Chapter 20: Chapter 20
Ellie was busy with customers when Memory got back. She hurried to put her coat away and get her apron on so she could help, wishing she could say what she’d been thinking of saying to her new friend all the way from the coffeeshop before she lost her nerve. Not that she intended to say anything rude to Ellie, but really, she had some questions that needed answers.
By the time the store was free of customers again, over an hour had passed, and Memory had had some time to think about the conversation she’d had with Dak. She realized she probably sounded very opinionated when she was talking to him about what he did for a living, and she wished she hadn’t come across that way, but she felt duped—if she’d known who he was before she started talking to him, she never would’ve let him charm her so.
“Before I forget!” Ellie exclaimed, grabbing Memory by the arm and waiting until she was looking her in the eye to continue. “Saturday morning, I will be coming in early to open the store. A gentleman bought that large table over there, and he can’t pick it up until Saturday when he heads back home to Indianapolis. Now, he needs to be here at 7:30, and since I am awake at the crack of dawn anyway, I said I’d come and meet him here. You don’t mind, do you dear?”
Memory’s mouth fell open. “That big table?” she asked, pointing at the one Ellie had gestured to while she was talking.
“Yes, that one with the knotty pine legs. It’s a nice piece.” She shrugged as if she didn’t understand what the problem was.
“No, I know. It is. It’s just... that thing’s been sitting there for five years at least. Grandma picked it out at a craft fair. She fell in love with it. But the artist wanted so much for it, we had to price it higher than anything else in the whole shop even to make a small profit. I didn’t think we’d ever sell it.”
Ellie shrugged again. “Maybe that’s just a sign that this booming economy everyone’s talking about has finally reached us here in small town Indiana.” She giggled. “Anyway, he paid cash for it, so it’s sold. I put a sign on it. Your grandmother has good taste. I didn’t think you’d mind sleeping in a little on Saturday, especially since I’m assuming you’ll be attending the town Christmas tree lighting on Friday night.”
Memory pulled her eyes away from the table and focused in on Ellie. “Why would you assume that?”
“What do you mean?” Ellie took a step backward, her face drawn down. “Is everything all right?”
Dragging her hand down her face, Memory took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s just... Dak asked me to go to the lighting ceremony with him.” Ellie gasped, and a smile lit up her face. Before she could say anything at all, Memory raised her hands. “It’s not a date.”
“Are you sure? It sounds like a date.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Listen, Ellie, I am certain you had good intentions, but... do you know what Dak does for a living?”
“I’m not sure what you mean about my intentions,” Ellie said, her face the picture of innocence, as if she hadn’t intended to force them into the coffeehouse situation, “but yes, I know all about Dak’s work. He’s an architect. Right now, he’s working on an apartment complex in Chicago, but he’s looking to do something more philanthropic, so he and his mother are considering some historic properties they could potentially use to better communities that don’t have all the resources they need for under-serviced individuals, such as the elderly and economically disadvantaged children.”
Memory’s forehead puckered as she stared at Ellie, not knowing what to say. “What? No, that’s not.... Where did you...? Ellie, he’s a real estate developer. He’s here to swoop in and buy up our houses and turn them into hotels disguised as inns.”
Ellie let out a loud guffaw. “Wherever did you get that idea?”
“From him!” Memory replied, her arm flailing. “I just talked to him about it during our little un-planned coffeehouse rendezvous.”
“He said that? He told you he wanted to buy up properties and turn them into hotels?”
Memory folded her arms and leaned back against the counter. “Well, no, of course he didn’t say that.”
“Then what makes you think that he does?” Ellie countered, her arms folded just as tightly.
“Because... that’s what they all want, Ellie. All of those corporate money men. They want to... come in here and bottle up our small town lives, sell them to big city folk who can come down here, parade around like they’re one of us for a while, and then... take it home and keep in their closet, so every once in a while, when they feel like they can’t handle the stress of their all-important, GQ lifestyle, they can pull us out and parade around in our quaint, cozy little ambiance for a while before they shove us back in the jar, screw the lid on, and plunk us back on the shelf until we’re needed again. It’s fake—Ellie. They don’t want what we have, they want the McVersion of it. And they don’t care how many families’ dreams they have to ruin to take it. Not everyone wants to sell, you know.”
Ellie cleared her throat, her arms relaxed at her sides now. “I’m not quite sure I understand your concerns, honey. What’s wrong with big city people trying to be more like small town folk?”
“Because... the more imitations we produce, the more likely we are to become the imitations ourselves, Ellie. I don’t want to work at a chain store, or buy my dinner at a chain restaurant. I like my small town just how it is.”
“Listen, dear, I understand why that would concern you.” Ellie placed her hand on Memory’s arm, her touch light and comforting as her voice was calm. “But that’s not what Dak is planning. I’m sure, if you give him a chance to talk to you about what he’s looking for, you’ll get a better understanding of who he is and how he could actually make some positive changes around here.”
“With all due respect, Ellie, you’ve only been here a couple of days. How could you possibly know what changes need to be made?”
Ellie’s eyes enlarged for a moment, her head tipping back. “Maybe I don’t. He probably doesn’t either, but that’s why he’s staying for a while, to see if what he wants to do fits the needs of this town. He wants to see if he can help.”
Memory shook her head, thinking Ellie must’ve gotten duped, too. “Those guys can sell ice to Eskimos, Ellie.”
“Maybe, but I’m a pretty discerning consumer, and I’m pretty sure he was selling blankets, not ice.”
Her face scrunched up as Memory tried to determine exactly what she meant. “All I’m saying is, not everyone wants to sell, but when people with money come in and give them a solution that looks like the only way out of a not-so-wonderful situation, people feel like they don’t have a choice.”
The weight of Ellie’s eyes as she studied her face had Memory looking away. She felt like her new friend was about to ask her a question when the bell dinged and a couple came in. Ellie patted her on the arm, and Memory tried to let the situation with Dak and her feelings about the changes in her hometown fade away so she could give the customers the attention they deserved, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she’d been too quick to judge. Maybe Dak wasn’t as bad as she’d let herself believe he might be. She sure hoped Ellie was right because something told Memory this was one guy she wasn’t going to forget any time soon.