“Isn’t it?” Jasmine agreed, putting all humility aside. “I’d bet you could practically walk here from your complex.”
Ginnie laughed. “When it’s not a hundred degrees outside, I sure could.”
The mention of the late-July heat had Jasmine considering inviting the woman into the A/C, but she really didn’t want potential clients seeing the empty shell of her beloved studio.
“We’re not quite ready for tours yet,” she said, inflecting apology in her tone.
“That’s all right, honey,” Ginnie said in the way older southern women often did. “When’s the big opening?”
Jasmine opened her mouth to reply. She then realized she didn’t have an answer ready.
“Our Open House will be the Tuesday after Labor Day,” Alima said from over Jasmine’s shoulder. “We’ll have information out to the local schools and neighborhood families in a couple weeks.”
Jasmine turned and gave her a wide-eyed look. Sure, Frank said they could knock out the punch list in a couple weeks because most of the big tasks had been completed, but Labor Day was only a little more than six weeks away. She had never dreamed of opening so soon.
Alima’s big smile never wavered. Plastering a similar smile on her face, Jasmine turned back around and nodded at Ginnie to confirm what her friend had said.
“How exciting,” Ginnie said, clapping her hands together. “And what will the studio be called?”
That was another detail Jasmine hadn’t yet nailed down, but the name was suddenly right on the tip of her tongue. She felt as though she was spinning at full speed, so why not run with it?
“Pirouette,” she said.
“Pirouette,” Ginnie repeated. “I love it. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I’ll be sure to share the details with my daughter.”
After waving the woman off, Jasmine re-secured the doors and turned to Alima. “Are you nuts? Labor Day?”
“Yep. Our best bet to get Pirouette rolling,” she said, emphasizing the name, “is connecting with families who need after-school activity options, and school starts in August. This place just needs a few finishing touches.” She stepped forward and gripped Jasmine’s shoulders. “We can do this.”
Her friend’s confidence was enough to overcome the anxiety that had started taking root over how quickly everything was happening.
Jasmine smiled. “Six weeks, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we’d better get our asses in gear and make this happen.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“That slider you threw against Howell in the seventh was a fucking work of art, Haviland,” Tony said, lifting his pilsner glass in a form of toast to the starting pitcher.
Along with the rest of his teammates currently taking over half the D.C. hotel’s bar, Will also lifted his beer and took a drink. They had just wrapped up a big series against Washington, sweeping all three games. It gave them a nice bump in the standings. Even though they were still about a month away from the post-season, things were looking good for them to secure their division and earn a playoff berth.
“Thanks,” Randy said with a nod at Tony. “And thanks for pulling my ass out of the fire in the eighth.”
There were some snorts of humor and more drinks over that. Randy had gotten into a tight spot when he walked two batters in the bottom of the eighth. Since they had only been leading by a run, they couldn’t afford to give one up. Tony had relieved him and got the final two outs to end the inning. Will then wrapped it up in the bottom of the ninth, striking out three straight batters.
A buzz in his pocket had him pulling out his cell phone. It was a text from Jasmine.
Hope you’re having fun. Call later if you’re not too tired. Love you.
“Uh-oh,” Eddie said from beside him. “Campbell’s gonna want to go have phone sex again. His girlfriend’s texting.”
Will didn’t care about his teammates’ good-natured laughter over the catcher’s typically tactless remark. He still swiped the text screen away, not wanting to invite any more unwanted razzing.
He instinctively smiled as his home screen photo appeared. It was one of him and Jasmine after the soft opening she held for Pirouette the day before he’d left on this road trip. She had been so excited after it went off without a hitch that she’d dragged him out into the rain and started dancing with him. Sierra’s camera captured a moment where he spun Jasmine out and then back in for a kiss. She texted him the priceless image of that kiss the next day.