Page 10 of The Grinch who Loved Me
And by the time she left school, she had a small online store and loved it.
The girls at school wore her jewelry with pride and whenever Aria would see a girl wearing one of her pieces, it would make her blush and then smile.
She felt proud of her accomplishments and when she went home for the holidays, Farren and Rowen each had a piece of her jewelry and so did her best friend Raegan.
Raegan went with her to school, so she knew about Aria’s jewelry and wore several of the pieces Aria made with pride.
She even carried Aria’s business cards around and when Aria graduated with her Bachelor’s in Jewelry Design with a minor in Fine Arts, she knew she was on the right path.
Raegan went into journalism and she loved it and Aria often watched with envy as Raegan talked to the boys of their school.
It was hard for Aria still. She had hoped that when she went to college that someone would notice her, but it hadn’t happened and her dream of finding the love of her life slowly died.
After school, she tried to find a job in a jewelry store, but seeing someone else’s rings on display wasn’t what she wanted.
She wanted to design her own and have a custom ring shop. And so she and Raegan searched for the perfect place.
Raegan had gone on a small vacation to a little town in Florida, called Celebration and told Aria about it.
How the entire town was Christmas themed all-year round and Aria loved it.
She Googled the town and sure enough, it looked like a dream come true.
There was a retail space for sale and when she looked through the space, she knew it was hers.
All she had to do was convince her parents. And it was easier than she thought.
Her dad wanted her to succeed, so he bought the lease straight out.
And then they helped her and Raegan move to Celebration.
When they found the shop there, Aria and Raegan walked in and Aria knew that they had found the right place.
Raegan would help her at the store before finding a job as a journalist and Aria loved it.
Her parents helped them unload the truck of their stuff and her dad had ordered some displays for the store and Jet and Bo had come to help remodel the store a bit.
They spent a week there with Farren and Bo’s wife, Avery, helping to paint the walls and scrub the floors and help her set up her workstation in the back.
Her dad had spared no expense and Aria felt silly that he would go all out. She was afraid that her store wouldn’t do well. She was new and while she had a few years of ring design under her belt and her degree from her college, it was still a little overwhelming and she didn’t want to let anyone down if she couldn’t get her business off the ground.
Her mom, Farren, Avery and Raegan all reassured her. “Sweetheart, I have never seen rings like you design. You have a talent that is unparalleled. And I believe that you are going to do so well. That is why your father and I are more than happy to help you. In this small way.”
Aria blinked back tears, “This isn’t small. You are doing so much. Paying for so much. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
Her mom cupped her cheeks, “Oh Aria. You have never been and you will never be a disappointment. Your father and I were so grateful to have our little surprise girl and to have her be you? We have been blessed more than you can ever imagine. You have such a pure heart and soul and have poured them both into everything you do. You have become such a beautiful woman and we are so proud of you. For following your dreams and wanting to make them real. And for that alone, we would give you the world. We want to love and support you and this is the way we can do that. By giving you the best start you can get. We did the same for your brothers. And trust me, if your father and I didn’t have absolute faith in you and your creations, we wouldn’t be here. Neither would Jet. Or Bowing. Or Raegan. We love you sweetheart and we only want to see you succeed and live the life you were meant to. This is your calling. It has been since you were small. You have always been drawn to rings whenever we go to the stores. I can’t count how many we bought for you over the years.”
Aria smiled and her mom went on, “I knew you were going to do great things and here we stand. In your first store. Because you deserve it. You have worked hard for it and the rings you have sold all over are proof of that hard work. You get to be here and show the world you. And there isn’t anything better than that.”
Aria started to cry and the other girls hugged her and agreed with everything her mother had said.
And Aria put her reservations in the past. She knew that her mom was right and that she had to try. It was all she could do.
After everything was painted and set up and some of the displays filled with her designs, her mom looked around and Farren walked up beside Gwen.
“There is something missing here.”
Aria made her way to them, “What?”
