Full Circle (13 page)

Bella and Melissa
now lived in a Spanish-style home in one of Santa Monica’s more affluent
neighbourhoods. After-work business discussions had moved from Sofia’s front porch
to poolside at their home and usually included both Rafael and Carla. Melissa’s
interest in the business had grown over the years. She had an uncanny ability
to predict trends and her insights could still surprise them.

“I want to go
to Santa Monica College,” she said one evening in her usual forthright manner.
“They have an excellent course in Fashion Design and Merchandising.”

“It’s a little
early for that, isn’t it? Bella looked fondly at her daughter.

“It’s never
too soon to start planning my future,” she replied. “Look at Rafael. He started
in his father’s mills when he was eight.”

Bella shot a
look at her partner. He was sitting back with a glass of wine, enjoying the
exchange. “I guess you’re right,” she said, conceding the point. “There’s
nothing wrong with planning ahead.”

Carla topped
up their wine and cleared her throat. “Speaking of planning, it looks like I
might be leaving.”

“What?” Bella
and Rafael spoke together. They looked at each other; words didn’t have to be
exchanged to communicate that neither had known of this development.

“Not until
next year,” said Carla with an apologetic expression.

“But why?”
Bella’s mind was racing. Carla had become an important part of the company.

“Ethan is
tired of Hollywood.” She waved a hand in front of her face. “I know, I know. It’s
hard to accept that he wants to leave when he’s been so successful, but we’ve
been here for almost ten years now and every year he talks about how much he
misses live theatre.

“So you’re
going back to New York?” Rafael chuckled. “You’ll freeze.”

“No, not New
York. He heard about a new position in Atlanta. They’re building a new theatre,
and they’re interviewing candidates for the position of Managing Director.” She
looked at Carla. “He’s had preliminary talks with them and he thinks he’ll
probably get it.”

“Do you want
to go?” Bella wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“Yes and no.”
She looked at Bella, then at Rafael. “I’ll miss you guys like crazy, but Ethan
hasn’t been happy for a while, and both of our parents aren’t getting any
younger. That was another big factor in deciding to apply. We want to spend
more time with them.”

Bella
couldn’t argue with that. “Then you should go,” she said simply. “Just help us
pick out someone to fill your shoes before you do.”

* * *

“Bella, have
you looked at these figures?” Rafael sat down in one of the comfortable chairs
around the small conference table in Bella’s office. She’d been sitting at her
drafting board but her creative juices weren’t flowing today and she was
grateful for the interruption.

She picked up
the Profit and Loss statement and frowned. “This looks like it fits in with our
forecast.”

“
Si
,
but have you noticed how much we’re paying for shipping?” He jabbed a finger at
the offending figure. “That’s a small fortune.”

Bella had to
agree with him; the figure was enormous.

“And it will
go up even higher when we start opening the stores on the East Coast.” Four stores
were slated to open within the next two years. Was it any wonder they were both
exhausted?

She knew him
well enough to know that there was a purpose to this conversation. She just
hoped he didn’t want to buy a freight company. “What do you suggest?”

“Okay, hear
me out.” He stood up and started pacing. “We’re running full out here at B2.”
They’d named the second location, the production facility, B2. “And we’ll need
to ramp up our production to supply the new stores.”

He’d started
with shipping costs and now he was on increased production. But how did they
tie in with one another? Bella wished he’d get to the point.

“I think I’ve
solved both problems at once.” He stopped pacing and sat down again. “We open a
production facility in Willow Bend. We can supply the East Coast from there.”

“Willow
Bend?” Her heart started to beat a little faster. Why hadn’t she thought of
that? She’d spent some time with her father last year when they opened their
Atlanta store, and the town was barely surviving. Even the hanging flower
baskets that had adorned Main Street had been lost in the cut-backs; Bella had
managed to quietly reinstate them with her own money. She’d also made an
anonymous donation for repairs to the fountain and maintenance of the small
park in the center of town, but these things did little to lift the pall of despair
that had settled over the town since the closing of the mill.

Rafael
watched the possibilities dawn in her eyes. “
Si, Cara
” he said softly.
“The mill.”

