“Why don’t you hire someone? Then you wouldn’t have to deal with cranky customers.”
Theo sighed. “Because I don’t trust people?”
That made sense. “You must trust some people.”
“My brother, his wife, my niece, my uncle. That’s about it,” she said.
“I bet you trust Scout,” I said.
Theo shook her head. “Scout isn’t a person.”
“What about me?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet,” she said, slowly moving side to side in her swivel chair.
“That’s fine, I don’t trust you either,” I said.
“Good, you shouldn’t. I’m an asshole,” she said, and then we both smiled at each other.
“What did you do today?” she asked. “That’s a good friend question, right?”
“Very good. I just drove around. Stopped into a bookshop.” She didn’t need to know why I’d gone there, or what I’d done.
“You could open a bookshop, you know. And then contract me to make the shelves,” she said.
I raised one eyebrow. “Is your ploy to get me to open a shop just so you can sell me bookshelves?”
“I’ll make you one of those ladders that rolls along the shelves,” she said.
I clutched my hand to my chest. “Be still my heart. That’s the dream.”
“I could do that for you,” she said.
“I’ll consider it,” I said.
A customer came in to order a rocking chair and Theo had to tend to them. The guy was older, and buying it for his wife, and I stood back and watched as Theo helped him.
Her answers were short and to the point, but she wasn’t rude. He was clearly a man who loved his wife and Theo said she could get his order on time for her birthday. He shook her hand and thanked her profusely as I watched her ears get red.
After the man left, I leaned in the doorway of the office.
“I told you you’re not an asshole,” I said, smirking at her.
“Shut up,” she said, her face getting redder.
“I caught you being nice,” I sang, pushing off the door and walking toward her. It was funny seeing her embarrassed like this.
“I can get mean if you want me to,” she said, her voice changing and going lower. Her eyes changed from embarrassed to something completely different as she looked at me. Her look was almost predatory, and I stopped walking toward her, waiting to see what she’d do next.
The door opened, and we both jumped as a new customer walked in.
Theo gave me one look and headed for the office and shut the door. Okay then.
“Your furniture is beautiful,” the woman said to me.
“Oh, sorry, I don’t work here. I’m just a friend of the owner,” I said. “Do you have any questions?”
“Yes, I’m looking for a retirement gift for my father and I was hoping to get a desk made for him,” she said.
“That’s wonderful, just let me get the owner. She can help you,” I said, going back to the office. I lightly knocked on the door and put a smile on my face.
“Hey, Theo? This customer wants to order a desk.” The door opened and Theo had her grumpy face on.
“Be nice,” I whispered at her.
Theo narrowed her eyes at me, but then stepped around and went to go talk to the customer. I was too far away to hear exactly what they said, but I didn’t get hostile vibes from Theo. She wasn’t effusive, but she wasn’t cursing the woman out either.
They talked for a while to make sure the customer got exactly what she wanted and by the time it was over Theo had a check and the woman was excited about her gift.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I asked.
“You know, I have been managing this business just fine without you,” she said, going to put the check in her safe under the desk.
“I know. But as your friend, I want you to be successful, and being hostile to potential customers isn’t necessarily the way to do that.” I still thought she should hire a salesperson, but I wasn’t going to push it. I was still working on getting her to trust me, let alone someone else. All in good time.
“If people don’t want to buy my shit, me smiling and kissing their ass isn’t going to make a difference,” she said.
I put up my hand. “Theo, I’m not going to argue with you on the finer points of customer service. I just came to say hello and talk as friends. Remember?”
“Okay, okay. How about I show you your dining table? Is that a friend thing to do?”
Now that was exciting to hear.
“Absolutely, I would love to see it,” I said. I’d been dreaming about this dining table for so long.
“Come on,” Theo said, taking me back to the workshop. This time, I walked very, very carefully so I didn’t hurt myself.
“Oh, Theo, it’s perfect,” I said, beholding the table. Seeing it in real life made it real.