Perfect Contradiction (6 page)

“Jen, everything looks amazing!” Beth gushed. I was grinning from ear to ear. The whole place did look great. We were standing in the living room. There were two sofas, two armchairs¸ the piano, and a small window seat in the room. It all fit together perfectly, and some of it was furniture I’d already had that just felt wrong to get rid of. I’d taken down most of the personal pictures of me growing up, but I did leave two pictures of my momma and me on the piano. One of us when I was a baby and one of us when I was grown. Those weren’t going anywhere.

“Let’s take a tour,” I suggested excitedly. Beth hadn’t been by in a week, and a lot of the finishing touches were done in that time.

“Ohh, look at the swinging door!” Beth squealed. I pushed through it lightly and held it open for her. That swinging door had once hung in a saloon from the late 1800s, but I wasn’t going to advertise that interesting little tidbit. The guys had sanded it down and painted it to fit the rest of the house. The door led right into the bakery portion of the house, which used to be my formal dining area. Now it held two small, round tea tables and chairs. It also had a long, glass counter display box that took up most of one wall with just enough room for someone to step behind it and sell the baked good. A tiny cash register sat on the far corner of the counter. An eclectic collection of baskets and cake stands that I’d collected for the past few weeks lined the top of the rest of the counter. The window near the small tables had white lace curtains pulled back so guests could see out into the front yard. The front porch swing was right outside the window.

“It’s perfect,” Beth said after walking around the room.

“Let me show you the rooms,” I said after a moment. I showed her the few finishing touches upstairs that she hadn’t seen. A throw blanket here, an old vase there, even an antique toy truck I’d picked up for the multicolored room. It went perfectly.

“Ladies… we’re ready for you.” Matt’s voice reached us from downstairs. My eyes widened. Pastor Wright and Matthew were out in the yard working on last two things I needed done before the grand opening in a few days.

“They’re ready,” Beth said excitedly. “Are you?” she asked.

“I am,” I said, nodding my head. And I thought I was. We headed down the stairs, refraining from rushing down them like a couple of schoolgirls, but it was a very near thing. When we got outside, I walked quickly with Beth to the front lawn. I stopped, my eyes welling up as I took it all in. Matt and Pastor Wright stood there with huge grins on their faces. The sign stood proudly in my front yard, close to the road. It hailed my home proudly as the Countryside Inn and Bakery. The sign was wooden and distressed purposely to look a little old fashioned, just like my house. Beth wound her arm through mine as we turned to look at the house itself. A sign hung there too. From two chains, a smaller, identical sign to the one in the yard hung from the porch just above the stairs. It looked like it was meant to hang there, that it had always been a part of the house. It was
perfect
.

“Your momma would’ve been so proud,” Beth whispered.

I smiled and hugged her arm tightly. “Yes, she would have been,” I answered.

“Thank you so much, Pastor Wright, Matt,” I said after a moment.

“It was our pleasure,” Pastor Wright answered with a smile. They began getting all their tools together and loading up their truck while Beth and I just stood there staring at the house.

“So, you’re going to do this,” Beth said softly. I knew she wasn’t just talking about the inn.

“I am. It’s for the best,” I said. I could feel her eyes on me, watching me as I stood there with my chin tilted defiantly.

“Okay,” she answered after a moment and a sigh.

“Okay,” I agreed. Now to stick with my plan and everything would turn out hunky-dory.

“Well, this time next week, you’re going to be a busy lady with the inn opening up.”

I was grateful that Beth had decided to change the subject. “Yeah, getting up that early to bake each morning is gonna be hell,” I said with a groan.

Beth smiled widely. “My niece, little
Elizabeth
, doesn’t like early mornings?’ she asked in baby talk. She reached out a hand, but I slapped it away.

“Don’t you even dare, Elizabeth Michaels Wright!” I huffed. Beth chuckled, but smartly let her hand fall away before getting too close to my stomach. “And besides… it
could
be a boy.” Beth snorted in derision as I grinned.

“Beth! We’re ready to head out.” Beth waved over to Matt.

“Well, I gotta get going. I’ll be over the day before the grand opening to stay the night and lend a hand like I promised,” Beth said.

“Sounds good. We’ll see how much your taste testing comes in handy,” I said with a grin.

Beth put both her hand on her hips. “Quality control is an important part of any growing business,” she said matter-of-factly.

I laughed. “And you are definitely highly qualified in that department,” I joked.

Beth beamed. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” I agreed. “I’ll see you in six days then. Please thank Pastor Wright and Matt for me again.” Beth nodded as she left me standing in my yard to leave with the Wrights.

I walked slowly to the house and curled my legs up beneath me as I sat in my porch swing.
This time next week, I am going to be a business owner
, I thought. I laid a hand on my not-so-flat-any-longer stomach.
In a few short months, I am going to be a mommy
, I added.

Everything was about to change.

