Trisha Faye

In Three Bags Full, Claire is about to change her career path by opening her own little store. This week we’re writing to the prompt ‘sunny.’

Enjoy the snippet here, then go check out the other delightful tales you’ll find at Tuesday Tales.

“If you can’t get out on time Monday, I can go check for you,” Lucy said. “I have a pretty light week next week.”

“Cool, that would be great,” Claire said. “I’ll need to start looking around for other places too, so in case that little house doesn’t work out.”

“I can help with that,” Lucy volunteered. “I can check out some other places for you while you’re at work.”

“Thanks, that would be helpful,” Claire said. “But I’d really like to stay in Bluebonnet Ridge if I can. It would be handy to be less than a mile from home. I don’t really want to spend a lot of time commuting.”

“I don’t blame you. I sure like working from home. I don’t have to get dressed for an office, punch a time clock or drive anywhere, except when I need to meet with a client. I’ve gotten rather spoiled,” Lucy said.

The night at work seemed to drag on forever. It was hard for Claire to keep her mind on what she was doing. She kept drifting off, planning her dream store and forgetting how many yards she was supposed to be cutting. Time crawled by at work, but the rest of the weekend the time flew by in a flurry. Claire spent most of Sunday sitting on the computer researching products she’d like to carry in the store, filling up a legal note with notes: company names, prices, web sites, and ideas to check out locally.

Monday afternoon found Claire checking the clock every five minutes, waiting for her shift to be over. She couldn’t wait to leave and get to the paper store.

Pulling into the parking lot, Claire didn’t even notice the chill in the afternoon air this visit. Rushing up the walk, forgetting to check for ice, she luckily made it to the door in one piece.

Entering the store, Claire saw a different, younger lady behind the counter this time. “Hi. Are you Shelly?” she asked the tall slim woman coming to greet her.

“Yes, I am,” answered Shelly with a sunny smile. “What can I help you with?” she asked.

“My name is Claire. I’m looking for a place to rent for a small country crafts store. I’ve been noticing the little house next door and wondered if you knew anything about who owns it.”

“As a matter of fact,” Shelly softly answered, “my landlord owns both properties. When I rented here, he offered me either property. I wanted this one because it was a little larger and closer to the street. Would you like his number?”

“Yes, I would,” Claire answered. “I’d like to talk to him before I look anywhere else.”

“Let me get his number from the back,” Shelly said. “Would you like to join me with a cup of hot tea?”

In Three Bags Full, Claire is about to change her career path by opening her own little store. This week we’re writing to the prompt ‘cold.’

Enjoy the snippet here, then go check out the other delightful tales you’ll find at Tuesday Tales.

Claire hardly slept a wink that night. Her mind was racing, making lists, making plans. Every now and then she’d awaken and want to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. It was so hard to believe that they’d really won that much money yesterday.

Lucy opened the door and walked in carrying a hot coffee for herself and a cold orange juice for Claire. “C’mon sleep head. You need to hurry so we can go get breakfast while they’re still serving it. They’re almost out of bagels.”

“I’m getting there,” Claire said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

“How’d you sleep?” Lucy asked. “I’ll bet you slept pretty good.”

“Actually, I didn’t sleep all that well,” Claire answered. “I kept waking up and making lists in my head of what I need to do. I need to check on places, I need to check on ordering merchandise, I have to find people to have some products on consignment, I need to find people to teach some classes …” she trailed off deep in thought.

“It’s going to be very hard to go into work today,” Claire mused.

“It would be,” Lucy agreed. “Why don’t you call in?”

“I have to be there, otherwise there isn’t anyone to cover fabrics tonight,” Claire said. “And I still have to keep working until the new store is open. I’ll need to work and save every penny I can between now and then.”

“Yes, a little cushion would be a good thing,” Lucy said.

Claire piped in, “That five thousand dollars will go very fast once rent is paid, the store is fixed up to open and merchandise is purchased. This much money seems like a windfall; but it’s still going to be opening the store on a shoestring.”

“True,” Lucy said, nodding her head. “But you can do it.”

“I’ll just have to be very careful,” Claire said. “And I’ll have to hit the ground running so I can be bringing in money as fast as possible. Not like Missy who took her time with her glass studio.”

Their friend Missy had opened a glass studio in Dallas but had taken almost a year before she was ready to actively look for commissions. Claire didn’t have a year to play around and figure out what she wanted to do. Fortunately, these dreams had been swimming around in her head for a while, so she had somewhat of a blueprint of where she needed to go.

“Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready,” Claire said. “We can go get some breakfast and get out of here.”

After a quick continental breakfast, Claire and Lucy headed for home. They chatted all the way home, discussing plans and comparing notes, Claire making notes the whole way.

“I won’t have time to run by the paper store before getting to work,” Claire said. “And they’re probably closed tomorrow, being Sunday. I’ll try to get there Monday and see if she knows who owns the house next to her.”

Check out the other delightful tales you’ll find at Tuesday Tales.