“Good guess,” Gabi replied.
“Not really. I seldom have customers wander in when the store first opens. Tourists seem to get a late start, and the locals are at work. Things don’t pick up till closer to lunchtime. I can get a lot of my ordering and paperwork done in the morning. Today, though, I was expecting you to drop by. Now, tell me what I can do to help you.”
“As long as you promise not to laugh hysterically,” Gabi said. “This idea is a little new to me, so I’m fairly sensitive.”
“But it has to do with wind chimes? Lily said you bought one yesterday and were asking who’d made it.”
Gabi nodded.
“Just natural curiosity about the artist?”
“No.” She took a deep breath, then explained. “I think I’d like to learn to make them, the old-fashioned glass kind like the one I bought. I was hoping there might be a class I could take or that the artist could recommend someone who could teach me or even work with me one-on-one—for a fee, of course.” She regarded Meg worriedly. “Is that being too presumptuous? Would the artist consider me to be competition? Believe me, I’m not.”
“I guess that remains to be seen,” Meg said. “And some artists actually enjoy helping beginners. Others, not so much.”
“And the one who made the wind chime I bought?”
“She’s more openminded than most. You’ll like her.” Meg studied her openly. “Something tells me there’s a story behind all this. No offense, but I don’t meet a lot of people your age who suddenly decide to take up art, not in a serious way, anyway. Or did I misunderstand? Are you looking for a hobby?”
“I don’t have much time to take up a hobby right now. I think I’d like to do this as a career.”
“With no artistic experience?” Meg said, her expression incredulous. “Or do I have that wrong?”
“Nope. You’re exactly right.”
“Pardon me for being nosy, but what are you running away from? A man? Or a job? Experience has taught me it’s usually one or the other. Personally, I moved to Sand Castle Bay and opened this shop when my marriage broke up,” she confided. “I wanted a fresh start, and I thought this might be the perfect place to raise my rebellious teenage daughter.” A fleeting smile crossed her expressive face. “The store, at least, is working out well.”
“I want a fresh start, too,” Gabi said, relieved that Meg understood.
“What did you do before?”
“Public relations over in Raleigh. Big company. High-stress job.”
“And you left because?”
Surprisingly, Gabi wasn’t offended by the personal questions. It was small-town curiosity at its finest. Most people around the area knew the details by now, anyway. She rested her hand on her stomach. “I got pregnant. Then I got dumped. Then I got fired.”
Meg’s eyes widened as she spoke. “Holy cow! I’m surprised you’re still talking in complete sentences. I’d be curled up in bed in the fetal position with a drink nearby.”
“I probably would be, too,” Gabi said. “With the baby, though, that option’s pretty much off-limits.”
“So, instead, you want to make wind chimes?”
“Exactly.”
Meg nodded as if it all made perfect sense. For that, Gabi was incredibly grateful.
“Let me make a call,” Meg said. “As you said yourself, artists can be funny about this kind of thing, but Sally doesn’t have a lot of the hang-ups some of the others do. In fact, I think the two of you probably have a lot in common. And she’ll be honest with you. If you don’t have a lick of talent, she’ll tell you. She won’t let you waste your money.”
Gabi nodded. “And that’s exactly what I want.”
“Give me a sec,” Meg said, then went into the back.
Gabi wandered through the shop again, captivated once more by the selection of wind chimes. There were some she was certain hadn’t been on display the day before, each one prettier and more distinctive than the next. She tried guessing which had been done by this particular artist, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You’re all set,” Meg said when she returned. “She’d like me to bring you by her place, though, and I can’t break free from here till around two after Lily comes in and things quiet down again. Would that work for you?”
“Absolutely,” Gabi said eagerly.
“If you can wait until then to grab a bite to eat, I’ll treat,” Meg offered. “I want to hear more about this dramatic change you’re trying to make.”
“I may not be able to wait that late for lunch, but there’s rarely an hour of the day when I’m not starving,” Gabi said. “I’d love to join you.”
“Then I’ll tell Sally we’ll be there around three-thirty or four. How’s that?”
“Perfect. Thank you so much for doing this.”
“My pleasure. I’ll see you this afternoon. Meet me down the block at the Seaside Café. I’m parked close by and I’ll drive from there after we’ve had a bite to eat.”
“Looking forward to it,” Gabi told her.
She left the shop with a sense of wonder. So, that’s how it’s done, she thought to herself. All these years when she’d been surrounded by colleagues, rather than friends, she’d been unable to imagine how real friendships were born. Something told her she was about to find out.
* * *
Since she was already in the shopping district, Gabi decided to poke around in a few shops to see if she could find the new clothes she desperately needed. She only found one boutique that had a selection of maternity clothes, but she did find two pairs of pants, a few blouses and even a couple of dresses that would suffice until she could drive back over to Raleigh or get to the one major department store in Sand Castle Bay.
Since it was still too early to meet Meg, she called Emily. “Where are you? Do you have time to grab a quick bite, or are you and Boone about to take off for the airport? I know you’re flying back to
