Page 14 of Trading Up
One afternoon, completely exhausted and unwilling to cook anything, I ordered a grocery delivery. That’s how exhausted I was. I wanted to do as little work as possible. Ipicked out a bunch of appetizers, finger foods, and snacks. That was going to be dinner.
It would essentially be a giant table-length charcuterie spread of apps and snacks. I rolled out the brown paper the length of the table until it was fully covered. Then I took tape, taking the piece together, and a Sharpie, mapping out where the food would go. The poppers would be next to the cheese curds, chips, and some fruit. There would be deep-fried pickle chips, French fries, assorted fruit, crackers, meats, cheeses, wings and sauces, and dips.
It was the ultimate spread. As the food arrived and I heated it, I got dishes to put all of the food on before placing it on the table. I started looking at the spread. Devereaux and his parents were coming over in a few minutes for dinner, and all I could muster was appetizers. I felt embarrassed, but looking at the presentation, it was trendy. I had dips on stands above some of the food around them, different colored dishes for all of the foods.
A knock on the door was unsuccessful in pulling me out of my head. I needed a break. It had been a rough few days, seeing all of the notifications, all the drama of sending cease and desist letters to Will’s family and friends. There was also the divorce, which, according to Jenson, he was contesting. I didn’t know why. He had his perfect little life with her; why would he need anything from me? Could it be that he was upset that I found all his money? I shuffled my way over to the door.
I opened it and was almost knocked to the ground by Mav and Carter, excited to be home from a long day out with their uncle. Row’s hands caught me. I smiled at him as I hugged the boys, smothering them in kisses. I scooted us back out of the way so everyone else could enter. We greeted each other, the boys trying to tell me all about their days.
“Wow! What is this?” I heard his mom asking, sounding deeper into the apartment than I was. I looked up, trying to walk around the corner, a boy sitting on each foot, making walking damn near impossible. She was inspecting each spot intently.
“Oh. I didn’t feel like cooking too much, so I just did an app board. I do it some nights, and it is usually just nuggets, a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and fries or chips,” I said, trying to get the boys off my feet so I could go talk to her instead of trying to shuffle my way there. Row leaned down and pulled Maverick off me first, passing him to Pops and then grabbing Carter.
“Boy, let your Mama explain what she made,” Pops said, looking between Mav and Carter. I went over all our options, and everyone looked pleased. Especially because of all the wings I ordered.
“You know,” his mom said, looking over everything, “This would be insanely popular for parties. Like, kids' parties, house parties. You might even be able to do something like this for a cocktail hour at an upscale event.”
I looked at her, at her suggestion. We were all seated, eating, and it was all things we liked with easy clean up. Something like that could give me more flexible time with the kids. I’d still be able to be there for all the important stuff.
“I’d have to look into it. I don’t even know if it would pick up any traction. This is just something I do for the kids when I don’t want to fight with them over food,” I said, trying to sound casual, trying to brush it off, while inside I was running the numbers and what I would name the business. Char-cute-erie Boards? Our slogan could be ‘Board with traditional?’ Or The Board Babe? That could work.
That could totally be me. I could start a TikTok channel and other social media. I could make videos of what I use for each board, and the final presentation! Yes! But would it work?Would there ever be a market for something like this? I knew without some kind of risk, there’d be no reward.
“I don’t even know where I would start, and it would probably never take off.” I knew I was just saying things, but I wasn’t confident, and I was worried about making a career for myself and not giving up all of my time with my kids.
“I know plenty of women who would love this for their parties. It’s different, and charcuterie boards are super popular right now. Plus, the kids' version? You could totally do everything from kids' parties to weddings to corporate events.” His mom went on, gushing about everything I could do, telling me she would help me by telling some of the ladies in her circles about it.
“You would help me?” The question stopped the conversation at the table, and everyone but my boys looked at me.
“I mean, I have the financial backing, but getting my name out there? I was thinking of getting an LLC for the name, ‘The Board Babe,’ but spelled like a charcuterie board. I could start making a few posts about what I do. I should also talk to a lawyer and get someone to make a website for myself. What do you think, Row?” I smiled when I looked at him. I could tell it was stretched from ear to ear. I knew this smile hadn’t been out in a while by the stunned look he had on his face for about ten seconds.
