Lilian inhaled it greedily.Smells like Ren Faire.
“Bonjour, Ms.Bodice, nice to see you come by,” Monica greeted in a singsong French accent.
“Have you been serenaded yet?”she asked as a way of greeting.
The older woman smiled.“At least twice.What can I say, men love the Frenchmesdames.”
Lilian laughed as she picked up a small wax candle shaped like a mushroom.Curious, she held it up to her nose, expecting the smell of earth and roots.Instead, it smelled like amberwood with a hint of spice.It reminded her of Hawk’s cologne, the way it made her nose itch in delight.She brought it over to Monica.“I’ve been meaning to come by and get something before the faire ends.”
“You are so sweet,” Monica said, ringing up the order.“Your shop looks like it has been doing well.I'm so glad to see it.”
“Me, too,” Lilian said with a happy sigh.“I don't know if we'll be able to make a huge profit this season because it took so long.But if we can keep this momentum next year, it'll be great.”
She'd been crunching the numbers herself since Hawk’s last warning.The profit margin wasn't great.She’d even called Hawk in the middle of the night, nearly in a panic.He’d been awake, watching some game on television, but the calm tenor of his voice had walked her back off the ledge.“You have to spend money to make money.”
Most businesses aimed to break even their first year, and many fell into the red.She knew that now.It still didn't make her feel better, though.Her family didn’t have an excess of funds to spend on another side business.But Hawk didn't seem worried, and that gave her comfort.
“How are things going on your side?”
Monica's smile tightened at the question.“Not so great for us.We did fine last year, but this year, no one seems to be interested in wax candles or the stationery.”
“No way.”Lilian let her eyes linger on the shop.She could see the collection of sculpted candles, each fitting into a fun design.A little coffin, a rose, and there was even a bubbly little cauldron.There was also a small stack of leather-bound journals nestled next to a wax set.“Your place is so cute.”
“Thanks.”Monica’s shoulders relaxed at the compliment, just a fraction.“We do all right, but the truth of the matter is our brick-and-mortar store does much better, and we can't justify having two locations.Even one here.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
Monica shrugged.“It's fine.Sometimes you have to make tough decisions for your business, right?”
“Yeah.”Hawk had told her that before, but it still made her queasy to hear that the candle shop wouldn't be her neighbor next year.
She couldn't help but wonder if the location played a part in their sales never taking off.It was unique enough that she should do fairly well.The announcement didn't feel like the shop was making a deliberate business decision.They were being run out.
“I'll still be sad to see you go,” she told the other woman.
“Well, hey, you can always visit us if you need a candle,” Monica said, handing her a paper bag with her purchase.
Lilian smiled and promised to buy one last candle before the end of the season.It was a bittersweet farewell, though.She'd never had to say goodbye to another faire worker before.Sometimes an actor would leave for a season or two, but they always came back.Most vendors had been around since the faire's founding.At least, those on the main paths were veterans.She couldn’t recall any from the back of the faire, closer to Reject Woods.But then again, she didn’t remember any of those vendors either.
As she walked back to her shop, a familiar heaviness settled in her stomach.
How many others didn’t come back?
If anyone knew, it would be Hawk.
When she'd first learned about the location issues, she'd confronted him about it.He’d said he had no idea.
Had he been lying?
Very little went on at the faire that Hawk didn't know about.
Lilian needed to get an answer from him.Even though her shop was doing well now, one thing was clear.At the faire, nothing was guaranteed.
On Sunday, she performed her second-to-last show.The weather was perfect.The leaves were changing, painting the foliage a variety of fall colors.The paths, once dusty, were speckled in the yellows and oranges of falling leaves.Neither too hot nor too cold meant more visitors were making time to get to the faire.A crowd filled almost every available wooden bench in The Crown Theater.
A few weeks ago, she would have been terrified, but now the performance was second nature.More than that, it ran like a professional act.
She picked Mr.Berscotta as her Mr.Brawn and invited the audience to come visit him at her shop.After the success of Logan's flower throne, she invited other actors to feature at her shop.It gave the men time to be fawned over and her customers time to get a picture with them for a discount.
