Back at the bottom, she hugged Linda, sawdust and all. She’d given life to Zoe’s dream. “Thank you.”
Linda rubbed her back and patted it a couple of times. “I’m not even done showing you the rest of the store, yet.”
“I don’t care. It’s perfect.”
“Hey.” Linda released her and held her at arm’s length. “I have a rule: no crying on the job site unless you’re bleeding.”
Zoe laughed and rubbed her nose. “I’ll try to not do anything that causes me to bleed.”
“Good. Let me show you the solution we came up with for the doorway between the bookstore and the cafe.”
Her stomach flipped. No matter how many drawings or schematics Linda had sent, Zoe hadn’t been able to visualize the concept. Eventually she decided to trust Linda’s expertise, but she’d been worried.
Linda stopped in front of a row of floor to almost-ceiling bookcases along the shared wall between the bookstore and Elba’s cafe. Stepping on a doorstop at the base of the shelf, she released it. She reached into one of the shelves about shoulder height and pulled a lever, then bent and pulled another one. Moving to the bookcase beside it, she did the same, then swung the shelves out like a set of double doors, revealing the cafe on the other side of the wall.
Zoe covered her mouth with her hands as she spotted Elba behind the counter, then clasped her hands under her chin. “I love it.”
Linda held the side of a shelf and grinned.
“Here, look.” She pointed down. “There are door stops on either side and if you look at the top of the bookcase, there are security latches that secure it into the ceiling.”
“So it has to be unlocked from both sides in order for it to be opened?” Zoe asked.
“Yes. I know security was a concern for both of you since you’re independent businesses and are going to have different hours.”
Elba joined them. “I was wondering how that was going to work. I left one day and there was a hole and a tarp and the next day there was a door but no handle.”
“We’re going to install a locking mechanism on this side as well,” Linda explained. “You guys can figure out how you’ll schedule opening the doors. My daughter volunteered to paint a mural on the cafe side, if that’s all right.”
Zoe stared at Elba with big eyes.
She shrugged. “That’s fine with me. Let me know when she needs access.”
“Great. I’ll get you her number and you can work that out with her directly.”
A customer peeked through the opening. “Oh wow. Is this going to be a bookstore?”
“Yes,” Zoe said.
“That’s so cool. When do you open?” the woman asked.
“Eight weeks, give or take.”
“I can’t wait. It’ll be great not to have to go to Fayetteville or Raleigh to go to the bookstore.” She left with a wave to Elba.
“I’m so excited!” Elba bounced on her toes and clapped her hands. “I need to get back to the counter. One of my waitresses called in sick and my other one can’t get a babysitter on such short notice. Stop by before you leave?”
“Of course.”
“Let me show you the rest of the work we’ve done and what we have left,” Linda said.
They left the cafe and Linda closed the bookcase behind them, showing Zoe exactly how the latches worked and how to ensure they were closed.
An hour later, she was no less nervous about the decision she’d made, but her excitement was on the same level and on track to surpass her worries. She could do this. No. She was doing it.
Exiting out the front, she walked around to the cafe and entered the normal way. When she got to the counter, Elba was talking on her cell, visibly upset. She hung up and clenched her phone in her fist.
“I hate him. I hate him. I hate him so fucking much.”
