Page 50 of My Heart Belongs to You

“I won’t.” This spontaneous moment with her was just what I needed after the day I had. Knowing I was ending it with her made me want to call it a night earlier than planned. That was just what I did after meeting the bandLover’s Rock.

As I walked into Woody’s, the conversation I had with my mom about Roseville’s revitalization came to mind. Like many businesses on Main Street, Woody’s was a family-owned business and benefited from the town’s first revitalization project in the late nineties. Woodrow “Woody” Blackstone was my father’s mentor and family friend. His antique furniture shop was a pillar in the community. He passed away a few months back, shaking the community to its core.

Marquis was especially affected by his passing. For the past seven years, he shadowed Mr. Woody, learning everything about the business. Their bond was mutually beneficial as Mr. Woody’s children went to college out of state, leaving behind him and the shop.

After his passing, many people assumed his children would close the antique furniture shop and sell the building, like so many had done before. However, they decided to keep the store open with Marquis as the shop’s manager. Marquis created custom pieces while Mr. Woody’s children sourced antique pieces for him to restore and sell.

Since Summer and Ryder asked me to be the godfather to their son, I’d been thinking of a meaningful piece to contribute to the nursery. Growing up, Summer loved to read. We spent hours at the library with Samera looking through books. I knew once she had the baby; she’d read to him nightly. I hit up Marquis to see if he could build a bookcase for the nursery. He told me to stop by the shop to approve the mockup of my idea.

“Wassup, man,” he said from behind the counter, dusting off his navy apron. Beside him was a young woman also wearing an apron. “This is Janet, Woodrow’s niece and the newest member of Woody's team.”

“Nice to meet you, Janet.”

“You too,” she replied with a smile.

“I just finished the sketch. Follow me to the back.”

Marquis took me to their workroom where his desk was in the corner. The room smelled like a mix of burnt wood and paint fumes. Specks of sawdust floated in the air. Industrial sized fans oscillated in two corners and the windows were open, allowing fresh air inside. I turned my attention to Marquis who was touching up the drawing and erasing stray marks. He rotated the paper toward me then tucked the pencil he used behind his ear.

“What you think?”

“You really sketched this in an hour?” I was blown away by the drawing.

His eyebrows wrinkled. “Yeah. The shading took a little longer than expected.”

He’d used a marker on the sides of the bookcase, indicating the color stain we discussed. The molding around the top was far better than I described over the phone.

“I told you that you have full creative control. As long as it's gray with six shelves, I’m good.”

Marquis chuckled while turning to grab several blocks of wood.

“I was thinking we could use the red oak plywood,” he said, facing me. Holding up his left hand, he indicated that it was the red oak plywood. I took a block, noting its weight and color. After a few seconds of silence, Marquis continued, “It’s on the high end of your budget, but it’s a good cut of wood and it stains the best. The other options are pine and birch. I won’t even waste your time talking about the pine. Birch is another good option, but red oak is the best.”

“Let’s go with the red oak.”

He dropped a stack of the samples on the ground.

“Smart man. Here’s how they stain.”

Arranging them lightest to darkest, Marquis spread the samples for me to view. I browsed the small pieces of wood, deciding which stain would match the theme of the nursery. All were variations of gray with some more opaque than others. I picked up the third block and nodded.

“This one will complement the walls best,” I noted. Shiloh had been able to get me a swatch of the paint without Summer noticing. The chosen stain would pair well with the dark gray walls.

“I agree with you. Shiloh showed me the Pinterest board she and Summer created. It’s a lot of whites, grays, and browns.” I chuckled, knowing Shiloh had given him an earful about the nursery.

“Shiloh has been all in with Sunny and the baby,” I pointed out.

Marquis nodded, then moved to put the samples away. “Yeah, since Shi moved out here, she and Sunny have been attached at the hip. The timing of our engagements and the baby helped them grow closer. Oh, and us moving to the same neighborhood as Sunny and Ryder.”

The neighborhood he was referring to was Harmony on Main, the place I’d toured with Vanessa. There was a three-bedroom townhouse we were interested in one block from Winston Court, the street they lived on. We went to an open house and even discussed putting in an offer. After she left, I moved into an apartment closer to Ray’s.

“Yeah, that’s a prime location,” I said moments later. “I looked at a spot out there but it didn’t work out. I live in the new condos off Main Street.”

“The View, right? Janet wanted to move there, but there weren’t any studios available. She moved into the spot upstairs for the time being. I told her it would be a great way to save money since the utilities and rent are included in Woody’s monthly expenses.”

“That’s a sweet deal. Something I wish I had when I moved back.”

Marquis hummed. “The only reason I moved was because Shiloh wanted a house. And I can’t say no to my wife.”