Chapter 45: Chapter 45
Slowly, Dak’s head rocked back and forth. “I thought you looked familiar.”
A smile spread across her face. “I left my shopping bag on the bench that day, the last time I went skating, and you brought it to me.”
The crooked grin on his face confirmed she was right. “How did you know my name, though?”
“Your friends. They shouted at you that they were leaving, and they called you Cody. I’ve always thought there was something familiar about your eyes, but I never put two-and-two together. Dakota... Dak... Cody. Of course, it makes sense now.”
“Wow, Memory. That’s crazy.” He ran a hand through his hair, still smiling at her. “It was only a few moments of interaction at best. Although, I must admit, I had already spent a good deal of time staring at you that day. And you’re right... you did fall down a lot. I really wanted to go and ask you to skate with me so I could help you, and because you were so pretty, but I thought my friends would give me a hard time.”
Memory’s heart melted a little, thinking back to her fifteen-year-old self and considering what it would’ve been like to have a cute boy help her. It might’ve been embarrassing if it were anyone else, but she knew that teenaged Dak would’ve been just as encouraging and patient as he was being right now. “I wish you would have.”
“Me, too, but I guess we weren’t meant to meet that way.” He shrugged and turned around, offering her hand. Memory took it and pushed off with one skate, hoping she could get started again.
She did, and it was easier this time. They glided along for a few moments, dodging a few faster skaters, and Memory thought about how they had met the second time. It had been Ellie’s doing. She’d asked him to come by the shop. Although, she wasn’t quite sure that was the first time she’d seen adult Dak. “This is going to sound really weird, but, a few weeks ago, maybe the first day you were in Christmas Falls, you stopped by the coffee shop, didn’t you?”
He thought for a second, his head tipped up to the sky. “Uh, I’m not sure. Maybe. Why?”
“Well, that day, I was sitting outside of the coffee house before I opened the store, sipping a latte, my grandma’s journal on the bench next to me because I intended to start reading it. I still haven’t done that. Anyway, I got up to leave and left the journal there.” She rolled her eyes, knowing that was the second time she’d left that particular gift for her grandmother behind. She was going to lose it one of these days if she wasn’t more careful. “As I started to the store, this crazy gust of wind seemed to come out of nowhere and blew my scarf into my face! I was sputtering for a second, and then I looked down and saw the journal.”
“Oh, yeah. I do remember that wind!” He nodded enthusiastically. “That was crazy.”
“Right? Anyway, I saw a guy chasing a paper, but I didn’t see his face. Later, when I saw your coat, I thought it looked familiar.”
Chuckling, Dak said, “Did you watch me chase that flyer all over the square?”
“No,” she assured him. “I was so preoccupied with getting out of the wind, I didn’t really take note, just caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye. Anyway, wouldn’t it have been crazy if you would’ve found my journal and handed that to me? That’s what was in the shopping bag you brought me ten years ago.”
Dak raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a second. “Huh. Yeah, that would’ve been nuts.”
Memory giggled, imagining it in her head. “I wonder if we would’ve realized right then that we’d done that before.”
“Maybe. I definitely remember you from that day at the mall.” He squeezed her hand, and Memory felt warmth radiate through her glove up her arm. “You were... so pretty.”
Looking away, Memory tried to hide her smile, her cheeks flaming. She thought about telling him how she’d always thought of him as the cute guy she’d met at the mall, that she’d looked for him every time she came back there for the next few years until she graduated and moved away for a while, that even then, years later, when she’d had a crush or dated a guy in college, she’d compared them to what she imagined the older version of Cody would be like. Memory couldn’t imagine actually saying all of that, so she didn’t. She figured the red in her face was saying enough anyway.
“Hey, Dak! How’s it going?”
Memory recognized the man Dak had spoken to after the snowman contest as he skated by, weaving back and forth on his skates and showing off a little. Dak waved and said hello as they passed, but there was no conversation this time. He was alone and skating a lot faster than they were, in the opposite direction. “Who is that?”
Dak took a deep breath and leaned down closer to her ear, lowering his voice. “That is Corbin Beardly. He’s a real estate developer, too. From New York. He’s the one that bought the Gingerbread house.”
“Oh.” Memory turned and looked over her shoulder, watching the middle aged man do a slow spin and skate around a group of teenagers. She’d gotten a bad vibe from him the first time she’d seen him, and Dak’s statement didn’t change that.
“He’s looking for more properties. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s looking at the factory.”
Memory’s mouth dropped open. “For what?”
“I’m not sure. But I don’t think it would be good.” Dak carefully guided her to their left to get around a family that wasn’t paying attention. A small boy held his parents hands, one on either side, wobbling on his skates. “Memory, I’ve been talking to the associates I mentioned to you a couple of weeks ago about taking on the factory, but I have another idea. It’s sort of... revolutionary. Or unconventional. Maybe both. And I’m not sure if it would even take off, but if it could work.... I think it would be really great.”
She stared at him for a second, watching his eyes shift as he contemplated whether or not to tell her. “Well, what is it?” she coaxed. “I’d love to hear it.”
He was still hesitating. “It’s a crafters and artisans guild.”
“A what?” She made sure her tone still sounded intrigued because she was. She just had no idea what he was talking about.
“It would be a place where artists and crafters could come together to work, not collaboratively, unless they wanted to, but they could keep their supplies there, use the space, and my company would provide all of the larger equipment for the community to use. Then, when it’s time to sell their wares, we would take a small part of their profit to fund the upkeep on the tools and the building. That way, a lot of the smaller operations you work with, the people who make your ornaments, even the furniture you’ve been selling, would have a place to work. When it comes to shipping, that would make it easier on everyone, too, because we could ship in bulk. And you could sell whatever pieces you want to through The Memory Box and online.”
Memory listened carefully as he explained. There were so many local crafters and artisans she’d met while operating the store that would benefit from something like that. Having access to the tools they needed, as well as the opportunity to collaborate, could be life changing for all of them. “That would be... amazing. I bet people from out of town would be willing to commute to work at a place like that, too. Or move here.”
“Do you think?” His smile grew, and she could see the hesitancy from before melt away. “It’s kind of an unorthodox way of using a space like that, but there might be other purposes, too. Maybe a community dance studio. Or a performance hall.”
“Oh, wow, Dak!” Memory stopped, turning to face him again and squeezing both of his arms. “That would be so amazing! What about your senior citizens center space? Could you put that there, too?”
He shook his head, his smile fading to a bit of a frown. “The space is there, but it’s just not practical. The building is so old, there are interior stairs everywhere, and a lot of the facilities wouldn’t accommodate a large number of older people. Maybe in a few years, with an intense remodel, we could make it work, but in the short term, no. I’m still looking for a place that’s more welcoming, like an historic home with a ballroom.” The glint of disappointment she’d seen earlier intensified. “I’m just afraid that might not be possible in Christmas Falls.”
Memory studied him for a moment, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. In the pit of her stomach, a calmness settled, and then diffused throughout her entire body, flooding her with a sense of peace like she hadn’t felt since well before her grandma had passed.
She slid her hands down his arms so that she was holding his hands in hers. “Dak, I think I have a solution.”