I reach for it with a trembling hand. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is. Maybe Luke isn’t the only reason I came back to New York.
Okay. I take a deep breath and make a little deal with myself. If we get to the store and it’s still for lease, I’m going to call Isaac. If it’s still available, I’ll take that as the ultimate sign. A current of nervous excitement runs through me at the thought.
“Where on the Lower East Side?” the cabbie demands from the front.
Crap. Where was it? I know it was somewhere off Grand Street, at least I think it was…
“Er, maybe left here…” I do my best to give him directions, and we make several wrong turns—followed by much colorful language on his part—but eventually we’re on the right street, and we’re pulling up outside the store.
And there, across the front window, is a sign for a pet store. It’s been leased, and it’s been turned into a pet store.
I wait for relief to take hold of me, but it doesn’t. In fact, the longer I sit in the back of the cab, peering out the window at the pet store, the more I feel like I might cry.
God, I didn’t realize just how badly I wanted this dream, but the sense of sheer disappointment is so crushing it steals my breath. When the driver turns back to ask me what’s going on, I struggle to respond.
“Sorry. Never mind,” I mutter, swallowing against the lump blocking my throat. “Back to the hotel.”
He peels away from the curb and I lean back, absently watching the shops pass by, feeling hollow with remorse. If only I’d taken the opportunity when it was there. Now I’ve lost the chance to—
“Wait!” I hear myself cry, before I can even comprehend what’s happening. But my eyes have spied it: the empty store. Itisthere, I got the wrong place! Of course I did, I had no idea where I was going!
The driver gives an almighty harrumph, pulling the cab over hard, and I press my hands to the window, looking at the store. My heart is pounding again, but this time in a good way. Because it’s not over, my dream. The store is still here. And I said—Ipromisedmyself—if it was here, that was a sign…
“Lady, what are we doing?” the driver barks, interrupting my thoughts. “Are you getting out here or not?”
A smile stretches wide across my face. “Yes,” I say resolutely. “Yes, I am.”
* * *
Isaac exits a cab,scanning the sidewalk. His face lights up when he sees me, leaning back against the empty storefront, gnawing my fingernails down to stumps.
“Harriet!” He steps forward and takes my hand in a hearty handshake.
“Hi,” I say, with more confidence than I feel. It took him an hour to get here—unsurprising, considering I called him at 8 a.m. on what I now realize is a Sunday—and in that time my certainty about this whole thing has been whittled down to a tiny nub. Honestly, what am I doing?
“I didn’t expect to hear from you,” he admits as he opens the door.
I shuffle in behind him, watching him turn on the lights. “Well, I wasn’t planning to call. But thanks for coming out so early on a Sunday. I, er, I thought I’d take another look.” Probably best to leave out the part where I felt like the universe was giving me signs to open a cafe here.
“No problem. I’m glad.” He turns to me with a grin. “So… do you have any questions?”
I nibble my lip, glancing around the space. Now that I’m here, actually contemplating this whole thing, it suddenly looks… well, not as good as I remember. I mean, look at that peeling paint. And that hole in the drywall. And was that water stain always there, running down the wall?
I clear my throat, glancing back at Isaac’s expectant face. “Why is this place still available? It must be costing the owner, sitting here empty.”
“Fair question. In all honesty, most of the people I show it to only see the surface. It’s not much to look at.” He gestures around and I wince. It really isn’t. “People don’t want to deal with the work. They want a place that’s ready for them to move into right away. The owner wants the tenant to fix it up.” He lifts his shoulders in a light shrug. “And I guess most people don’t want to be this far down on the Lower East Side. It’s not as trendy as the East Village.”
I nod, taking all this in, my mind whirring with possibilities.
“But, you know,” he continues with a sincere smile, “that’s why it’s a good price. The owner is nice enough and he’ll leave you to it. If you don’t mind setting it up, you could have a cool place here. Look at some of these features.” He gestures to a wall behind me. “If you strip away this drywall, there’s brick under there. That could look really good cleaned up. And the bar top here is solid oak. Give that a little TLC and it would come up real nice.”
I glance around again, seeing the place through Isaac’s eyes. A little bud of hope unfurls in my chest, blossoming quietly as I picture it anew.
But… as optimistic as I want to be about things with Luke, what if it doesn’t work out and I don’t have him beside me on this journey? He was the one who gave me all the information in this folder, the one I’m clutching to my chest like a life-preserver in a stormy sea. Without his numbers and his guidance—without his belief in me—I wouldn’t be standing here.
I turn to run my hand along the wooden bar top, thinking. Alex moved all the way to New York when she didn’t know a soul, just for the adventure. Even if I don’t have Luke, I’ll have her, and Michael. And—of course, why didn’t I think of this before?—Cat runs her own business and Geoff manages a bookstore, surely they’ll be able to help me with some of the business stuff.
Besides, I’m not going to throw my dream away just because things with Luke are up in the air. I’m sick of living my life in a safe bubble, watching everyone around me have adventures. It’s my turn to roll the dice and make my move.
