Todd had remembered Pearl and Audrey both playing bride when they were younger. It had been his brother Jake and his duty to always mess up whatever they had designed to play wedding. Looking back on it, it wasn’t a very nice thing to do, but, brothers would be brothers.
He hadn’t spent too much time with his sisters growing up anyway, not enough time to know if they planned every detail or which parts of those details have been executed in their own weddings. Pearl had eloped. How ironic that was, he thought. The woman who designed all the most beautiful weddings, didn’t even have one. But that was the way she had wanted it.
Had he ever given any thought to his own wedding?
Todd watched Jessie walk around the space stopping here and there as if she were imagining other items on walls were in spaces.
What kind of wedding would he and Jessie have?
The thought humored him so much that he laughed out loud.
Jessie turned with a quizzical look. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking about your comment about girls planning their wedding since they were five. I was just thinking of how many times my sisters played wedding and my brother and I ruined it.”
“I am fairly sure my brother would’ve done the same thing. I may have to ask my sister, maybe he did.”
“Will your brother be in the wedding as well?” Todd asked walking toward Jessie at the back of the store.
Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she shook her head before looking back up at him. “He was hit on his bicycle when he was thirteen. He died at the hospital three days later.”
Todd felt his heart stop. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. We lost him physically that day, but there is a little girl, well not little anymore, who lived because she got his heart and another little boy got his kidney. He gave life to others who would not have had any quality of life or length of life.”
Todd would not consider himself a sappy man. Tears did not come often. However, he was sure he was choking on emotion when he said, “That’s beautiful.”
“It is beautiful. My mom and dad almost got divorced after that. Losing a child is something I can’t even fathom. Losing a brother was hard enough.”
“How old were you?”
“Eleven,” she answered quickly and then turned toward the back of the empty store. “I assume that Lydia and your sister wouldn’t mind if we put up another wall?”
“I would assume that would be okay. I can go get Pearl and we can ask her. In fact, I know that she has nothing on her schedule right now. She had a bride cancel.”
“Why would a bride cancel?”
“Fiancé chose someone else.”
“Ouch,” Jessie winced.
The door behind him opened and both of them turned to see Pearl walking in. “I didn’t know you were showing the property. I thought the lights just got left on.”
Pearl walked right to them, again with that air of professionalism. She held out her hand to Jessie. “Pearl Morgan, Todd sister.”
“Jessie Hansen, sister of a bride I think you met this morning.”
“Carly? And your mother is Carol?”
Jessie smiled. “That’s them.”
“I have an appointment set with them for next week. Your sister is going to come in and look at dresses. I hope you’ll join her.”
“I’m sure she’ll want me there.”
“So,” Pearl said as she looked around the room. “What are we doing here?”
Todd moved in closer to his sister. “Ms. Hansen is a photographer. She was looking at the space. Perhaps as the landlord, you can give her more information than I can.”
And with that, his sister took over the showing.
After half an hour with Pearl, Jessie was sold on the property. That morning she had woken up irritated that her sister was making her go to look at venues. There had not been a thought in her mind she’d be going into business for herself.
Pearl had given her all the specifics. She knew the amount of the lease, utilities, and flow of people. Jessie was brought up to date on improvements, and the other businesses, and how they work together.
Jessie spun one more time around in the space taking it in. She had taken a handful of photos on her phone, to show them to her family.
Pearl had given her the key to lock up and told her to take a few minutes in the space by herself. No one could ever decide on something while a stranger stood over their shoulder, she had told her.
It felt comfortable. Almost too comfortable.
Could she do this?
Did she want to do this?
She understood basketball, and coaching, and the politics behind it. She had a degree in business. The photographs she had taken, were all good, in her opinion. But could she make a living at it? She couldn’t keep her job now, even though it meant nothing to her. If she were going to do this, she had to go all in.
She hadn’t been planning for it. So there wasn’t any nest egg set aside for it. She could ask her parents for some money, or take out a loan at the bank. Yes, maybe she would get a small business loan.
Jessie took a moment and inhaled a deep breath before she tightened her ponytail. This was the craziest thought she’d ever had, and it felt right. She wanted to do this. Honestly, if she was as good as she thought, she had other businesses that would feed her clientele. How could she go wrong?
Jessie walked to the door and turned off the light switch. Again, she looked around the now dark in space. Every day, she thought. Every day she can walk through this door and turn on and off that light. It would be hers. All decisions would be hers.
She shut the door and turned the key in the lock.
Pearl had invited her over to have a sandwich at her bridal shop. Jessie had decided to do just that. She would go to Pearl’s store, have a sandwich, and make her decision. Because, it was her decision and no one else’s.
As she turned from the store to walk toward Pearl’s store, she turned and ran right into Todd, and their foreheads smacked together.
His hands came to her arms to steady her. “I didn’t realize I was that quiet. I thought you saw me.”
“I think I was deep in thought,” she said rubbing her forehead. Then, she noticed that they stood eye to eye, and that his eyes were deep blue. It was nice to look a man right in the eye.
“Where you headed over to my sisters?” he asked.
“I was. She said she had sandwiches.”
Todd laughed as he dropped his hands. “She does. And be warned, she’s going to ask you to take some of them home with you.”
That warranted a laugh of her own, she walked side-by-side with Todd Walker down the street in front of the building where she was very convinced she would call home.