“I can’t believe today is the day,” Beth said
again
. I was rearranging the cookies and muffins in the case
again
. I couldn’t stand still. I’d been up since before the butt crack of dawn, baking and making sure everything was going to go perfectly that day. I hadn’t stopped for a second to even catch my breath. Breathing could wait until after the grand opening was over.

“Oh, God,” I muttered beneath my breath.

“What? What is it?” Beth asked in panic.

“What if no one shows up? What if they think the inn isn’t nice enough? What if they think my prices are too high or my new muffins suck?” Words poured out, and my head suddenly felt like it was going to explode from the pressure there.

“Whoa, Jen,” Beth said, coming over to pull me down into one of the small chairs in the bakery. “People are going to show up, I promise. Nothing this big has happened in Salem in so long time, they’ll show up just for something to do.”

I snorted. Leave it to Beth to say something so entirely ridiculous and… true.

“Your house was beautiful to begin with. Now… now it is truly a sight to see,” she added. Her words were heartfelt, and I knew she meant each one of them. I smiled at her in thanks. “And don’t get me started on your prices. You wanna be robbed blind, then that’s your business. But, I’m just sayin’ that if it were me, I’d raise ‘em… your banana nut muffins are good enough to make a grown man weep.”

“Thank you, Beth. I’m just freaking out a little here, I guess.”

“You’re entitled to. Just get over it quick, ‘cause it’s about that time,” she said quickly, standing up.

I glanced over at the clock… ten minutes ‘til opening time.
Sweet baby Jesus
. Standing up, I pulled my apron off. I was wearing a stretchy, black pencil skirt that hit just below my knees and a cream-colored, blouse with black polka dots and a scooped neckline. Using my apron to wipe off the white sprinkles of flour on my pumps, I then straightened up. It was time.

Beth looked me over, eyeballing my tummy area hard. “You ain’t got much more time to hide your baby bump,” she whispered.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m fully aware of that fact,” I said, smoothing a hand over my slightly bulging midsection. Mini Blob needed more room. Beth opened her mouth to say something else when the sound of vehicles drew our attention to the bakery window. Cars and trucks were pulling in.
People were actually showing up
. I turned to Beth with a huge grin on my face. Her face mirrored my excitement.

“Let’s go welcome your customers,” Beth said proudly.

I took a deep breath. “Yes, let’s,” I answered sounding more confident than I felt. We left the bakery area through the swinging door and opened up the front door to welcome people to the inn.

I was officially open for business.

“You know, I think I’ll take your final dozen chocolate chip cookies, after all,” Mrs. McGregor said with a devious grin. “I think the grandkids will enjoy them when they come to visit this evening.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I answered with a smile. “I’ll package them up for you. Did you get enough sweet tea? I think there’s still a little left if you’d like a fresh glass,” I added as I pulled out the nearly empty cookie tray from the display case.

“No, no, dear. I’ll be floatin’ away if I drink anymore.” I laughed lightly and handed her the box of cookies over the counter. She handed me cash and waited while I made change for her.

“The inn looks lovely, Jennifer,” she said sweetly. “Your momma would’ve been so proud of what you’ve done here.”

I smiled and handed her the change. “Thank you, Mrs. McGregor. I truly appreciate you sayin’ so.”

She patted my hand and then reached over to grab a business card. “You know, I’ve got someone coming to town in a few weeks or so who might need a place to stay. I’ll be sure to send him your way.” I smiled at the elderly lady. Old Mrs. McGregor had to be nearing eighty years old. I wasn’t sure how she got around so well, but I was sure that if she remembered, she’d send him my way.

“We’d love to have him here at the Countryside Inn,” I said politely.

“Alright, dear, well, I better be getting’ on. The old man will be wondering where I got off to if I don’t get home soon. Men are a helpless lot naturally, but one that’s been married to the same woman for over fifty years can’t do anything on his own, you know.”

I laughed lightly. “I wouldn’t know,” I admitted.

“Well, you will one day, dear. Don’t you doubt it, what with your pretty face and eye for business and bakin’… men’ll be lined up here at your door in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, just you take my word for it.”

I was grinning widely when I walked out the front door and to her car as she prattled on. Her daughter was there to drive her home. I was still smiling when I walked back into the house. The day was almost over, and I’d been going nonstop for hours. It seemed like the entire town and a few others had shown up to check out the inn, buy cookies, muffins and other goodies, tour the house, and sip on a free glass of sweet tea. I handed out more than twice as many brochures and business cards than I’d anticipated. I had two rooms booked for the next week, and my bakery case looked like a small tornado had blown through and cleaned it out. I was overwhelmed by the turnout.

When the final customer had bought what I had left in muffins and headed out of the house at exactly five minute past closing time, I was exhausted and giddy. Beth strolled up to me with a smile that said it all.

“What was that this morning about no one showing up?” she asked, scratching her head. “And something about no one liking your muffins…”

I rolled my eyes and sat down the empty muffin tray and basket. “Alright, I admit I was worrying over nothin’,” I said, taking the high road.