Carpe Bead'em (10 page)

She didn’t want
me to visit. She wants to get everything worth anything out of her house. Her
idea of rehab for Uncle Jimmy, who will apparently steal what he can’t pawn.

Like a good girl, I do as I’m told.

“That was quick.” Uncle Jimmy said,
ducking when I jumped over him.

“Yep, bye.” I secured the bag under my
arm.

I don’t peek in
the bag until halfway home, in fear of letting out any unwanted bugs. But
curiosity has gotten the better of me.

I reach over and
take out the shiny object sticking out of the bag. Silverware?

There is some
carving on the handle.

What in the
world am I going to do with tarnished silver ware? The deeper I dig, I pull out
more silver with carved handles. They all have different scenes carved on them,
and is actually pretty.

I put the bag on
the back porch, when I get home, and start sorting the silver. It is the most
beautiful matching set of six forks and six knives, all with carved ivory-figure
handles. All the carvings are of children dressed in Victorian garb. I run my
finger over the fork I’m holding, wondering about its history. Wondering if
these were Aunt Grace’s as a child, or if they’re worth any money.
And why she’s
passing on her treasures to me. Is Aunt Grace the psychic one? Does she think
her days are numbered?

I repack
everything in a grocery bag and throw Aunt Grace’s in the garbage.

I don’t care if
it’s worth zilch. It’s Aunt Grace’s treasure, and it’s worth something to me.

It
joins the china, in the back of my car, just in case.

Chapter
Seventeen

The more I look
at my bracelets, the desire builds to design and make more. I must’ve dreamed about
more designs. I woke up with my creative juices flowing. It’s a feeling I can’t
describe. I dance around the room and the images keep coming. I stop to jot
down a few notes so I won’t forget.

Visions of
greens, pinks, yellows, swirls, and glass sparkling, consumes me. as I slide
them on the wire. It may sound strange, but I want to have a purpose in this
world. And if I can make one person happy by receiving one of my bracelets as a
gift, it makes me happy.

I lace up my
tennis shoes, and put all my extra energy into jogging through Hyde Park before
work. If by chance, Dee is at One Bead At A Time, I might have to stop.

The rain can’t
dampen the twinkling beads through the window.

My soul awakens.
I feel alive!  

The person
looking at me, in the glass window, is not the same girl who walked in this
door yesterday. Just like a curve ball, it hits me. I’ve never been as
passionate about doing something other than fashion design.

I used to cut
out clothes from magazines and paste them together, all the way down to the
accessories. I’d wake up in the middle of the night with a new outfit in mind.
Now I’m waking up, thinking about beads.

“What are you
doing?” Dee has a vested interest in why I’m standing in the rain, pressing my
hands and nose up against her store widow. She motions for me to come in. “It’s
pouring rain.”

“I was jogging.”
I don’t tell her I’ve been bit by the beading bug. “And I stopped to look at
the window display.”

“Jogging, in the
rain?” She hands me a towel from behind the counter. “You’re soaked. I’ve heard
about you die hard runners.”

“A good stress
reliever.” I run the towel down my ponytail, and come clean. “I loved making the
bracelets. I have a few other designs in my head and I want to get a couple
different beads to see if they work.”

“So that’s why
you’re really here.” She laughs. “It happens to the best of us.”

I’m a little
embarrassed, though I don’t know why. 

“Good,” she
says, and puts a few shipping boxes on the glass counter. “That’s the drive you
need to make the bracelets. Plus your excitement adds to your creative flow.”

If only she knew
how much creative flow is going through me, she might call off our deal out of
fear. Fear of my obsession.

I sort through
some of the chez glass beads. Designs start popping in my head one after the
other, and I sketch them on a piece of paper. I take my time so I won’t forget
any of the  details.

“Hallie?” Dee
leans over the counter, checking out my notes. “Did you just come up with those
designs?”

I smile,
embarrassed.  “They’re just ideas.”

“They’re
beautiful!”  She sets a steaming cup of coffee in front of me.  “I keep a
coffee maker in the back.”

I look at my
watch knowing I have to go to work. I’d much rather stay here. “Only one cup,”
I say as I close my eyes and let the joy of caffeine take over.

I’ve only known
Dee for twelve hours, but this is the first cup of coffee I’ve had with someone
I consider a girlfriend since I left Cincinnati.  

She takes an
X-acto knife out of the drawer and starts to open boxes. “It’s nice to share a
cup of coffee in the morning.”

“I come in this
early every Wednesday because I get my shipments on Tuesday night.” She digs
through the box, paying no attention to me ogling all the merchandise. Her eyes

light up when
she shows me a tiny zip lock with beads.

“Oh, look! I’ve
been waiting three months for these.” Her eyes pop open.

She inspects
each bead and I want to inspect them, too. She comments on how different one is
from the other. I begin to see it too.

“Lampwork beads.
Aren’t they gorgeous?” She digs deeper in the box, the crease between her brow
deepens. She frowns. “Only one? Not enough to put out. I guess I’ll have to
wait and see if I get more next week.”

“Only ten
beads?” I count them, as she puts them back in the bag. My mouth begins to
water at the mere idea of a design involving those beads.

“Yes.” She
carefully puts them back in the tiny bag. “I pay ten dollars for ten. Very
expensive, but I can get double that.”

No shit!
More designs
pop in my head. All sorts of different ways to make one of the beads the
focal point in a
bracelet,
surrounded by coordinating colors.

“May I?” I ask.

