He held up the brass spotlight that was old and tarnished and absolutely perfect. “Yes, that works. I’ll take that.”
He showed me around, offering up a few more pieces. I was already imagining their placement in my head.
“Well?” he asked.
I smiled. “This is perfect. Now, let’s get down to business. How much?”
He threw out an outrageous number. Initially, I thought he was joking. Then I realized he was very serious. “Bob, no. That is never going to happen.”
“These are some great pieces!”
“They are nice pieces, but none of them are all that rare. I can go to any one of the many shops around the waterfront and find these.”
He scowled at me. “You won’t find half of this.”
“Bob,” I warned. “I love giving you my business, but I can’t pay way over the market value. I have a business to run as well.”
He shook his head. “You used to be nice.”
I laughed. “I still am nice. I’ll tell you what. I’ll rent that big anchor from you if you give me a better deal on this other stuff. We’ll include a little tag that says the anchor is for sale at your shop. It’s free advertisement for you.”
He mulled it over. “Fine, but don’t go blabbing to everyone that I gave you a good deal.”
“I would never do such a thing. You are my secret weapon.”
That seemed to help. He smiled and nodded. He helped me load the small things into my car and promised to have the anchor delivered to the ballroom. It was a huge piece and would be the statement for the party. I had planned on a ship replica, but the anchor was going to be much better. I got in my car and pulled out my iPad. I made the checkmark on my list of things to do today. One down and about a million to go.
I loved lists. They were so rewarding. Every time I checked a box, it was like I was winning the game I played with myself. The final preparations were coming together. I needed to check with the caterers, but I was confident all would be well. I had a select group of contractors I worked with all the time. We had developed a trust that made my life easier. They did a good job and I rewarded them with more work.
With everything pretty much handled and running smoothly, I felt confident I could call Clara and assure her everything was well in hand.
“Hi,” I greeted when she answered the phone, sounding out of breath. “Are you hanging in there?”
“Oh god, I swear. This is it. This wedding will kill me.”
I softly laughed. “You are going to be fine. I just wanted to let you know the shipping party for tomorrow is rolling along. Everything is set and I don’t foresee any problems.”
She let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank god. At least one of us is doing our job.”
“How is it going? Is there anything I can help with?”
“No, no, you have a full plate. We’ll make it through. This bride? My lord, she is a piece of work. The nerves are getting the best of her. She actually wanted to change her bouquet this morning. I explained it wasn’t possible. She cried. Her father yelled and I am now busting my ass to try and find a florist that has the flowers in stock. Then, she saw the shade of pink and didn’t like it. I’m going to need a vacation and a lot of alcohol once this is over.”
“I’m so sorry,” I empathized. “It sounds like a nightmare.”
“That’s lasted a year,” she muttered.
“Take care of yourself. I’ll see you next week.”
“Are you going back to the office today?” she asked.
I bit my bottom lip. “I wasn’t going to. I need to check on my dad. If you need me to, I can.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“Thanks, Clara,” I said and ended the call.
She was a great boss. We all worked long, hard hours. Cutting out a little early on a Friday wasn’t a big deal, especially considering we generally worked weekends. We all worked a lot, especially during the spring and summer seasons. We also worked our asses off throughout the holiday season as well. Our slow time was late winter, but even then, we were busy planning big spring weddings.
I drove to my father’s house in La Jolla. It wasn’t one of the big, fancy homes, but it was comfortable.