“I don’t think I could’ve gone wrong with anything in your store, honestly,” I told her.
“We have my grandpa to thank for that. He couldn’t get rid of anything. Everything had the potential to be a treasure in his mind.” I didn’t miss the wistful smile on her face and the fact that she had talked about him in past tense. It felt like I was a close friend with her grief in those moments. I wanted to say something, but offering condolences would have only been an invitation into my own life, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that quite yet.
“Well, I’ll definitely be back to check out more.”
“Are you here visiting?” she asked casually as she took my money.
“I thought I would just be passing through.”
“But this little town had other ideas?” She smirked at me.
“You could say that.” I returned her smile as I thought of the honest welcome Trixie gave me, the excitement I felt to go meet up with Melody, and the safety I felt with Calvin even though I was terrified of being eaten by a bear.
“Love that,” she said as she passed me the vase she had carefully wrapped up in a newspaper. “My name is Cami. Camellia, actually, but that’s too long and too…floral.” She laughed as she gestured to her all-black oversized outfit.
“I’m Stella,” I introduced myself. “It’s really nice to meet you, Cami.”
I carefully placed the vase in my bag. I couldn’t wait to give this to Trixie.
“You too! See you around.”
When I arrived at Cupid’s Cup, Melody pulled me into the hug I was quickly growing to expect from her.
“I’m so excited to show you the bookstore! My best friend Liv is the owner and I already told her we’d be coming,” Melody practically squealed. “Can you help me carry a few things over, though?”
“Yeah, of course.” I smiled at Melody. A genuine smile I hadn’t felt in such a long time. She already treated me like we were friends, and I couldn’t help but hope we became good ones.
She led me to a couple large crates full of baked goods and a large carafe of coffee.
“Where are we taking all this?” I asked her, confused.
She made it sound like we were just carrying it over to the bookstore as if it was just across the street. But I had walked all over town yesterday and didn’t see the bookstore anywhere.
She got a mischievous look on her face as she picked up the crates of baking. “You’ll see, follow me.”
I grabbed the carafe of coffee and followed her out the door, and indeed across the street. Not into a bookstore, but the post office.
“What are we—” Before I could ask a single question, every word was stolen from me as I stared in awe at the photos displayed from floor to ceiling. This was like no post office I had ever seen before. Lining the walls were wedding photos. Some looked more recent than others, and some even looked as old as the town itself as the pictures were yellowed and faded. You could see the change in fashion over the decades as gowns transformed and then cycled back again to vintage styles. The gorgeous colours of the bridal parties created a rainbow of art in the space. Every photo had a different backdrop, some were set in the mountains, others were obviously outside a church. Some were on a beach, some in the middle of winter.
Despite all the differences, on each picture frame there was an attached invitation. Reading a couple of them, I realized these invitations were from all over the country, the only similarity between them being the stamp in the corner. A little teddy bear holding a heart withLove, Sask.written underneath.
“What are all these?” I asked Melody as she took the carafe from my hands and placed it on a counter nearby.
“We’re pretty widely known for our stamp here in Love and it’s become quite the tradition for some couples to first mail their invitations here to be stamped, before they are then forwarded to the intended recipients,” Melody explained. The pride in her town was obvious in the way she lit up when she talked about it. “Teddy is such a sap, he always asks the couples to send a photo he can display with the invitation.”
“The owner’s name is Teddy?” I asked, completely unable to hide the surprise and smile on my face. How much more cliché could one small town get.
Melody giggled like it wasn’t the first time she had heard the question. “Well, Theodore. But he really plays it up where he can.” She smiled brightly but then it dampened slightly. “We used to host a lot of destination weddings, too, until our chapel burned down.”
Before she could continue, a door behind the desk opened and out walked—waddled, rather—the cutest old man I had ever seen in my life. He was a little shorter than me, with his hunched shoulders and round frame, but his smile made him fill the space like he was ten feet tall.
“Hi, Teddy,” Melody said with a smile that matched his energy.
“Good morning, Melody!” His joyous voice boomed in the small post office and I was surprised none of the pictures fell off the wall. I was also shocked, and proud of myself, for not having felt the slightest bit of anxiety at his loud voice. But then again, I don’t think anyone could feel anything but instant love for Teddy and his round red cheeks that held up his small square glasses. “What delicious goodies have you brought us today, my dear?”
Melody beamed and showed him the crates of baking, explaining what each one was, while I admired more of the wedding photos on the wall. This was such a beautiful town, and everyone I met had so much love for it. It made me sad that they had suffered a loss they weren’t even able to repair. An idea started itching in my mind when Teddy reached his hand out toward me.
“And who do we have here?”
