Page 64 of Hold Me Instead
“Definitely.” Magnolia scanned the store as though she’d been dropped back into reality. “Holy shit, there’s still a lot to do.”
“We’re ready, Mags,” Charlie said, offering a small smile.
“Only you, actually. Cleo’s closing the shop, and I got called into the restaurant for a couple hours. Sorry,” Amber added to Magnolia.
“It’s okay. This is a great help. Next level of setup can be done,” Magnolia said.
Amber turned to Charlie. “Before I run, any updates on your hottie vet? You’ve been shit at texting me back lately.”
Charlie rolled her eyes on a laugh. “I’ve been distracted.”
“Ooo, I love hot distractions,” Amber said, rubbing her hands together.
Charlie laughed but gave herself an extra moment, taking off her coat and setting her things down near the checkout counter. She could tell how badly Zachary wanted to smooth things over from the previous night. Seeing him after he’d texted with her all day, everything had sunk in—and all she wanted was to hang out with him more.
She needed to talk this out.
She let out a slow breath. “He apologized to me.”
Amber and Magnolia glanced at each other, then Amber leaned forward. “What did he do?” Her voice was low.
Charlie waved her off. “Remember how I said he’d been different? Not really letting our friendship come back? Turns out he was harboring some resentment for how things went down with his dad, and how Daniel wanted to pass the practice on to me.”
“What!” Amber shouted.
“That’s not your fault at all,” Magnolia said.
“Which he acknowledged,” Charlie continued. “We talked through it, he admitted I was kind of a symbol for all that. But that he can’t, you know, resist our friendship.”
“So, what, just like that he’s back to being cool?” Amber didn’t hide her skepticism.
“It helps a lot, to know what was going on. I’m sure we’ll still disagree over things, workwise, but on a less personal level…” Charlie said. “He stopped by the office tonight, though, to say hi, when he could’ve just texted me.” It hadn’t been necessary at all. He’d come because he wanted to see her.
“Okay, that’s cute,” Magnolia added.
“Well, I still say keep an eye on him,” Amber said.
“It doesn’t sound like that’ll be hard,” Magnolia fake whispered.
Charlie grinned while they laughed, Amber in spite of herself.
“Okay, damnit, I have to go, but call if you need backup,” Amber said as she wrapped Charlie in a hug.
After she left, Charlie and Magnolia slowly looked at one another, the occasional sounds from the street carrying inside the shop.
“I’m gonna turn on some music,” Magnolia said. “Then let’s put this magnificent table to work, shall we?”
Songs from the eighties onward played over the speakers as Charlie helped scoot over various boxes and totes, arranging it as a workstation. Over the next hour, they set paper wrappers around bars of soap, placed labels on bottles of handmade perfumes, sealed lip balms with compostable tapes. Little plaques were written to denote the items for display.
The lights in the shop glowed softly, a contrast to the darkness outside, the street lamps and twinkle lights dim through the window. The refinished, original wood floors creaked as they moved around, the echo of the space dimming as they arranged products on the shelves. As Charlie organized jars and bottles, Magnolia wiped down the cleared table.
“I had a double mastectomy.”
At Magnolia’s statement, Charlie turned away from the shelf, an empty mason jar in her hand. Magnolia set product markers on the table, eyes focused down as she went.
“I found a lump when I was twenty-five. Fortunately, we caught it early enough, but I decided then to just take them both. In my mind, that was helping me get past it all faster. And lessen the chances, you know?”
Charlie nodded, even though Magnolia didn’t look at her. She lowered onto a crate and sat, waiting.
