gus’s dinner and I’ll tell you about it.”
Gus hugs Birdie’s waist. “Pick me up, please, Birdie.”
She turns off the mixing bowl and lifts her grandson into her arms. She cherishes this moments. She’ll miss not seeing him every day when he moves. “Are you tired, sweet boy?”
He nuzzles her neck. “Mm-hmm. I miss my daddy.”
Birdie locks eyes with Hannah over the top of his head. “You’ll get to see him soon.”
Hannah removes a container of leftover chicken bog from the microwave and dumps several spoonfuls onto Gus’s plastic child’s plate. “Come here, you.” Taking Gus from Birdie, she deposits him in the chair at the small table Birdie set up for him beside the back window.
Once Gus is settle, Hannah grabs an apple for the refrigerator and leans back against the kitchen counter. “Chris and I really hit it off. She’s amazingly talented, and she has the most creative ideas. She suggested a partnership, and I think it’s the perfect solution for both of us. Her parents own a building on Broad Street. They are letting us have the second floor rent-free. It’s seems too good to be true.”
Birdie looks up from greasing foil pans. “In my experience, when things seem too good to be true, they usually are.”
“Not with Chris. What you see is what you get. Wait until you meet her, Mom. She’s down to earth and hard working.”
“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”
“I’m getting there. I’m going to sleep on it and call Chris in the morning.”
Birdie removes the bowl from the mixer and pours batter into the foil pans. “Did you have any luck finding an apartment?”
“I found the perfect apartment. You would love the landlord, Heidi Butler. She owns Tasty Provisions, that gourmet shop on East Bay.”
Birdie gives a nod of approval. “I’ve heard of it!”
“Unfortunately, the rent is more than I want to spend. The apartment occupies the whole second floor of a single house. It has two bedrooms, an updated kitchen and bath, and a small yard for Gus to play in. I met the woman who lives on the first floor. Hope is a little older than me. She’s also a single mom of an adorable four-year-old girl named Sally.”
“If you don’t have to pay rent for office space, maybe you can afford the apartment?”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” Hannah takes the last bite of apple and chunks the core in the trash can. “We’ll see. I may look at some other apartments on my way to Pawley’s Island on Friday.”
The back door swings open, and Cary saunters into the kitchen. “Birdie, I owe you one. The new job is working out well.”
Hannah rolls her eyes. “About time. Who hired you?”
“Stan Morgan. I sold three kayaks and two wave runners today. A record for a Monday. Sheryl Mcgee, the woman who bought the wave runners, is new to town. She just moved into the old Hitchcock Estate. She’s also interested in paddle boards and a small Key West center console.”
Birdie notices the gleam in his eye. Cary is interested in Sheryl. Should Birdie warn the woman? She may be his next prey. Nah. Let Sheryl figure it out the hard way. Like Birdie did.
Gus leaves the table and rushes over to his grandfather. “Pops, will you take me down to the marina? I wanna see the fishing boats come in,” Gus says, staring up at Cary with unadulterated adoration.
Cary looks over at Hannah. “If your mom says it’s okay.”
Hannah sighs. She can’t compete with any of the men in her son’s life. “I guess. But hold tight to his hand. And only go to the marina. No i-c-e c-r-e-a-m,” she says, spelling out the words.
Watching them go, more to herself than to Hannah, Birdie says, “That boy needs a permanent male figure in his life. I hope Cary doesn’t break his heart the way—”
“He broke mine?” Hannah’s shoulders slump. “You heard Gus when he first came in. He misses his daddy. But he barely even knows Ryan. I hope I’m doing the right thing in going to Pawley’s this weekend. What if Ryan lets him down?”
“He’ll survive the way you did.” Birdie cups her daughter’s cheek.
“I take it you and Stan made up. I hope he knows what he’s getting into by hiring Dad.”
“He forgave me for lying, but we’ve agreed to slow things down between us. Our relationship was moving too fast. But I’m grateful to Stan for giving your dad a job. He wants to make certain Cary has the money to move out of my apartment. I told your father he has to be out by Friday.” (Does Hannah already know this?)
“Good!”Hannah rests her head on Birdie’s shoulder. “Mom, will you be okay here alone? Dad’s moving out. Which is a good thing. But when Gus and I leave, you’ll be all alone.”
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, actually. I may buy a small house of my own on the water. Our apartment has been our refuge these past few years while we were recovering—me from alcoholism and you from having a baby. But the time has come for us to move on.”
Hannah pushes away from Birdie. “What will you do with the apartment?”
Birdie cross the kitchen to the coat room. “I was thinking of adding a door here, so my tenant would have access to the apartment stairs but not the kitchen. I would need to add a stove and a full-size refrigerator to the kitchenette. I imagine the waterfront location will bring a handsome rent.”
When Birdie turns back to face her daughter, Hannah is swiping away tears from her eyes. “What’s wrong sweetheart?”
“I’m afraid. I’m ready for the change, but everything is happening so fast. How will I live day to day without you in my life?”
“I have no doubt but what you’ll adjust beautifully. I’ve done you a disservice by allowing you to stay under my wing for so long. There’s a whole big world out there waiting for you to join it. Go! Make a name for yourself. You’ve worked so hard, you deserve success.”
“Thanks, Mom. That means a lot.”
Birdie’s throat swells as her gaze follows Hannah up the stairs to their apartment. Her daughter is her pride and joy. How will she manage without Hannah and Gus? The same way she’s managed every other change in her life. By putting one foot in front of the other and taking each day as it comes.