“You are. And that’s okay. But at some point, you’re going to have to do something about it instead of just texting him about chickens.”
“I like the chicken updates,” I argue.
“We all do. But, babe, you can’t live in this limbo forever. At some point, you need to make a decision.”
“I’m not ready to make decisions. I just had the worst Thanksgiving of my life. I’m unemployed, living in your guest room, and I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.”
“So, figure it out.” Riley steals more cereal. “What do you want? Not what you think you should want.”
“I want ...” I trail off, thinking. “I want to not feel lost anymore.”
“Okay. So, let’s start there. Where do you want to live?”
I pause, look at her, then down at my phone. “I don’t know.”
Riley’s brows pull together. “Let’s try, do you still want to work in marketing?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so, nothing corporate. Something ... creative maybe.”
Riley smiles. “There you go, that’s your first decision made.”
I stare at her, confused.
“You just said you don’t want to work in a corporate environment, you want to try maybe working in a creative one,” she explains.
“And what the hell does that mean?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “I don’t know, you said it. What do you think it means?”
“You sound like my therapist,” I grumble.
“She's pretty awesome so I’ll take it.” She grins. Riley stands, grabbing my laptop from the coffee table. “Come on. Let’s look. Maybe seeing options will help. I’m a visual person too.”
“I’ve been looking for weeks. It’s all the same.” I moan.
“Then maybe you’re looking in the wrong places.” She opens the laptop and starts typing. “What if you didn’t look for jobs? What if you looked for, I don’t know, businesses? Something you could run yourself?”
Being the doomsdayer that I am, I grumble. “I don’t have money to start a business.”
“Not start. Buy. There are always small businesses for sale. Coffee shops, bookstores, that kind of thing.” She’s scrolling now. “See? Look at all these listings.”
I lean over, mostly to humor her. And that’s when I see it.
Charming Gift Shop & Coffee House - Established Business for Sale -Silver Valley.
The thumbnail shows a cute storefront with big windows and window boxes filled with flowers. Warm lighting inside. Cozy.
“Stop,” I tell her.
“Cute,” Riley says, clicking on it.
The listing loads, and my heart stops. Because the location isn’t Denver. It’s Silver Valley. Jax’s town.
“Holy shit,” I breathe.
The listing shows more photos. Inside is even better than outside. Exposed brick walls. Vintage shelving. A small coffee bar in the corner with an espresso machine. Display tables with local crafts and gifts. A fireplace. String lights. It’s perfect. It’s exactly the kind of place I’d want to create. And it’s ten minutes from Jax’s farm.
“This is ...” I can’t finish the sentence.
