“So don’t worry. Your dad is happy, and that makes me happy. Thanks again for all you did to get us in here.”
“Of course. Also I had tentatively scheduled Aaron and his crew to start renovating the farmhouse next week. I guess I’ll give him the green light now.” Jewel glanced around the spacious living room where most of her parents’ furnishings were in place. It really did look good. Not too cluttered and busy. It would be an easy room to be comfortable in. “But if things change ... I can always pull the plug on the B&B.”
“That’s good to know, but I think we’ll be fine here. Your dad seemed genuinely pleased with everything this morning. I think he’s enchanted with Honeymoon Cottage.” She actually giggled. “He thinks we’re on vacation.” Jewel wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Mom actually seemed to be blushing.
“Well, I hope you can pretend you’re on vacation, Mom.”
She nodded. “It does sort of feel like that. And there isn’t much to do as far as housework goes. Everything is so clean and new. And since you and Cooper seem to be managing everything else, well, I might just relax and hang with your dad today. Let him feel settled and at ease.”
“Good plan.” Jewel stepped back. “Coop and I can move in more of your things if you want. Just let us know.”
“I’m thinking I’d like to become a minimalist.” Mom smiled. “For a change.”
“Hey, why not? If it’s okay, I’ll just store your other stuff in the barn or the attic.”
“Makes no difference to me. I do believe less is more. Simple is better.” She suddenly hugged Jewel. “Thank you so much for pushing for this, sweetie. I’ll admit, I had my doubts, but it looks like you were right.”
Jewel gave her a thumbs-up, then stepped away. “Enjoy!”
As Jewel walked back to the farmhouse, she replayed her mother’s words. Once again, she felt taken aback by the unexpected praise. Values and expectations seemed to be changing ... for all of them. Jewel just hoped the new house would really make life simpler for her parents. Poor Mom already had more than enough to deal with. If the new house helped, even a little, it was well worth the effort. And being part of the solution felt rewarding. Hopefully it would remain a solution.
Jewel refilled her coffee mug, then looked around the kitchen. Despite outfitting the new house’s kitchen to her mother’s satisfaction, this one looked barely touched. And it wasn’t just from Mom’s collecting over the years. Jewel knew that her parents had inherited two previous generations of stuff when they took over the farm.
Cooper came into the kitchen, stretching her arms. “How are Grandma and Grandpa doing?”
“They seem fine.” Jewel watched her daughter open the fridge. Still in her oversized T-shirt and with bed head, she yawned as she removed the orange juice.
“You’re up early.”
“Yeah. Anna and I have a business meeting at her house this morning.”
“Business meeting?” Jewel’s brows shot up.
Cooper gave a half smile as she filled her glass. “It’s Anna’s idea that we should start a business. You know, to make money before school starts.”
Jewel sipped her coffee. “What kind of business?”
“Well, Anna has all sorts of ideas. I suggested doing something with the lavender. Grandma said that was okay with her.”
“That’s a nice idea.”
“Or maybe we could have a honey stand on the edge of town. And when it’s fall, we could do pumpkins there too.” She downed the last of her orange juice, then opened a yogurt container.
“Good ideas.” Jewel reached up to the top of the fridge to remove a porcelain rooster cookie jar, then she used a damp dishrag to wipe away what looked like several years’ worth of dust. At one time her mom had been into rooster decor in the kitchen. “Or you could manage a big yard sale right here on the farm. There’s loads of stuff we need to get rid of, and I’m sure Grandma would let you keep a fair-sized portion of the proceeds.”
Cooper tipped her head to one side. “That might be interesting.”
“You’ve seen the attic and closets and how much is packed into this place. Who knows, you might even find some treasures.”
“Even more interesting.” She dipped her spoon into the yogurt and stirred.
“Grandma thinks it’s okay to proceed with the renovations for the B&B, so I plan to start clearing things out ASAP. For the time being I’ll probably store it all in the barn, but if you’re not interested, I might see about hiring someone to clear it out for me.”
“Okay. I’ll definitely mention it to Anna at our meeting.” With a banana in one hand and her yogurt in the other, Cooper made her exit. Jewel smiled as her barefoot daughter with her lime-green-tipped hair pitter-pattered away. If anyone would have told her just a few months ago that this is where they would be now, she would not have believed it. And compared to her previous life, the gorgeous downtown gallery, her swanky condo, artistic friends ... some might say she was slumming now. And yet she was grateful and felt richer than ever.
She texted Aaron that she was ready to proceed with some remodeling projects, then she sat down to list her priorities, keeping her ever-shrinking budget in mind. Thanks to her experience renovating the gallery, she had some idea of what was involvedand respected how construction costs always ran higher than initial estimates. So she was determined to keep things minimal and, hopefully, do some of the work herself.
Fortunately, the farmhouse had good bones, including hardwood floors, quality woodwork, and thanks to Mom, updated plumbing fixtures. What it really needed most was kitchen updates with industrial appliances, a good heat pump to provide adequate AC for the second floor, and a number of safety-related fixes. She also wanted to repaint both inside and out, get some new furnishings and, of course, finally add her artistic design flare in the finessing of the B&B. Hopefully, she could stretch her finances to cover it all, plus get a website built and her inn up and running by autumn. It was a lot, but she felt confident it was doable with hard work.