“I think it sounds the most excited I’ve heard you in years. I’m all for it. Whatever I can do to help,” He smiled that easy smile, his arm resting over the back of my chair. This was exciting. I could do this. And I’d be able to manage a schedule that worked around the boys.
According to the financial planner, I had enough right now that if I wanted, I didn’t have to work for the next few years, but that would eat a significant portion of what I wanted to savefor the future. If I started off doing a few little jobs while I built my website and looked into all of the things I’d need to make sure I wouldn’t get shut down, it would be a start. Something for me to work toward a career.
I just hoped it wouldn’t blow up in my face.
T H I R T E E N: Supporting Her
Devereaux’s POV
The last month passed with lots of work, stolen glances, and spending as much time as I could with Sarah and the boys. Pops went home after a week, but Ma stayed longer. Pops would come out and help on weekends, and between the restaurants, helping make sure Sarah’s dream took off, and still showing up to let her know that I was there, I saw her, and I wanted her. I was exhausted.
But I’d never been more satisfied and satiated in my life.
When Ma and Pops first got here, Sarah had spilled the tea about her pettiness and all the shit she pulled on her soon-to-be ex-husband to Ma. The woman was on the floor rolling, she was laughing so hard. She also promised to pull out a few ‘final quarter plays’ when the time was right, whatever those were. Sarah seemed happy about the comment, so that was all that mattered to me. I loved seeing her this happy and relaxed.
Sarah, Ma, Pops, and I sat down and discussed her dream of being ‘The Board Babe’ and what all she’d need to do to accomplish that. I set up a meeting with the health inspector for her and helped her find a small space right next to one of my restaurants. It wasn’t anything huge, used to be a café, but it had a kitchen, the old café furniture, and enough space that she could do whatever she wanted with it. The kitchen was large, and she would be able to keep the area clean, only used when she had to make one of the boards. That way, she could keep her health inspections at an A+ rating. If she wanted, eventually, later on down the road, she could expand operations. She’d be able to hire a few employees once things took off. She could start taking walk-in orders, do classes, small holiday parties, whatever she wanted, however she wanted to expand.
Ma had kept her promise, telling all of her friends and acquaintances about The Board Babe, promising to have her cater the next party they threw at the house, which was in two weeks. My siblings told their friends, and she had orders start steadily rolling in. The whole process of getting this dream of hers started slowly, but by week three, she was making two charcuterie, table-length boards, for Ma’s annual summer cookout. She also had an anniversary party and a surprise sixtieth birthday party booked for the following weekend.
I helped her set up the new workspace. We deep-cleaned the whole place, top to bottom, and tossed the furniture that didn’t fit or was too damaged to be kept. We made a list of everything she would need, all the things she wanted, and the things she hoped to accomplish over the next six months. Then, I took her to the wholesale market that all chefs go to so she could buy fancy boards and all the containers she could want. Big, small, decorative, for transport, throw-away ones. We spent the whole first weekend doing that after she decided what colors and theme she wanted to go with. She picked something more natural, natural wood, shades of green with pops of color here and there, always with wildflowers. Ma opted to come with us, as did the boys, so they could help.
Carter said he wanted to help build Mommy's new life with love.
The shopping trip was more fun than I had expected. We’d gone on outings with the boys, but never to something like that. I thought we’d have our hands full, but they were much more well-behaved than anticipated. The boys helped Sarah pick out things that would be fun for kids’ parties. Ma helped her with the decorative containers and serving utensils, most of which were unique and eclectic, while I picked out the practical kitchen needs.
I also talked to Pops to see if we could go to the hardware store one weekend to get supplies to make both a six-foot and an eight-foot charcuterie board. They were sheets of plywood that I finished, adding an edge all the way around, along with six handles that folded out for transport. These were going to be quite large and heavy, and therefore would cost more to rent or use because she would need to hire help in transporting them.
