Page 55 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
“I mean, not yet, but we will,” Eliza said. “I’ve gotten all of the teas onto the website with your descriptions and your pictures.”
“Look at that!” Granny said, pointing. “It’s wonderful!”
“It’s all here: all the information you have about where the tea was grown and how it pairs with food. I’ve used blog posts to get SEO terms, so anyone searching for tea will arrive on our site, with our expertise and our trusty Granny.”
“I don’t know what SEO is, but that right there isme!” Granny exclaimed when the picture of her came onto screen.
It was from a few years ago, before her hip fracture. She wore a red apron and stood smiling, the sea at her back.
Eliza grinned. “Do you like it?”
“Iloveit.” Granny gave her a hug from behind. “This is better than anything I could have imagined.”
“I love it, too,” her mom said. “Most of all, I love seeing you so excited about something.”
Eliza smiled to herself. “Thanks, Mom.” She shut her laptop. “Anyway, that’s just one part. Are you ready to see your new and improved tea shop?”
Granny clasped her hands together, a wide smile on her face. “I think I am.”
They walked outside and Granny briefly stopped to speak to the guy in charge of the construction crew. “I wanted to make sure he was going to match the colors,” she said as they walked away. “He said he would. I guess I have no choice but to trust him.”
“I can’t believe Russell did this,” Eliza said as they reached the front door of the tea shop. “I knew he made some jokes about being an investor, but this is a total surprise.”
Her mom nodded. “It’s very nice of him.”
She still wasn’t making eye contact. Eliza decided to drop the subject and focus on their debut. “Granny, I present to you: your tea shop!”
She pushed the door open and hurried to turn on the lights.
Granny gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “It’s beautiful! It looks brand new!”
“Come on in,” Eliza said, taking her gently by the arm. “We upgraded the seating in the lobby – some new cushions to freshen the place up.”
“They look wonderful. I love the colors in here.”
“That was my choice,” Eliza said proudly. “I tidied up the front desk too, so it’s easier to make reservations. This tablet will let people pay with credit cards. I’ll show you how to use it later. It’s really easy.”
Granny shot the tablet a distrusting look. “If you say so.”
They took Granny through the London room, the Japanese room, and finally the kid’s room. They’d polished the little silver bells that sat on each table, the ones patrons would ring when they wanted more tea.
Granny picked one up and rang it. “Music to my ears,” she said with a grin.
They ended the tour in the kitchen, where the teacups stood tall and sparkling, ready for the next teatime.
“I was too afraid to come in here and see them all dusty,” Granny confessed, picking up a blue-and-gold cup with white flowers. “You’ve worked magic. Both of you. It looks unbelievable in here. Ray would have loved it. Thank you. Thank you so, so much.”
“You’re welcome,” her mom said, grasping Granny by the hands. “I just have one more call with the insurance agent, and I think we’ll get the okay to reopen.”
Granny looked around and took a deep breath. “I think you were right. We need to rename it.”
“Russell had a good idea,” Eliza said. “He thought we should call it ‘A Spot of Tea.’”
Granny and her mom looked at each other and smiled.
“What?” Eliza asked. “Not good?”
Her mom shook her head. “No, it’s very good. It’s perfect. Don’t you think so, Patty?”
