October 11, 2023 – 4:21 PM
The signature dried almost instantly.
Lin looked down at the final page.
Her name sat neatly beneath the seller's.
The realtor collected the documents and slid the folder toward the owner.
"Congratulations."
Lin nodded.
The owner shook her hand.
"It's yours."
Lin smiled politely.
"Thank you."
She handed over the cashier's check.
The moment it left her hand, she felt strangely lighter.
Not relieved.
Just lighter.
Sixty thousand dollars lighter.
Lin looked at the receipt.
Then at her phone.
Then back at the receipt.
"Well."
The realtor smiled.
"Well?"
Lin slipped the receipt into her folder.
"I'm broke."
The owner laughed.
"You just bought a building."
"Exactly."
The realtor shook her head.
"You still have money."
Lin gave her a flat look.
"Not the kind I can casually spend."
The realtor laughed.
Lin wasn't joking.
The hotel had consumed money.
The farm had consumed money.
Equipment.
Food.
Solar equipment.
Construction.
Livestock.
Security.
And now this.
She had plenty of assets.
Cash was another matter.
She needed the store earning money.
Soon.
Very soon.
She stood.
"When can we start work?"
The realtor blinked.
"You mean today?"
"Yes."
"The building is legally yours."
Lin smiled.
"Then today."
They drove back to Main Street.
Lucas was already inside.
He had somehow found a clipboard.
Lin walked through the front door.
"How bad?"
Lucas didn't look up.
"Do you want the polite answer?"
"No."
He turned the clipboard around.
Several lines had already been written.
Roof.
Electrical.
Plumbing.
Windows.
Flooring.
Kitchen.
Bathroom.
Paint.
Storage.
Lin stared at the list.
"That's all?"
Lucas gave her a look.
"That's the first page."
She groaned.
The realtor laughed.
The former owner looked relieved that the building was no longer his problem.
"I told you it needed work."
Lin smiled.
"You did."
She looked at Lucas.
"How long?"
He leaned against the counter.
"If I do most of it myself?"
"Yes."
"Two to three weeks."
Lin nodded immediately.
"Fine."
Lucas looked surprised.
"That's it?"
"What else am I going to say?"
She pointed around them.
"We have a building."
"We have a location."
"We have a business."
"Now we make it work."
Lucas smiled.
"You're not panicking?"
Lin looked at him.
"I spent sixty thousand dollars this afternoon."
"I'm beyond panic."
He laughed.
Lucas walked her through the building.
"The roof comes first."
"Then electrical."
"The plumbing isn't terrible, but I'm not trusting it."
"Kitchen needs cleaning and some replacement equipment."
He pointed toward the basement.
"Basement needs waterproofing before we turn it into anything."
Lin nodded.
"That's later."
"Attic too."
"Later."
"The upstairs bathroom needs work."
"Can Claire use it?"
"Eventually."
Lin nodded.
"Good."
Lucas looked at her.
"You really want to open in three weeks?"
"I want to open as soon as possible."
"The full store?"
Lin thought about it.
"No."
She looked toward the empty shelves.
"We open in stages."
Lucas waited.
"Coffee."
"Basic groceries."
"Farm goods."
"A small deli menu."
She pointed toward the kitchen.
"Enough to start bringing money in."
Lucas nodded.
"Then expand."
"Exactly."
He looked at the list.
"That's doable."
Lin smiled.
"Good."
The realtor handed Lin the keys.
They were attached to an ugly brass keychain.
Lin turned them over in her hand.
The building was officially hers.
She looked through the front windows.
The playground sat across the street.
Free parking behind it.
Main Street in front.
Five minutes from her farm.
Claire upstairs.
Lucas downstairs.
It wasn't beautiful.
Not yet.
But Lin could see what it could become.
She turned toward Lucas.
"Two weeks."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I said two to three."
"I'm choosing two."
"That's not how construction works."
"It is now."
He laughed.
"Fine."
Lin smiled.
"And I'll handle the things you can't."
"Like what?"
She held up the keys.
"Making sure we actually have customers."
Lucas nodded.
"Fair."
Lin looked at the building.
The store didn't need to be perfect.
It needed to open.
It needed to make money.
And it needed to do it before Lin started looking at her bank account like it was a crime scene.
