Wes and I

rented a nice little store

in a strip mall

on a busy street.

We named it Bayberry's Gift Shoppe

and it was for our retirement.

We figured that

by the time we had it up and running

and making a profit

he would be ready to retire

and we could spend the rest of our lives

working side by side

in our store.

So I ran it daytimes

and he ran it two nights a week

and Saturdays.

It was so exciting!

The UPS man would bring us boxes

of goodies for the shelves

and we would sit together in the back room

and price them

and put them up

and feel like it was Christmas!

Sometimes business was slow.

I remember one day I sat behind the counter

for eight hours

and only sold 3 cards

for $7.40.

But then another day came

where we had visitors from Japan

and they bought all our potpourri

and candles

and lots of our glassware

and even a couple of dolls

and I wrapped everything in tissue

and bags

and the total amount of the sale

was over $800.00!

It was a very up-and-down type of business.

Hard on the nerves.

And blood pressure.

But I loved it.

One day I stood at the card rack

rearranging Easter cards

and the sun came in the front window

and warmed my back

and I felt exquisitely happy.

Wes loved it too.

All the little old ladies loved him

and would buy cheap figurines

or flags

just to make him happy.

On our first Christmas there

we made a thousand dollars a day

for five days.

But we were shocked

when it was all over

and we looked at our shelves

and there were so many bare spots!

So of course we had to re-invest all that money

right back into stock.

Mother's Day was another big day for us

where we sold a lot of country-style hats

fancy beribboned boxes

kitchen decorations

necklaces

and grapevine wreaths.

But that money was spent right away

on getting all new country stuff.

Plus the guy that owned the mall

came along with a raise in our rent.

Then somebody backed into a light pole

in the parking lot

and it was twisted and bent

and we had to pay our share

$655.54

of the replacement cost.

Still, we loved our little store.

It had such a cute personality

a flair for the pretty

a flower-petal fragrance

and people did come

and buy

and compliment us

and come back.

Coming into our third year

we began to realize

that we might not make it.

Every time we had an uptick

in sales

and made some money

the rent went up.

Or we had to pay our share

for the new furnace

or air-conditioner.

We felt desperate.

We couldn't even imagine

the pain of giving Bayberry's up.

We loved it like it was our baby.

So we spent more money on it.

We took some time off

and did some traveling

and found some new lines to carry

like Cape Cod wooden lighthouses and soap

Berry Bound lacy hats with ribbons

a line of dolls incredibly gorgeous

with fairy wings

and when we got home

we ordered it all

and our little store was enchanting.

People came to us instead of Hallmark.

We were so happy!

Of course, it all came to a bad end.

You have to have a pile of money

to keep a store alive.

The ever-rising prices of pretties

plus the rent

boxes

gift-wrap and bows

jewelry

our share of the new awning

maxed-out credit cards

were more than we could afford.

The day we auctioned it all off

our stock

our jewelry cases

our shelving

our cash register

and even our stencilled valances

I couldn't go.

I had been up all night crying.

So Wes went by himself

and watched our dream get sold

to the highest bidder.

Music Playing: Where Have All The Flowers Gone
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