They spent a beautiful afternoon in Central Park. Walking around the zoo, visiting Strawberry Fields, eating soft pretzels, talking, and running in the grass. From there it was lunch-pizza, of course, and then Christmas shopping. He had to be certifiable to shop in New York City on a Saturday afternoon on a holiday weekend. But when they begged that they really wanted to do this and promised that they would be on their best behavior, he couldn’t say no.
First stop, FAO Schwarz because Romey swore that his mother needed a red angry bird stuffed animal. From there they hit Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel, Bloomingdales, and Kenneth Cole. Amazingly enough, they could find gifts for just about everyone they needed to except their cousins. He would leave that up to Dorothea.
Stopping for a much-needed Daddy break, the troop wandered into Barnes & Noble. He told Jesse to take the boys to the children's section while he and Stephanie waited for their Starbucks order.
“Dad, what are you getting Ariana for Christmas?” she asked.
“I haven’t really thought about that. She is not the easiest person to shop for and definitely not your typical girly girly.”
“By that you mean she is not into fashion?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Are you sure about that? Because the dress she was wearing the other night was pretty rad outfit.”
“Are talking about the night you came to surprise us?”
“Yeah, her boots were to die for, not to mention the coat she was wearing."
Before he could respond, the perky barista interrupted them. “Flo. Order for Flo. Venti Caramel Macchiato skinny latte, two grande strawberry banana smoothies, venti iced chi tea and a venti black no sugar.”
Thanking her, he slipped a twenty into the tip jar.
“If you say so. She enjoys shopping in little boutiques. Vintage jeans and tee-shirt are her favorite things. But trust me, she doesn’t need more of them.”
“What about that little boutique in Red Bank? What’s the name, Blue something or other? It will come to me. They have some amazing stuff. You should go in there.”
“Well, funny you should mention that place, that is where that outfit came from.”
“See, I told you. How about I come back with you, and we can go check it out?"
“You have school, and I’m going to Canada to see her on Monday. Maybe we can go when I get back. We have three weeks till Christmas.”
Returning to the children's section, they found the little boys entranced by the storyteller who was reading The Nutcracker. They made their way around the other parents and stood next to Jesse. As Steph quietly sipped on her latte, she stared off into space as she listened to the story. Letting her eyes roam over the decorative walls. Painted a light blue, with clouds and characters from all the popular children’s novels. Turning to her father, she gently patted his arm to get his attention. "What" he mouthed.
“The boutique, it’s called The Basic Blues Boutique! That’s the really cute one on Broad Street. We have to go there!” she whispered enthusiastically.
“Okay, okay, calm down! We'll go next week.” Throwing his arm over her shoulder, he pulled her closer to his side while they listened to the rest of the storyteller’s tale.
When the story ended, Jon could see the younger boys getting antsy, and he knew it was time to head home. Dropping them off in front of the building, he asked Stephanie if she needed help to get them upstairs, but she told him not to bother parking the car, that she would be okay. They waved goodbye, and he went on his way.
♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱
Leaving Cara's studio, Ari could hear the loud music and banging coming from Petit as she crossed the street and stepped up onto the curb. Lunch with Cara had been fun, but she needed to get back to the bar and her friend needed to get back to sculpting whatever it was she was making.
A burst of dust kicked up when she opened the door causing her to cough and let out a hearty sneeze. An assortment of ‘Bless you’s’ came from inside the bar as she stepped inside.
“Thank you.” She shouted above the noise, not sure if anyone had even heard her.
Luc had wasted no time and was a man of his word. There was a crew of five from what she could see, and they had already moved all the tables and chairs that were salvageable to the front corner near the bar and those that couldn't be, were broken down and put in a scrap pile in the middle of the floor.
The stage area had been broken down as well, and they stripped all the walls to the studs. She gave the room a quick scan and didn’t see what she was looking for.
“Hey Luc.” Ari called over his shoulder.
“Yeah.” He pulled down the pirate skull bandana that was covering his mouth and nose.
“Where’s the pool table?”
“We moved it to my shop. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I wanted to try to save it if I could.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“That’s what I was thinking, too. She's a real beauty, be a shame to scrap it.”
“Think you can save her?”
“I think so. Won’t know till I take her top off, see what damage underneath is.”
“Please do whatever you can. Don’t scrap it without letting me know.”
“She special to you?”
“You can say that, she’s been here almost as long as I have.” She smiled.
“Do what I can, then. Wanna see the kitchen?” He asked.
“Sure.”
Ariana followed him through a maze of men and equipment. He had taken down both swinging doors, allowing for easy access between rooms. Much to her surprise, everything in this room was gone, too. The walls were bare down to the insulation and two-by fours. She felt the tears as they welled up in her eyes and couldn’t stop them before they flowed. For the first time since Max had called her about the fire, it hit her just how close she was to losing this whole place.
Pushing the tears away from her eyes, she apologized to Luc for falling apart. He offered her a second bandana he pulled from his back pocket, shaking it before he handed it to her.
“Thanks. I didn’t mean to get all emotional.” She tried to smile.
“Hey, I get it. This place holds a lot of memories for you. Cry all you want.” he winked at her. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Tell ‘em, I don’t care.” She joked back.
“So, let me tell you what’s going on here.”
Luc explained the purpose for stripping the entire kitchen and when you look at his reasonings, it made perfect sense. The entire right half of the kitchen was going to have to be stripped to check inside the walls and the wiring for any additional damages. Why not do the rest?
For now, they stored all the appliances at one of his warehouses. He was going to have a friend who worked on those things come check them out. They were old and outdated. If they cleared inspection, he would put them back in for her, but he suggested she think about upgrading the lot of them, since she was doing everything else.
Upgrading would not only modernize the facility, but it would also make the kitchen run more smoothly and be cost efficient in the end, which would save her lots of money in the long run. Ariana told him to put together what he had in mind, with prices and design layout, and she would look at it. Heck, Lili left her all that money, she might as well put some of it to good use.
“Luc, since you have such an eye for these things, if you have any idea for the bar area, feel free to lay out some ideas. No touching the actual bar, mind you.”
She loved that bar; her grandfather had built it. They were very lucky it hadn’t been damaged in the fire. The few scuff marks it got she wasn’t even fixing. The memories etched in its wood outweighed any damage marks, hands down.
“Are you a mind reader? I have a few ideas. Do you have time to sit and listen to them?” He asked enthusiastically.
“No time like the present. Let’s go sit up at the bar.” They headed back towards the front of the pub, both eager to hear what the other had to say.
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