"Please tell me you didn't drink it." Rudy cringed.
"I didn't have a choice." Eden shuddered as she recalled the bitter taste of that horrible tea. "I didn't think it could be as bad as you said."
"But it is."
"It really is."
"You dump your tea in her potted plants?" Alice glared at Rudy, then she grinned. "Is that why they look so amazing? Maybe I'll have to try that with my plants." She turned her attention back to Eden. "Who else did you visit?"
When Eden mentioned meeting a cute old white-haired wood crafter who reminded her of Geppetto from Pinocchio, Bill got a twinkle in his eyes. "Aren't Harold's puzzle boxes...puzzling?"
"They are." Eden grinned. "Very puzzling and very beautiful."
She'd never seen such smooth wood that gleamed like Harold's hand carved pieces did. He had everything from animals with elaborate details to intricate flowers and interlocking hearts and chain links. The man was brilliant with a blade.
Already, her mind was spinning with ideas for a display that would combine one of Harold's wood pieces with one of Jessie Winter's ceramic vases and Savannah's smaller paintings. Maybe she could even add one of Miss Georgie's doilies. If she could get the colors and designs to complement each other just right, people might be interested in buying each piece.
I need to talk to Hattie about offering a discount for sets.
Ever since she first stepped foot into the little craft boutique last week, ideas had filled her head. Not all of them were good, but most of them took her breath away with the best kind of adrenaline rush.
"Did you see his wife's homemade jewelry?" Alice asked.
"I did. It was beautiful too." Eden grimaced. "I'm a little concerned about how to feature jewelry on the website with most of it being focused on home decor and crafts."
"Well, if you figure out a way, you should see if Elsie Evans is interested in selling her t-shirts. She does both screen printing and vinyl iron-on. She already has an Etsy shop, but she might like the additional exposure as things pick up with Hattie's."
"What's her address?" Eden pulled her phone out to make a quick note.
Alice and Bill gave her blank stares for a moment before they both spoke at once.
"Take the second left after the sheriff's office," Alice said.
"East on Elm," Bill said. "Then it's the third house on the right."
"No, the fifth house on the left."
Eden bit her lip as Bill and Alice argued about which house Elsie lived in. She looked at Rudy who rolled his eyes and shook his head.
He set his phone that he'd pulled out at some point down on the table and shot her a smile.
Almost instantly, her phone vibrated in her hand. She looked down to find Elsie's name and address on the screen. She aimed a smile in his direction and tucked her phone away.
Apparently done arguing, Alice asked again. "Are you going to sell Trina and Trudy's lip balms, body butter and bath bombs?"
Alice seemed to be oddly interested in the success of Hattie's new website. Or maybe she was just glad Eden wasn't sitting around doing nothing.
"I want to. I think they'll be a hit. I just need to figure out how I'm going to feature those as well."
"Maybe you need to change the name of the website to something like Hattie's Home Decor and More," Rudy said.
"I like that idea!" She chewed a forkful of noodles while she repeated it in her head. "I'll have to discuss it with Hattie. I also need to figure out how to drive more traffic to the store that's not just locals."
"You know," Alice pointed her fork at Eden. "Charity's diner gets a fair amount of traffic from the interstate. I wonder if you could talk to Amy Young, Ben's wife—she owns the diner now. Maybe she would let you put up a sign there or something."
Adrenaline warmed Eden's veins as more ideas filled her head, and she snapped her fingers. "Maybe I could see if she'd give diners from out of town a coupon for five dollars off their first purchase. That might draw people to Hattie's."
"Good idea." Alice's brow scrunched as though she was deep in thought. Then she leaned forward in her seat. "Has Hazel Evans reached out to you yet?"
