“Remember I told you we’re turning the barn into a place where people can have their weddings?” I said.
“Oh, yeah.”
My dad shook his head again, and I did my best to ignore him.
“Mr. West and Miss Presley are getting married in our barn on Christmas Eve,” I told Addie. “Mr. West is helping me build walls next week, so I’ll probably miss dinner every night.”
“Can I help?” she asked.
“It’s pretty heavy work. Are you ready to learn how to use a hammer?”
“Yes!”
“One day we’ll show you how we build walls, and then maybe when it’s time to decorate the barn, you can help with that too.”
“For the wedding?”
“You never know. That’s a long way off, and I’ve got a lot of work before it.”
“During our biggest season of the year, no less,” my dad mumbled.
“Pops, why are you being so grouchy?” Addie asked.
I eyed my dad, waiting for him to answer his granddaughter. He finished a bite of food first.
“This is a working farm, sweets,” he said as he helped himself to more tacos. “A busy one with three harvest seasons.”
“Strawberries, apples, and Christmas trees,” Addie said, her voice going gleeful when she got to her favorite, the trees.
“That’s right. It’s a lot of work,” my dad continued. “Adding weddings in the barn will be even more work. There’s nothing wrong with hard work. That’s what we do on a farm. But your daddy should be focusing on his crops, not chasing some modern trend that’ll die out in a year or two.”
“Barn weddings aren’t going to die out,” I said. “People will always get married, and they’ll always need venues. Besides, we hope to host other events too, like family reunions, corporate parties, private parties, whatever people need room for.”
“Weddings will be my favorite,” my daughter declared. “Just like in The Little Mermaid. I can’t wait!”
Though it worried me to find out from Magnolia about at least two competitors in the area, it also told me this was a viable endeavor.
“That old barn is a piece of history,” I told my dad, even though I knew everything I said would likely fall on deaf ears again. “And it’s a stunning piece of architecture inside. We can use it to store random crap in, or we can make it a revenue stream. To me it’s a no-brainer.”
No-brainer was an exaggeration; I’d overthought the hell out of it, weighed the pros and cons for months. But now that I’d committed, I was all in. His gritching about it was a waste of time.
“That ‘revenue stream’ could well go in the negative and turn into nothing but an expense. There’s no guarantees.”
“There aren’t, but at least for this one we’re not depending on the weather for our livelihood,” I pointed out. “I’m already taking steps to get the word out. Telling everyone I know, meeting with a marketing person, making connections with event planners.”
“I thought you didn’t like the James girl.”
“That’s neither here nor there now,” I said, conscious of my daughter’s listening. “I’m working with her.”
I took a drink of water, sorting through what Magnolia had told me today. I couldn’t say I liked her, but I certainly had more empathy for her at the very least. I debated whether I could say more while respecting Magnolia’s privacy.
I set my glass down harder than intended at that thought. Since when had I respected anything to do with Magnolia James? Not since I was a teenage boy with a crush. But considering what I’d learned today about her horrible home life growing up, I realized I was beginning to see her in a different light.
I elected to keep it to myself and changed the subject. Once dinner was over and Addie and I had cleaned the kitchen, she zipped off to get the movie, her plushies, and her blanket ready.
My dad slowly stood. “Going to my room for a show. Night, son.”
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stay awake for round one hundred seventy-two of The Little Mermaid. I did my best to hide it though, rousing enough to respond to Addie’s comments when they called for it. Mostly she snuggled up beside me and recited the movie.