Bella clapped
her hands in delight. “It’s perfect” she said. “Location and work force all in
one place.” She paused. “It’s awfully big, though. We’d only be able to use a
portion of the space.”

“I’ve thought
of that.” His eyes flashed with enthusiasm. “We’ll bring the entire building up
to code without losing any of its charm. We’ll take the back half for
production and distribution, and we turn the front into retail space. Stores
featuring antiques & collectibles, or custom jewellery, or even a small art
gallery would do well there. With the old bricks and that beautiful old facade
on the front, it’s perfect.” He pulled out a pen. “You remember those massive
arched windows that run along the front?” He turned over the file folder, and
with a few deft strokes, showed her what he had in mind. “Each one of the
windows will become an entrance. They’re too high off the ground, of course,
but we’ll build up a boardwalk to run along the front. I also envision a little
bistro; we’ll extend the deck so they can offer outside seating.”

“I want to
see it succeed as much as you, but what about the fact that the town is dead?
Where are the customers going to come from?”

“From
everywhere!” As usual, he enjoyed a challenge. “We have a year and a half lead
time. We can advertise it on-line, we can mention it along with our own
advertising, and we can offer co-op advertising with the merchants. We also buy
enough television advertising that we should be able to get some local coverage.
If necessary, we’ll use our squeaky clean image. There’s a perfect spot on the
east side of the building for a day care center with access to outdoors. We’ll
build a playground.”

He was so far
ahead of her on this one she could only laugh. “And I suppose you’ve checked
this all out? The last time you were at the Atlanta store?”

He pulled
back, pretending to be affronted. “But of course. And I have one more surprise.
Carla has agreed to come back to work...for a few years at least. She wants to
see it up and running.”

“Rafa, you’re
amazing.” She pushed away from the table and walked to the window. It was what
she’d always wanted; a way to go back to her home town as a success. Tears
rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away with her fingertips.

“Bella.” His
hands were on her shoulders, turning her gently around. “Don’t cry.” He smiled
down at her, brushed a tear from her cheek. “I thought this was what you
wanted.”

“It is.”
Emotion clogged her throat. “But up until now it’s only been a dream.”

He looked
deeply into her eyes. “We’ll make it happen. You’ll see.”

* * *

“But Mom.” Melissa
came up out of her chair. “It’s the perfect opportunity for me.” She looked at
Rafael. “Tell her, please.” She turned back to her mother. “They do it in the
UK all the time. They call it a gap year. But I wouldn’t be doing nothing, the
way they do. I’d be learning how to set up a production facility from the ground
floor up.” Her eyes sparkled. “Literally.” She paused for a moment before
playing her trump card. “Don’t be mad, but I talked to Aunty Carla. She says if
it’s okay with you, she’d love to have me there to help.”

“But Melissa.
You’re only eighteen.” Bella was running out of excuses.

“Almost
nineteen. Please, Mom?”

Bella looked
at Rafael, who gave an elegant shrug. “A lot of help you are,” she said, but
there was warmth in her voice. “Okay, Melissa. You can go.”

“Thank you
Mom. I’ll make you proud of me...you’ll see.”

“She’ll be
fine” Rafael said later, when Melissa had gone out. He swirled the remaining
Chardonnay in his glass. “It doesn’t seem possible that I’ve known her since
she was five.”

“Stop, you’re
making me feel old.” Bella’s thoughts went back to that time. “She knew her own
mind even then, didn’t she?”

“She always
has. I wonder where she got that from?” A smile tugged at his lips. “Why do we
do this to ourselves, Bella?” He finished off the wine. “We always seem to be
starting a new project. A new store, a new line, and now a new facility on the
other side of the country.” He watched her closely. “It’s as though we don’t
want to stop, as though we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we paused
long enough for life to catch up with us.”

“I know what
I’d do. I’d sleep for a week.” She paused. “Maybe two. What about you? What
would you do?”

“Easy.” He
closed his eyes and laid his head on the headrest, absorbing the last rays of the
sun. “I’d go to Eleuthera.”

Eleuthera?”
Bella searched her memory. “Is that near the Bahamas?”

