Page 11 of Trusting the Fall
The bathroom’s next, with more guys hovering over pipes where the toilets and double basins will go. The space is designed so that the first thing you see when you walk in is the double vanity with backlit mirrors and a giant chandelier.
I know it’s just a bathroom, but it’s gonna be a fancy as fuck bathroom.
“This is going to look so great,” I say.
“Wait until you see the main room.” Westley grins, and I follow him down the rest of the short hallway.
Tears well up when I reach the other side.
The floor-to-ceiling windows give a full view of Main Street. A pretty strip of jacaranda trees runs down the middle of the two lanes.
My salon is in one of the original Heart City suburbs, Rosewood. Quirky cafes and bars, eclectic clothing boutiques and Victorian architecture line the street, along with endless garden beds and wooden bench seats. Over the road is a cute little bakery with a powder blue exterior. Rosewood is the place to stay and explore for tourists and locals.
Liv, the owner of the bakery, is incredibly sweet. She brought over a welcome basket full of macarons, tarts, cannoli and éclairs when she noticed I’d come here for a meeting with my designer one day. She’s not good for my waistline, but that angel is definitely good for the soul.
I turn in the space. There’s wiring overhead near the front doors where the counter will be and lined along the main stretch of wall for the hair and makeup stations. The room makes an L-shape now that it’s properly framed out.
As I turn to my left, I see the smaller area that will have nail stations and smaller treatment rooms for waxing, tanning and lashes. At the far end of the space, there's an opening that will lead into the classroom.
My jaw drops as I think, fuck, maybe the boss man was right. That spotisbetter for the classroom.
The plan is to install barn doors and paint them a bubblegum pink with giant gold pull handles. Having them tucked around the corner from the main entry means you’ll get that wow factor when you come in for classes after hours. But during the day, from that Main Street view, it’ll just look like a funky salon.
I can’t deny the ache in my chest that the pain in the arse was right. I hate that feeling when a man might know more than me; it gives him the power when I’ve worked so hard to maintain it. And I know men can be right about things. I’m not under the delusion that I’m all-knowing and powerful and there’s no room for error, rare as it may be. But it still annoys me that he was right about this. This is personal.
“Looks great, hey?” Westley comes up beside me as I stand at the entrance to the classroom.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see it finished.”
He nods, looking around the room. “This time next week, all the plasterboard will be on, and you won’t believe how different it will look again. Then we paint it that sickly pink you picked.”
I laugh. “Sickly! I think you mean amazing.”
“Hey, I got the wallpaper sample for you in the truck as well. I’ll have you take a look before you go, and then Lee can place the order.”
I clap my hands. “Yay.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Westley rushes down the hallway we came from while I return to the front and stare out the windows.
The sun is hanging low in the sky, painting a soft glow over the street. I see Liv come out of the bakery, huffing a light brown curl out of her face as she collapses the sandwich board sign out front, getting ready to close up for the day.
Calm washes over me, knowing I’m so close to having this dream become a reality. Good things are coming my way because of this place. I can feel it. I take a sip from my thermos as I stare out of the window with a smile.
“Here we go.” Westley trots back into the room with two rolls in his hand. “The boss ordered a second option for you to look at as well.”
“Of course he did,” I mumble under my breath.
Westley pulls some tape from his pocket, sticking it against the timber frame over one edge of the floral wallpaper and letting the rest roll down to the floor.
My eyes light up as I take in the familiar pattern of dusty pink roses with striking greenery that I picked from the supplier’s website.
While most walls will be painted, the one with the makeup stations will have full-length wallpaper.
I’m still smiling to myself when Westley tapes up a second design.
Gigantic blush peonies with subtle gold detailing fill the space, offset by a deep maroon background. The striking design perfectly matches the fiercely feminine aesthetic I was aiming for.