October 11, 2023 – 4:38 PM
Lucas folded the repair list and tucked it into his back pocket.
Lin was still standing in the middle of the empty shop, looking from the counter to the staircase and then toward the windows.
She was calculating again.
Lucas recognized the expression.
"You're already planning how to move in."
Lin looked at him.
"Yes."
"The upstairs isn't ready."
"I know."
"There's no proper bed."
"I know."
"The bathroom needs work."
"I know."
"The kitchen barely qualifies as a kitchen."
Lin smiled.
"You're making my point for me."
Lucas stared at her.
"What point?"
"We need to fix it faster."
He laughed.
"I was planning to camp here."
Lin's smile disappeared.
"You're what?"
"Camp."
He pointed toward the empty sales floor.
"I'll put a cot downstairs."
"I'll sleep here while I work."
Lin shook her head.
"Absolutely not."
"Why?"
"Because this place has holes in the roof."
"Not anymore."
"It has questionable plumbing."
"I'll fix it."
"And questionable electrical."
"I'll fix that too."
Lin folded her arms.
"You're not sleeping in a construction site."
Lucas shrugged.
"I've slept in worse."
Lin stared at him.
"That's not reassuring."
He smiled.
"It's practical."
"It's stupid."
"Also practical."
Lin sighed.
"Fine."
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Fine?"
"Temporary."
"Until when?"
"Until the upstairs is safe."
Lucas nodded.
"Deal."
Lin pointed at him.
"And you're not putting your sleeping bag next to a pile of electrical wire."
"I wasn't planning to."
"Good."
Lucas picked up his clipboard again.
Lin noticed another page sticking out.
"What's that?"
"School information."
She looked at him.
"You checked the school?"
"While you were dealing with the paperwork."
Lin walked closer.
"Why?"
Lucas shrugged.
"Jake."
He handed her the paper.
"I wanted to see where he'd be going."
Lin looked down.
The elementary school was only a few blocks away.
She calculated the distance.
"How far?"
"Five-minute walk."
Lin looked up.
"Five?"
"Maybe six if Jake stops to look at something."
Lin smiled.
"He'll stop."
Lucas laughed.
"Definitely."
She looked at the school information again.
"What did you think?"
"Small."
"Quiet."
"Kids were coming and going."
He paused.
"Nothing strange."
Lin looked relieved.
"That's good."
Lucas nodded.
"I spoke to the secretary."
"Jake could start once we get everything arranged."
Lin looked toward the front window.
The playground was directly across the street.
The school was only a few minutes away.
The store was five minutes from the farm.
Claire would have a place upstairs.
Lucas would have his office downstairs.
For once, the pieces were fitting together almost too neatly.
Lin frowned.
She didn't trust neat.
Lucas noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're doing the face."
"What face?"
"The one where you're waiting for something to go wrong."
Lin looked at him.
"Something usually does."
Lucas smiled.
"Then we'll deal with it when it does."
She looked back toward the school.
"Five minutes."
"Yeah."
"Jake could walk there."
"Eventually."
Lin nodded.
"That's good."
Lucas looked at her.
"You sound like his mother."
Lin glanced at him.
"Someone has to."
He smiled.
"He'd like that."
Lin looked toward the staircase.
"We need to get the upstairs livable."
Lucas nodded.
"I'll start tonight."
"Tonight?"
"You said you wanted to move in fast."
Lin smiled.
"I did."
He picked up his toolbox.
"Then let's move fast."
Lin watched him head toward the stairs.
"Lucas."
He stopped.
"Yeah?"
"Don't actually sleep down here tonight."
He looked back.
"Why?"
"Because if you're going to be my business partner, I need you alive."
His mouth curved into a small smile.
"That's almost sweet."
Lin rolled her eyes.
"Don't get used to it."
He disappeared upstairs.
Lin looked around the empty shop.
The building still smelled like dust and old wood.
The walls were ugly.
The floor was scratched.
The roof needed work.
But now she could already picture shelves along the walls, food behind the counter, customers coming in from the playground, and Jake walking five minutes down the road to school.
She looked at the keys in her hand.
For once, she wasn't trying to build something for the end of the world.
She was building something that might still be there if the world didn't end.
And that thought was considerably more frightening than she expected.