“It’s one of
the islands of the Bahamas.”

“What’s
there?”

Rafael
smiled. “Not a lot. That’s what makes it so perfect.” He opened one eye, looked
at her. “A friend of mine has a beach house there not far from Governor’s
Harbour. He calls it Bella Vista. Pink sand, turquoise water, sunshine. It
doesn’t get any better.”

“Wouldn’t you
be bored in a place like that? I can’t imagine you without some project to work
on.”

He closed his
eyes again. “Not with the right person.” His words hung between them. “With the
right person it would be paradise.”

Bella’s heart
sank. Was Rafael getting restless? If so, she couldn’t blame him. “Why don’t I
have a dream like that?”

He opened his
eyes and stood up abruptly. “You have dreams. They’re just not personal, that’s
all.”

He was right
as usual.

Carla spotted
Melissa among the deplaning passengers and raised a hand in greeting. Was it
possible that Bella’s daughter was almost nineteen? The young woman moved
confidently through the crowd and gave her ‘aunt’ an enthusiastic hug.

“I’m so happy
to be here,” Melissa enthused. She shifted her backpack to a more comfortable
position and pulled her suitcase along behind her. “You know I love Mom, but I
so
need this time to be on my own.” She shot a glance at Carla. “To prove myself.
You know?”

Carla
laughed. “Here, let me take that.” She grabbed the handle on the suitcase.
“I’ve known your mom a long time, and believe me, I know how she can be. I’ve
only met one person with more drive to succeed.”

“Really,
who?”

“Rafael. That
man’s a dynamo.” She turned thoughtful. “Although sometimes I wonder if he’s
doing it for himself or for your mom.”

“Huh.”
Melissa shortened her strides so Carla could keep up. “I never thought about
it. Have you ever noticed how they can practically finish each other’s
sentences?”

“Drives me
crazy. Sometimes I wish they would...” Carla stopped mid-sentence. “Never
mind.”

Melissa
didn’t need any further explanation. She made a face. “Eeeuw. No. Mom and
Rafael? Please Carla, don’t even think it.”

“Why not?”
They exited the building and made their way toward the parking lot. “They’re
perfect for each other. Lord knows, they spend enough time together.”

Melissa gave
a delicate shudder. “Let’s talk about something else. How’s Granddad?”

Carla opened
her trunk and placed the suitcase inside. “He’s fabulous. Ever since Rafael
came out the first time and showed him the plans, he’s a new man. It was a
brilliant move to put him in charge of all the mechanical systems. Your
grandfather can fix anything and of course he knows all the local tradesmen.”

“So he’s
using local people whenever he can?”

“Absolutely.
There are a lot of skilled unemployed people in Willow Bend, and
Bella
has been able to give a lot of them work.” She turned on the air conditioner. “Come
to think of it, I don’t believe he’s had to hire anyone from the outside.”

“What about
the tax incentives? Did the city come through on those?”

Carla cast an
admiring glance at the young woman beside her. “My goodness, you really are
your mother’s daughter, aren’t you? Yes, those were approved as promised. Your
mom and Rafael could have asked for a lot more, but it didn’t make sense to
them.”

“I know.”
Melissa looked out the window, her expression thoughtful. “They didn’t think it
made much sense to ask for reduced taxes when the town needs the revenue so
much.”

“Your mom has
already done quite a lot for Willow Bend. On the QT of course. Last year she
reinstated the hanging baskets and spruced up the park. And the other day I
noticed a crew doing repairs to the municipal swimming pool. That has to be
your mom’s money at work.”

“And I know
she’s been looking into Christmas lights for the downtown area.”

“See what I mean?”
Carla took the exit for Willow Bend. “It’s only May and she’s already thinking
about Christmas.”

Melissa
sighed. “Yeah, well right now I’m focused on June the fourth. Our Grand
Opening.”

“And you have
a birthday coming up in a few days, right?”

“Yup. Fourteenth
of May. I’ll be nineteen.” Melissa turned aside, not wanting Carla to see that
she was fighting back tears. “It will be the first time I’ve had a birthday
without Mom.”