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IT was a summer morning with a brisk, refreshing breeze blowing. After the rain throughout the night came to a stop, the wind felt uplifting.
It was also the day before Olivia’s shop opened.
She looked around the shop and let out an impressed sigh.
It’s turned into an amazing shop.
In front of her was a store far more incredible than she ever imagined. The wallpaper was a calm blue color, and the furniture was modern and classy. It felt like the sort of tearoom a noble lady might frequent.
Olivia still couldn’t believe it was her shop. She glanced sideways toward the corner and the three smallish wooden crates. Inside were magic jewelry pieces made at Gordon’s shop, as well as decorations and stands for display.
There was also supposed to be one other large box coming that had the bare minimum she needed to survive: her clothes, daily necessities, and the like. For the rest, she was going to slowly move over when she had time.
Right, let’s get this taken care of.
After about an hour, she managed to empty one of the crates. She started on the second one, thinking she’d have plenty of time at the rate she was going.
But that’s when the brand-new doorbell rang.
“Hello?” called Olivia.
“Olivia, it’s me!”
“Oh!”
Olivia set down what she was working on and hurried over to open the door with its anti-crime magic stone to see her good friend, Sally, along with the heavyset form of her fiancé and knight, Nicca, both holding a basket of flowers. Sally smiled and shoved a basket filled with what looked like an arrangement of sweet peas toward Olivia.
“Congratulations on the new shop!” she proclaimed.
“Thank you! What beautiful flowers!”
“Congrats,” offered Nicca. “I’ll carry this one in.” He lifted the basket of orange and red gerberas.
“Come in,” Olivia ushered them inside.
Sally’s eyes widened when she stepped in. “This is great! It’s amazing!”
Olivia smiled bashfully as she placed Sally’s basket of flowers in a prominent location. “Thanks. I based it on a few different cafés.”
“So, you sit here and look at the jewelry?”
“Yes. I’m planning on having the pieces in glass cases, which we then bring over to the customers.”
“And it’ll be by reservation only?”
“Generally, yes.”
“That’s nice!” Sally smiled and stood, then stopped in front of a full-length mirror. “And here you can see your whole look.”
“Yep. Then, if the customer’s concerned about color coordination, they can pair the jewelry with the different cloth swatches there.” There was a shelf next to the mirror with more than ten large pieces of fabric.
Sally picked up the red one and draped it over herself. “What a great idea! Then you know how it looks with different colors.” She neatly folded the fabric and set it back in the pile, then spoke with excitement, “People will definitely come here! Spending time listening to the artificer as you choose your jewelry…it’s incredible!”
After that, the two chatted cheerfully as Olivia showed Sally around the shop, the two nearly forgetting Nicca was even there.
“Oh, that’s right!” exclaimed Sally after a while as if she only remembered. “We came here to help you. Is there anything to do?”
“I’m good at the heavy lifting and whatnot,” Nicca replied with a nod as he looked at a painting on the wall.
“I appreciate it,” Olivia responded as she looked again at Sally’s clothes. She was wearing a cute, fashionable dress and carrying a fancy parasol. Nicca was also looking rather stylish. Olivia couldn’t help feeling they were on some sort of date.
I can’t possibly make them help when they’re in the middle of a date.
So, she smiled and said instead, “Thank you, really, but it’s all right. I just need to finish putting out a few little things, then clean up my tools.”
“Really? You sure you’ll be all right on your own?” asked Sally.
“I’m sure. I only need to put out what’s in those two crates.”
Sally turned around and looked at the two small crates. Her expression looked like she accepted they might be in the way if they lingered around.
“Well, I guess we’ll head out then,” she relented. “I’ll swing by again tomorrow.”
And with that, the two left.
Olivia waved as she saw them off, and then she went back to decorating and setting up displays in the shop. She struggled with the exact arrangement but made progress in putting the rings and earrings into the display cases.
She finished the second crate and was about to tackle the third one.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang again, followed by a man’s voice. “Ms. Olivia? I have a delivery from Gordon’s Magic Appliances for you.”
She peeked through the curtains and saw a man holding a large wooden crate.
That’s probably the things I sent.
She opened the door, and the man set the crate at her feet before passing her a piece of paper and a pen. “Please sign here to confirm you received the delivery. And, uh, where would you like me to set it?”
“Over there, please.” Olivia pointed to an open space in the corner of the shop.
The man hoisted the crate up with a huff and carried it over.
Olivia looked at him with confusion. She was sure there were only clothes and a few daily necessities in there. How could it be so heavy?
Once the man left, she opened the crate, and her eyes flew open in surprise.
Ah! What? Is this from Mr. Harrison?
Inside was a collection of magic items and equipment, the same that had been in Harrison’s room, including a small magic heater along with a fire-resistant mat. These items were things Olivia had taken a liking to while at Gordon’s, and it looked like Harrison had sent her brand-new ones.
Oh, thank you, Mr. Harrison.
She stared into the crate with tears forming. How lucky was she to have someone who had taken such good care of her while she was at Gordon’s shop and was now doing this for her? She’d have to thank him the next time she visited.
With that, she got back to cleaning up the shop.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang a third time.
“Ms. Olivia? I have a delivery from Gordon’s Magic Appliances!”
This time, it has to be my things.
She peeked through the curtains again and saw a man with a crate even larger than the last one. Either it was something she’d completely forgotten about, or it was another present from someone.
She opened the door, and the smiling delivery man had her sign a paper again.
“This delivery is from Mr. Gordon. Where should I drop it?”
“Um…in that corner over there.”
“Sure thing!”
In addition to the large crate he was carrying, he returned to his wagon parked nearby and pulled out another four, which he stacked onto the first in the corner.
That wasn’t the end of the deliveries.
Before Olivia knew it, the corner of her shop had been swallowed by a mountain of crates.
I was not expecting this…
Olivia sighed as she stood in front of the stack.
All of them had come from Gordon’s Magic Appliances. She guessed all the artificers there had thought of her and sent all sorts of things. Which meant it was safe to assume there was quite a lot in each one.
Olivia was happy. So very happy.
And yet…how in the world am I going to put all this away by tomorrow morning?
She stood in front of the boxes, at her wits’ end, and was undoubtedly in for an all-nighter. Could she even finish it in one night?
Ding-dong.
And the doorbell rang again.
With a sigh, she called, “Yes?” She opened the door with a glum look, assuming it was another delivery.
And there she found Elliot holding a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers and a large white paper box. He took his brown flat cap off with one hand as a smile grew on his attractive features.
“Hello, Olivia. Congratulations on the new shop. I brought gifts.”
“Oh! Thank you!” Olivia smiled, relieved he wasn’t another man with a delivery. “What beautiful flowers. And what’s in the box?”
“Pies from that café I mentioned before. I thought they would be the perfect treat since it’s about time for a snack.”
Her eyes sparkled. Of course, Elliot would bring something so wonderful. He knew her well. It was then she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since morning.
Elliot’s eyes crinkled in amusement at the sight of Olivia more enraptured with the aroma coming from the box than the perfume of the flowers. “You really don’t put on any pretenses. By the way, is there anything I can help with?”
“What?” Olivia froze. “Did you…come to help?”
“Yes. That was the intention,” he replied smoothly, and then Olivia clamped her hands on him. “Uh, Olivia?”
He blinked in surprise as Olivia looked up at him with tears.
“Thank you! I will owe you big time!”