Chapter 6 - Opening Night
Dawson & Page opened six weeks later.
By 6:00 p.m., every table was full.
Old books filled one wall.
New releases filled another.
The original wooden counter had been restored.
Claire’s grandmother’s brass bell sat beside the register.
Elena arrived before Roman.
She stopped just inside the entrance.
Claire approached.
“Would you like directions or my arm?”
Elena smiled.
“Directions.”
“Counter is twelve feet ahead. Tables start to your right. Bookshelves are left. And I moved the stupid decorative plant away from the walkway.”
“Excellent management.”
Claire laughed.
A voice behind them said, “I approved the plant.”
Claire turned.
Roman entered.
Black suit.
White shirt.
No tie.
The tattoos across his hands were visible.
“Then your design instincts are terrible.”
Roman placed a box on the counter.
“What’s this?”
“A gift.”
Claire gave him a suspicious look.
“If it contains money—”
“It doesn’t.”
She opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
Her grandmother stood behind the original coffee counter forty years earlier.
Claire froze.
“Where did you find this?”
“Property archives.”
The photograph had been restored and framed.
Claire ran a finger along the edge.
“You did this?”
Roman shrugged.
“The assistant did most of it.”
Elena smiled.
“He spent three days choosing the frame.”
Roman looked at her.
“Traitor.”
Claire looked at him.
“Thank you.”
This time, saying it did not hurt.
Before Roman could answer, the front door opened again.
Martin Blake stepped inside.
Conversation near the entrance died immediately.
Claire’s smile disappeared.
Roman moved forward.
Claire raised a hand.
“I’ve got it.”
Roman stopped.
Martin approached slowly.
“I’m not here to cause trouble.”
Claire folded her arms.
“Then why are you here?”
“To apologize.”
Roman watched him.
Martin looked at Elena.
“Not because I’m afraid of your brother.”
Elena waited.
“I handled everything wrong.”
Martin swallowed.
“When Vanessa complained, I saw followers, publicity, and money. I didn’t see the person she hurt.”
Elena remained quiet.
Martin continued.
“And when Claire defended you, I punished her because it was easier than confronting someone powerful.”
Claire said, “You fired me.”
“I know.”
“You tried to make me lie.”
“I know.”
Martin nodded.
“I was a coward.”
Elena tilted her head slightly.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
He placed an envelope on the counter.
“Claire’s final wages. Plus the deductions I took from her shifts over the last year.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“You admitted those were unfair?”
“Yes.”
“That must have hurt.”
Martin almost smiled.
“It did.”
He turned to Elena.
“I’m sorry.”
This time, Elena said, “Thank you.”
Martin nodded and walked toward the door.
Roman watched him leave.
“You’re letting him go?”
Claire glanced over.
“What were you planning?”
“Nothing.”
Elena laughed.
Roman frowned.
“No one believes me.”
Then someone near the window whispered.
A woman had just entered.
Vanessa Hart.
Claire straightened.
Roman’s expression became cold.
Vanessa looked around the room.
No phone.
No entourage.
She walked toward Elena.
Roman stepped sideways.
Elena said quietly, “Roman.”
He stopped.
Vanessa faced Elena.
“I came to apologize.”
Elena waited.
Vanessa’s voice shook.
“What I did was cruel.”
She glanced toward Claire.
“And what I did afterward was worse.”
Claire said nothing.
Vanessa continued.
“I blamed Claire because I was embarrassed that someone finally called me out.”
She looked back at Elena.
“I treated your disability like entertainment because I thought there wouldn’t be consequences.”
Elena’s fingers rested lightly on her cane.
“And now?”
“Now I know the consequence isn’t losing followers.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“It’s realizing millions of people saw exactly who I was.”
The café remained silent.
Elena finally said, “You can’t erase what happened.”
“I know.”
“But you can decide whether it becomes the worst thing you’ve ever done or the moment you stopped becoming that person.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Thank you.”
She turned to leave.
Claire called after her.
“Vanessa.”
She stopped.
Claire pointed toward an empty table.
“Coffee?”
Vanessa looked stunned.
Claire added, “You’re paying.”
A small laugh traveled across the room.
Even Roman smiled.
Vanessa nodded.
“Fair.”
May you like
And for the first time since the whole mess began, no one raised a phone.
---
