business anyway.”
“As it so happens, I do have an opening for an assistant.” I murmured this as I flicked through Pia’s extensive résumé and accompanying photos in her digital portfolio. “You have a wonderful eye.” The photos displayed nuanced and fresh table settings and layouts.
“I taught her well.” June beamed.
“Your personal website is lovely, too. You made all of this?” I gestured to the tablet.
Pia blushed prettily again and rightfully claimed the praise. “Yes. And I do adore event planning. Weddings are my favorite,” she added. “But Mom needs my help.”
June shook her head. The mama bird seemed to be gently pushing her daughter out of the nest, whether she liked it or not. “While business is doing well, Pia, you know I can’t take you on as a permanent employee. Even with Claudia retiring.” June sighed and took in her large store overflowing with wares. “Cataloguing and making each item here available online has stemmed some of the slowdown in antique sales. But it hasn’t cured everything.”
I sympathized with June’s sharing of her business woes. With nearly every physical good also available to shoppers online, one had to be nimble.
“And while I love helping out, I’m not sure I’d want to join the family business full-time.” Pia laughed at her mother’s mock shock at her pronouncement. The young woman was very pretty, even with a streak of dust marring her rosy cheeks.
“I don’t want to force you to apply, but we are holding interviews tomorrow to fill the full-time wedding assistant position,” I tentatively offered. “I know it’s quite last-minute.”
Pia cocked her head and seemed to ponder the invitation. Then she nodded with a serene smile. “I’d love to interview. Thank you for the invitation.”
I scheduled Pia’s interview for the next day to occur just after the other three candidates my sister and I would be meeting. As far as I was concerned, Pia was all but hired. This impromptu process was a little rushed, but sometimes the universe presented you with an opportunity. I just hoped my sister would be okay with my on-the-spot interview invitation. I gave an inward shrug. I knew Pia would be excellent, and I bet Rachel would think so, too.
June gently clapped her hands, causing baby Miri to squeal with delight. I gave the shop owner an appraising look. It seemed as if June had artfully nudged her daughter into working for me. June was a slick one. I’d let her know earlier this week that Bev and I would be stopping by. Maybe Pia just happened to be in the store, or perhaps June had arranged our chance encounter. I decided I didn’t care. Good employees were hard to find, and I had a feeling Pia would be a perfect fit.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s ring up this veil.” Pia would be a good businesswoman. She crisply changed the subject back to the sale at hand. “What do you think, Mom? Twenty dollars?”
June was contemplative as she considered the long swath of lace laid out on the table.
“Mom? Are you sure you’re okay selling it?” Pia seemed to call her mother back from somewhere far away.
“Of course! It certainly is a pretty lace veil.” June looked up and graced Bev and me with a warm smile. “I’m glad it’s found a good home. Twenty is a fine price, Pia. After all, this lace will need a bit of repairing, even though it’s mainly intact.” June observed her daughter carefully folding up the veil. “Ladies, you’ll spend a pretty penny with a fabric restorer if you choose to go that route.”
Bev and I produced ten dollars each and solemnly handed the bills over to Pia. She rang us up and handed me the receipt and the veil ensconced in a clear plastic bag, the brick red curlicue script logo of the Port Quincy Antique Emporium printed on the front. It was a done deal.
“You know what this veil is?” Bev pointed to the bag with a jab of excitement. “A sign!”
Uh-oh.
Bev was beginning to sound like Delilah, her fiancé’s tarot-card-reading mother.
“We should have a double wedding! Look at this fabric, it screams summertime, with the flowers and the trim of embroidered stars. It’ll be a perfect tie-in for my wedding a few days before the Fourth of July. And if you’re going to wear this veil, too, and divide it up, you may as well coordinate your look!”
“I love the idea of getting hitched this summer, and there’s no one I’d want to share a wedding with more than you.” I beamed at my close friend. “But I’m enjoying my engagement to Garrett, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a wedding planner, it’s not to rush things.”
I watched Bev deflate before me. I did wonder if today’s events were some kind of sign. First, I recalled the enchanting sundress at the back of the store, which I’d just pledged to buy. It was really suited to a casual summer wedding, just the kind Bev was having. I could almost see it. A double wedding with one of my best friends would be both silly and wonderful. I had promised in a weak moment, after I’d gotten engaged, to have my own wedding featured in a glossy bridal magazine. This would be a good hook. But more importantly, it would be good fun.
June seemed to pick up on my wordless considerations. “If you marry this summer, the sundress would work, Mallory. I could remove it from the dress form and have it sent over.”
Bev frowned at the idea of me wearing a dress that didn’t come from her shop, but seemed to like her double-wedding idea more. “I’d be happy to do alterations on the sundress.” She sighed. “Though I thought we all agreed it would be better as a rehearsal dress.”
But I couldn’t get the vision of myself standing in the garden at Thistle Park, my inherited mansion-turned-B-and-B, out of my head. I could picture my sandy curls peeking out from half of the swath of that gorgeous lace, a champagne-colored chiffon wrap adorning my shoulders to tie the aged lace and retro sundress look together. And I’d be married to the love of my life sooner, in the summertime, no less.
Darn it. I knew I’d end up marrying at my house. Maybe I’m destined for no separation of life and work after all.
A nagging voice in the back of my head cautioned me from following the whims driven by serendipitous finds at the Antique Emporium. I loved working as a wedding planner, marrying the analytical with the creative. I always encouraged brides and grooms to find inspiration around them and from their personal histories and to build new memories and celebrations around those experiences. But I also advised them to be practical with the funds and the logistics of planning a wedding and reception. This practicality part seemed to be missing for me, as I was changing up plans fast and furious based on the things I’d found in this very antique store one random June morning.
“I need to run this all by Garrett.” I felt a rueful smile tick up the corners of my mouth. “Contrary to popular opinion, the other half actually does have a say.” Some brides and families assumed it was their show, with no input needed from their partners.
June sagged, perhaps seeing the sale of the sundress slip away. But Bev was triumphant, no doubt thinking she could dazzle me with some dress in her store’s stock. I guess she wasn’t as invested in her momentary plan for a double wedding as she initially appeared. It was probably better this way. It had still been a productive day shoring up the details of Bev’s wedding theme, and we’d found the lovely veil to boot.
“Ready, friend?” I gave Bev a warm smile. There was still time to sort out
