💎💎💎
A little before evening, a few days after Olivia found a clue to her direction at Sally’s shop, she visited Gordon’s office once work had settled a little.
“I’ve decided what I’m going to do about my signature item!” she exclaimed. “I’d like you to see.”
“Ah!” he cried with excitement as he took the paper with sketches from her. He stared at it, blinking. “What…is this?”
On the paper were over ten designs for various rings, necklaces, pendants, and more.
Gordon cocked his head and continued, “They’re all wonderful designs, but which is your signature item?”
There was no rule that stated you had to have only one signature item, but this was definitely excessive.
Olivia’s chest puffed up with pride. “They all are!”
“Uh. They all are?”
Olivia smiled when Gordon’s jaw dropped. “My ‘signature item’ is going to be reworking old magic jewelry!”
When Olivia was at Sally’s shop, she was reminded of the two women she had overheard and their conversation:
“Girls these days have it much better. Your father gave me the most wonderful ring at our wedding, but I only wore it that day. I haven’t even looked at it once in the past fifty years.”
“I kept mine safe so I could give it to my daughter if I had one, but when I tried to, she said she didn’t want something so old-fashioned! I was devastated.”
And that made Olivia think: if she could rework treasured old magic jewelry filled with memories, then people would love to wear them, and they could be passed down from mother to daughter, bringing joy forever.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Huh,” pondered Gordon, his eyes crinkling in a smile. “Interesting. It’s a fresh idea. Not something I or the others could have ever come up with. But you’ll be making less than if you craft and sell new items.”
Olivia nodded. “I know. That’s why I plan to use it to fill up otherwise slow periods, put limits on the number I do at a time, and only modify in a way that won’t put too much pressure on my profits.”
Gordon grinned. “Well, if you’ve got it all worked out, then we’ll just have to try it and see!” He then leaned down to the safe under his desk and took out a worn, gold-colored key with a dull gleam. “This is the key to your new shop. It’s yours starting today. You can go check it out again.”
“Thank you!” She took the key and bowed, feeling nervous but also a profound weight on her shoulders, before walking briskly out.
Sometime after she left, Gordon let out a small sigh and stood. He looked out the window into the sky as he remembered his good friend’s smile. It was exactly like Olivia’s. As he watched the clouds drift by, he whispered, “You’d be happy, Ralph. Olivia’s grown into an artificer more incredible than you ever imagined.”
✦ ✦ ✦
💎💎💎
OLIVIA stopped by her workroom after leaving Gordon’s office and then left the shop.
Evening was already making a show outside, dyeing the small sliver of sky visible between the buildings the color of roses.
That was quick. It’s already evening.
She looked up at the sky as she walked down the cobblestone pavement on her way to Lamilis Street.
It was a popular road among young women, lined with cafés and clothing shops. Even this close to evening, there were still plenty of women enjoying a stroll along the street.
Olivia came to a stop in front of a shop on the corner with small windows.
This is it.
She took the key out of her bag and opened the door, the edges of the paint just beginning to peel.
Ding-ding.
The clear sound of a bell chime echoed through the shop, though no one was there.
Olivia stepped softly inside and closed the door.
The dim shop was empty, and the bubbly noise from outside disappeared like it’d only been a dream. The place smelled of dust, likely because it’d been unoccupied for so long.
Why do I feel like this? Like…a little nostalgic, but my heart is racing…
It was an odd sensation, like catching the scent of damp soil in spring. It made her smile.
She slowly turned her head to survey the shop, then let out a small sigh.
It still doesn’t feel real that this is my shop.
In a few days, the builders were coming to fit shelving and a counter. Maybe once that was done, it would finally feel real, like her very own shop. Perhaps that, or she could start thinking of it as her shop once she put up the sign.
“I need to think of a name…”
A week later, this sign was hung on the wooden door:
✦ ✦ ✦
Olivia’s Magic Jewelers
Opening Soon
✦ ✦ ✦
💎💎💎
IT was a summer afternoon, and the sky shone brilliantly.
There were only two weeks left until the opening of Olivia’s shop. She was in the doorway of her shop in the middle of Lamilis Street, wearing trousers for ease of movement and having an energetic conversation with the friendly foreman of the builders over a diagram of the shop’s interior.
“I think it’d be nice to have three shelving units over here, like on the left side,” Olivia was saying.
“If we do three, that’ll leave this space empty. That all right?”
“It should be fine. I was thinking of putting a little decorative table there.”
Several builders were at work inside the shop, the sounds of hammering and sawing emitting from the door.
The foreman turned to the builders and called, “’Bout time to take a break!” which was when someone bid Olivia hello.
She looked and saw the friendly greeting had come from a woman in a beige dress carrying a parasol. “Rose!”
Rose smiled at the sight of Olivia’s happy expression. “I’ve come with Gordon’s reply.”
Olivia thanked her as she took the letter, then turned to the foreman and remarked, “I’m going to step out for a bit.”
“Sure. Take your time, as long as you’re back by evening.”
“Thank you. Let’s go, Rose.”
The foreman gave them a friendly wave, and the two walked a short way down the road to a small café where they ordered a late lunch.
Rose looked at Olivia with concern. “You’re not pushing yourself, are you? Though, I suppose you don’t have much choice since you only have two weeks left.”
Olivia had been going nonstop the past month. There were all the processes and paperwork she’d never had to deal with before, learning how finances worked in terms of her connection with the main shop, meetings about building work on the shop, and picking out furniture, all on top of her usual work. She had barely any time to sleep and was at best managing to scrape by with help from Gordon and Rose, who were teaching her about the paperwork and procedures.
“You’ll be living on the second floor of the shop, right? Have you had a chance to sort that all out?” asked Rose.
“Yes,” Olivia assured with a nod, her eyes shining at the sight of the Napolitan spaghetti the server had brought out. “I bought some basic furniture and had it delivered to the second floor. It’s enough for me to live in.”
Currently, it was difficult to find reliable employees, so Olivia wasn’t going to try and rush to find someone before the shop opened. Instead, Rose was being dispatched to help for a little while so Olivia could take her time hiring someone.
Rose gracefully speared her penne pasta with her fork and told her, “I’ll come help the day before you open. You’ll have a hard time with all the deliveries and putting out pieces for display.”
“But haven’t you requested that day off?”
Rose laughed like Olivia was being silly. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll just change it to another day.”
“Really, I’ll be fine. Magic jewelry isn’t heavy, and I won’t have all that much in the beginning.” Rose had helped Olivia out so much, even canceling her days off on several occasions to help. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Rose for more. “Please, take your day off,” she exclaimed brightly as she stuffed pasta into her bulging cheeks.
Rose looked concerned but sighed and said, “All right. I’ll take my day off. But make sure you let me know if you can’t handle everything on your own.”
Olivia set her fork beside her empty plate with satisfaction, then nodded firmly. “I will! I’ll be fine, I’m sure.”