With her agreement,
I grab one of the boards and take the orange glass bead out of the zip-lock. I
put different, heavier silver beads on each side, and white cat’s eye beads in
between those.

“Those are Bali
beads.” Dee points to the heavy silver ones.

It’s like I’m
transported into another life. I can’t think about anything other than this
design and my fingers begin to take over.

Dee tops off my
coffee cup.

“Wow, Hallie!
You’ve been here a total of twenty minutes and look at that design!” She can hardly
contain her excitement.

“Twenty
minutes?” I snap back into reality and look at my watch.  

“I’ve got to go.
I’m going to be late for work.” But as I dart out the door I yell, “I’ll be
back later tonight. Keep my beads on the board.”

Chapter Eighteen

When I finally
get to work, fifty minutes late because I failed to take Cincinnati traffic
into account, I’m surprised to see Beatrice having a coffee party with two
women in my office.

“Hi.” I walk in,
still mad at myself for being late.

Beatrice stands
while the two ladies sit in the guest chairs in front of the desk. Quickly I
determine they’re with Saks Department Store.

I introduce
myself. “Let me be the first to say we love the location you have given us.”

The more mature
looking of the two stands up. “Yes, Hallie, we are from the corporate office, and
wanted to see the boutique firsthand.”

The younger of
the two stands up as well. “Beatrice was just telling us about your meeting
with the local press.”

I shoot a quick
glance at Beatrice and blink, wondering if she’ll understand it as a thank-you. 

“Oh, yes,” I say. 

They smile with
approval.

I turn, wide-eyed,
towards Beatrice and listen as she says, “Yes, I was telling them about your meeting
with some of the local press about doing a couple interviews with Cincy Beat
and What’s Happening Now on the local Fox news channel.”

My heart sinks
back into my chest where it belongs. I can breathe. She’s saved me, again.

“We think it’s a
great idea,” Bachelorette No 1 says. “We’re very pleased with the way the
boutique is set up and your first week of sales without any advertising. This
is exactly what we need to open this store. You’ve proven your ability and dedication.”

“Thank you,” I say.
I decide
to make Beatrice the most killer bracelet my imagination can come up with.

Beatrice shows
them around the boutique and Saks. I can tell she’s buying me time to get the
local Fox station on the phone and set up an interview, quickly. She winks as
they leave my office. To my delight, the station is happy to set up an
interview it can use in their “New To Town” segment, that focuses on new
businesses in the area. It was almost too easy.

“Brilliant!” After
they’re gone, I grab Beatrice by the shoulders and give her a big squeeze. “No
one on Michigan Avenue would’ve had my back that quick,” I tell her. “You’re my
new best friend! You’re amazing thinking on your feet like that. Tell me
everything from the beginning. And don’t leave out a single detail.”

Beatrice beams
with pride.

I treat Beatrice
to a lunch over on Fountain Square at La Italian Restaurant.
We sit on the
outside balcony underneath the red awning on the couch and dine on New York strip
steak and arugula salad. On Gucci’s tab of course.

Despite the
rocky start, my day is good.  Still,
I can’t wait for the rest of the workday
to be over so I can get back to Dee and my designs. I plan on making it and
wearing it with my new orange Gucci silk runway dress that isn’t even out yet.
I got the sample in the Michigan store and have been saving it for the perfect
occasion.

What’s more
perfect than me on television? New dress. New bracelet.

All is good in
the world of Gucci.

Week Four

Live life…one
bead at a time.

Author Unknown

Chapter Nineteen

Five in the
morning comes early, especially when you want to look good and rested.

Clap.

The lights turn
on, pounding my puffy eyes. How am I going to look on live television?

My plan? Run,
grab coffee, and get to work for my interview. Surely running will wake me up.
And if it doesn’t, the coffee will.

Café Beginnings is
dark the first time I pass it, and the square is silent. Eerily so, for a
weekday. The fountain gurgles and echoes with the pounding of my shoes. But the
birds begin to chirp as I head for my coffee, and a few cars pass me along the
way.

Addy’s apartment
lights are on, and a small light is on in the coffee shop. I knock on the door
to see if she’s milling around. A shadow cast on the wall grows bigger and
bigger as it comes closer to the door.

“Hallie?” Addy
wipes her hands on her apron with a curious look on her face. She opens the
door a little wider for me to step in. “You’re early.”

“I couldn’t
sleep.” I’m excited to tell her my news and I blurt it out. “I’m going to be on
Good Morning Tri-State on Fox 19!”

“That’s great!”
She turns back to the counter and picks up the remote for the television.  “I’m
going to leave it on all day.”

The coffee is
already brewing. She puts out fresh fruit, bagels and doughnuts. “Coffee’ll be
ready in a few. What are you going to talk about?” She gets a mug for me.

“They are going
to profile the new boutique.” I still can’t believe I’m going to be on
television. “My big debut.”

Over coffee I
tell her about Beatrice and how she saved my hide because of my lapse of time
with Dee.

“Wow, Dee’s
business is doing good. It’s a great stress reliever from what I hear.” She
leans over her cup and steam twirls around her face. “Maybe I need to take a
class.”

“You should.” I
encourage her. “We can be like those other groups of ladies that go in and bead
all day.”

I’d love to have
a group of girlfriends here.

“If I ever get a
day off.” She snickers and puts yogurt cups out on the counter.

“It’s strange
how beading comes natural to me.” I sip the hot liquid.

“You never know,”
Addy says, and waves her hands around as if destiny is in the Café Beginnings’
air, “maybe that’s your destiny.”