She hangs up the phone at the same time our server approaches our table. Beaming up at him, she says, "Two glasses of champagne, please."
My eyebrows narrow in confusion. "Champagne?"
Livvie nods. "We’re celebrating. I can't run the bookstore anymore. You have a lot going on with your mom, and I didn't want to text you so I've been waiting to tell you everything in person."
"Tell me what? And why are we celebrating you not running the store?"
Did something bad happen?
"Jeff loves Phoenix!” she squeals. “Like, really loves it.”
“Yay!” I feel her happiness soak into me as it’s the first positive thing I’ve heard all week.
“Sedona," she makes a bare-teeth face, "not so much. Too New Age for him. I think it was all those crystal shops on Main Street. Then he heard about the vortexes and it sealed the deal."
A burst of disbelieving laughter shoots from between my pursed lips. "That's understandable. It's not for everyone."
"Oh, thank you," Livvie purrs at the server, her excitement hardly contained as she takes the champagne flute from him. I grab my own and mimic Livvie's lifted glass.
"To newly leased spaces," she declares, and I laugh because it's nowhere near a done deal and we're celebrating it anyway. I bring the glass to my lips, pausing when I realize Livvie's not finished. "And," she adds, her eyes twinkling mischievously, "to the new store manager. My best friend in Sedona … Autumn Cummings."
I'm already taking a drink when I realize what she's said. I sputter, the bubbles burning my throat. "What did you just say?" I cough out the words.
She smiles so wide I see her molars. "You heard me. You need a job and I need you. So, what do you think?"
I shake my head slowly, the burning sensation in my throat now just a simmering heat. “I don't understand…"
"Jeff wants to live in Phoenix. I'm thrilled he likes it here, that he's willing to move, but I'm not ready to give up my grandma's store. So…" She gestures to me with her flute. "That's where you come in. You need a job, right?"
I nod, still stunned. I’d love to run my own store, and Livvie would let me practically do anything so long as I kept everything nice and made a profit.
"And given your background, you could make this store everything it should be. And in a location like this?" She points one finger in the air, swirling it around to indicate the entire village of Tlaquepaque. "You'll kill it. Espresso machine, live poetry readings, all of it."
I capture the side of my lower lip and bite down gently. "It is my favorite place, and I do have a lot of ideas for the store."
"See?" Livvie throws down a fist on the wrought-iron table top, causing the silverware to rattle. "Imagine coming to work here. You said it yourself, it's your favorite place in Sedona."
"I can tell you used to be a salesperson," I say, and our server approaches the table again. This time we order food instead of asking for more champagne.
"So?" Livvie asks, her eyes excited. "What's it going to be?"
What's there to think about? I need a job. And managing a bookstore sounds like a job I'd like. I can put my marketing background to work by organizing themed days. Story times. Character parties. Author visits. My mind floods with ideas and adrenaline flows through me. It's been so long since I felt this way. Since I left New York.
"I'll do it."
Livvie claps twice. "Good. Also, I didn't tell you, but I'd like to bring you in as a fifty-fifty partner. That way you don't feel like an employee. You have some skin in the game."
Tears sting the backs of my eyes.
Marzipan.
I don't want to cry. I've cried so much lately, it's exhausting.
"I'm in. Thank you." I raise my flute and toast. "I'm very happy I stumbled upon you in a bookstore and offered you wine and fudge."
"Technically, you offered me soap and olive oil."
I laugh, but this time I manage not to choke on the champagne. We finish lunch, and Livvie promises to call me as soon as she reads through the documents the leasing company is sending to her.
