Page 25 of If You Like It, I Love It

I’m trying really hard to keep my skepticism from showing on my face, but I know it’s not working. It’s going to take a lot of light to make this shade appear subtle.

She reads my face accurately. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

Her steps are deliberate as she leads me into the kitchen with the yellow paper billowing behind her. I can’t fathom what would make her pick this.

When she holds it up next to her existing glass-paned French doors, there’s enough light coming in to soften it a little, but it’s still damn bright.

“You have to remember that there will be a three-sided window here,” she reminds me. “And it will extend out several feet. There will hardly be any wallpaper on this wall at all, just the strip above the window and the small sections around it. And the sunlight will shine directly onto this wall.” She pauses to point. “So, even though it will be covered in the wallpaper, it will only be one solid area. It’s not like I’m wallpapering an entire room in it.”

“Yeah, but with the rest of the room having such soft colors, won’t it clash?”

“No. It’ll do the opposite. It will be an accent, a pop of color.”

“You sure you want it to pop that much?”

“I get more sure every time I look at it.”

Her face is glowing over those yellow flowers, and anything that makes her that happy, she should have. “If you like it, I love it.”

“Don’t do that. I want your honest opinion.”

“You don’t, I promise. But my opinion doesn’t matter. I’m good at structural design, Joni. When it comes to putting together colors and patterns, they all look equally good or equally bad to me until I see the completed room. I don’t have a vision for the finishing touches. You can hold up a strip of wallpaper all day long, but I can’t envision it on the new walls that will be here. All I see is that sample hanging between us. I can’t project it onto anything.”

“Really? Oh, shit. Why’d I trust you about those appliances?”

“You showed me an actual picture of them in a kitchen that was very similar to yours. If you’d shown me random photos in a showroom, I’d have been just as unsure as I am about this wallpaper. And I don’t have a wallpaper person, so unless you do, I’ll have to find someone.”

“Glynnis recommended the mother-daughter team who installed hers.”

“I forgot she has wallpaper in her store. It helps to have a referral.” I think back to the first time I saw Glynnis’s wallpaper choice, remembering I wasn’t a fan of that one either. Maybe I’m just not a wallpaper guy. “I’m glad she knows somebody who can hang it for you.”

“Yeah. For someone who’s not from here, it’s amazing how she always seems to have a source for whatever needs to be done.” Her arm drops by her side, and she heaves an exhale as if she’s just remembered something distressing. “By the way, she also knows you stayed here last night.”

“Because you told her?” My smile couldn’t get any wider. If she told her friends, it must’ve been worth talking about. If the story’s worth sharing, it’s worth doing again.

“No. Rhett saw you leaving this morning.”

“Huh. I never even saw him drive past. I must’ve been preoccupied with an incredible memory.”

“Well, he saw you.”

“And you wish he hadn’t.”

“It would just be nice to have some privacy for once, a little time to consider things without other people offering their opinions.”

“You were hoping for privacy in Grinberry Falls? Do you still write letters to Santa, too?”

Her smile returns. “Should I? Do you think he’d bring me some privacy?”

“I don’t know if a letter would do it. But maybe if you sat on his lap and asked nicely.”

“I’ll line up with the kids at this year’s Christmas festival.”

“Why wait? I’ll rent the suit tomorrow.”

That earns me a genuine laugh. There’s nothing we can do about something that’s already been seen, so I’m happy to occupy her with a dirty Santa reference instead. I’d be happy to occupy her with dirty references any time she’ll let me.

“Have you eaten yet?” I ask, hoping she hasn’t because I haven’t, and I’m starving.