I laughed. “You can totally sit and eat. I just get overstimulated, and my adrenaline is on high alert on staging day, so I tend to graze and work. But you just got off your shift, so take a break for a little bit. How was work today?”
I cut the top of the box open and pulled out two gorgeous white-and-blue ginger jars that were just what we needed to bring some character into the kitchen. I walked over to one of the long cabinets with glass doors, then opened it up and placed the smaller jar on a higher shelf and the larger jar on a lower shelf. I stood back to admire how gorgeous they looked in there. I ran my fingers along the cremone bolts that I’d added as the hardware on the two long cabinets on each end of the kitchen.
Damn. This was really coming together.
“It was great. I really love my job,” she said after she’d finished chewing. “I mean, some days are exhausting, but it’s very rewarding at the same time.”
Tatum was the activities director at Blue Sky Senior Living, an assisted living home, and she planned all the activities and events for their residents. I could tell how much she loved her job whenever she talked about it because she was always smiling and laughing when she’d tell me about her day.
“That’s the best. How was Stan today?” I asked as I unpacked a bunch of wicker baskets that I’d use to organize the walk-in pantry.
“You know, he’s my favorite. But that man is such a flirt. Bernice called him a ‘dirty dog’ today, and it took everything in me not to laugh in front of them.” She reached for her water and took another sip. “But Captain doesn’t seem like he’s doing well, and that worries me. He’s the retired veteran I told you about. He’s the sweetest man, and I think I finally convinced him to let the nurse come evaluate him next week.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. You said he’s been losing a lot of weight and looking really pale, right?” I asked as I broke down a few more boxes, and then studied all the lamps I’d set on the table.
“Yes. But hopefully it’s just the flu or a bug.” She crumbled up the paper that her sandwich had been wrapped in and tossed it in the trash bag. “Okay, put me to work.”
“All right, if you can start opening those boxes there, and just start pulling out all the décor I ordered, we’ll get it all unpacked, and then we’ll start figuring out where to put it. It’s the hanging stuff that I’m concerned about. Some of those mirrors are really heavy.”
“We’ll figure it out, don’t worry at all.” I gave her some scissors to open the boxes, and she got down to business while I started hanging the curtain panels on the rods. Window coverings made such a difference. They brought so much warmth to a space.
Tatum gasped from where she sat on the floor. “Oh my gosh, those are stunning. And the cream velvet panels with that crystal chandelier are just breathtaking.”
We’d gone with a wire-brushed white oak, and I absolutely loved mixing the sort of rustic woods with a crystal chandelier. It just screamed French farmhouse, which was my favorite vibe.
“Yeah, it’s gorgeous, right?”
“It is,” she said as she gaped up at the chandelier with wide eyes. “So tell me, why aren’t we asking your strong muscled lover to help us hang the heavy stuff?”
I snorted. “Of course he would do it if I asked, but he’s got his own stuff to do. He had an important meeting today, and I told him that I had this covered. I don’t want to start pulling him away from his work to help me with mine. Normally you have a team that you bring in on staging day, but seeing as I’m doing this as a little side gig while I’m here, I can’t really hire people for such a short time.”
“I totally get that. But I do have a question for you.” She held up the faux floral arrangement that she’d just pulled out. “Wow. This is stunning. It looks so real.”
“Yes. There are good faux florals and bad faux florals. You have to know where to order from.” I reached for thearrangement and admired it myself before setting it on the kitchen counter for now. “What’s your question?”
“So what happens when you leave here? I know you and Cutler are best friends, but do you just go back to being friends, and dating other people? It won’t bother you if he’s back on the market and hooking up with women after you leave?”
I was staring at the curtain panels I’d just hung in the dining room, and I blew out a breath.
The thought actually made me sick to my stomach. My hope was that the distance would make it less painful.
I wouldn’t be happening in front of me and I wouldn’t have to see it.
“I haven’t fully thought that far, but it’ll be fine. I’m the one who came up with the arrangement, so I have to accept the aftermath,” I said. “There’s no other option.”
“No other option for what?” His deep voice had me whipping around to see Cutler walk through the door.
And he wasn’t alone.
I don’t know how he did it, but he always showed up when I needed him most.
twenty-five
. . .
Cutler
“What? Oh, um,”she said, eyes wide as if she didn’t expect to see me here. “There is no other option for where to put the floral arrangement.”
