Part VII

" As you can see," she smiled." The previous owner ran a florist shop here." She motioned to the silk flower petals sprinkled here and there. I could still smell the plastic of artificial greenery. As she showed me around I began to envision book shelves all around and a few chairs and lamps. A coffee table here, a love seat there. I was getting creative. Mavice must have seen the wheels in my head turning. "Its got lots of promise."she said. I could see it all by this point. I was envisioning curtains in the front window already. Mavice led me to a long skinny staircase. " Let me show you the upstairs." Creeeaaak... the steps were noisy then too. Mavice was a little startled. "That first step's a doosie."she laughed.I appreciated just how down to earth Mavice was. She didn't force the place on me or list all of its attributes she just showed me. I was to find that this was always Mavice's way. The apartment upstairs was adorable. I felt at home straight away.The abundance of wooden paneling and floors thrilled me.I'm an old fashioned and girl and as such I was tickled pink with the low set windows,and the sweet kitchen with its tile floor and white cupboards. I waved my arm and stated"The bedroom and bathroom are bigger then I would have guessed." Mavice nodding in agreement said"They don't build like this anymore." " How old is this building exactly?" I inquired with much curiosity. "This is part of the very first set of buildings on Main Street. It was built seventy-four years ago in nineteen twenty-eight." "Wow, how cool is that." Now I was feeling like I had the opportunity to buy a piece of history. She continued." This shop opened on March sixteenth, nineteen twenty-eight as a drug store." "That's amazing." I was stunned and my good fortune. This was my dream shop. "Canter Falls was one of the first towns built out this way because of the train depot."Mavice smiled " So its a train town."I said. "Yeah, trains are a big deal around here. We have "Train Day", "The Christmas Carol Train Tour",and "Railroad History Month". My husband has a whole room dedicated to a replica of the Canter Falls Station and Main Street. He's the president of the Historical Group in our little town."She looked so happy. "How neat." I was falling hard and fast for this town and Id'e only been there for three hours. "Do you have any questions?" she asked me at the end of the tour. I wanted to sound grown up so I asked about the heat and the A.C. "The heating works great but the air conditioning needs some work. My husband can look at it if you like. Bernard is real handy around the house." I was not in the big city any more and boy was I glad. "O.k , I'm staying at the Bed and breakfast, What's it called?" I had forgotten. " The Tea Rose Inn?" " Yes, that's it.(trying to sound grown up again...) I'll think about it over the weekend. I thought I'de get to know the town a little and decide by Monday. Is that o.k?" I asked. " Thats fine sweetie and when you go to Miss Sadie's make sure you get some of her Hucklberry Scones, mmmhmmm... are those things good." I laughed "O.k I will" We were walking out the door. "Thanks again Mrs. Bernard." I called as I walked down the street. " Just call me Mavice, she waved. Who was I fooling my mind was made up. But... for appearance sake I would take my time. I had to call Mom and Dad in the mean time and tell them the good news. Somehow as I walked down to the Inn I felt like I had been here my whole life. I felt like my life was really just about to begin.