“Yeah. You, me, the girls. We can spend the whole summer, and I can get the winery up and running.”
“I can’t go to California, Rem. Definitely not for the whole summer. I have the boutique to run, and Mila is spending the summer with Harry. They usually go to that cabin together for a few weeks.” Bianca moved to the pantry, grabbed a plastic cup, filled it with water from the faucet, then poured it into the plant resting on the windowsill. A few of the leaves had begun to turn brown and she picked them out. Remi had completely forgotten about the plants that she usually cared so deeply for. Bianca lifted the window to allow a breeze to flow into the kitchen.
“Of course. I know that you can’t just drop everything. And I forgot that Mila spends the summer with Harry. I’m sorry for even suggesting it.”
Bianca sighed, glanced at Remi with her head cocked to the side. “I don’t know. Maybe Amelia could mind the shop for me … probably not the whole summer, but at least for a week or two. And maybe Mila could miss the first few weeks with Harry—go to the cabin later in the summer.”
“It’s too much to ask.” Remi regretted suggesting it.
“It’s not an outrageous request. Maybe …”
“It would mean so much to me.” Remi clasped her hands together before Bianca finished her sentence. “The winerywould be a major undertaking. Gerard and I were going to do it together. …”
She needed to get through this thing that had suddenly become her life. Over the years she’d been so involved in being a wife and mother, she’d somehow forgotten herself. Gerard and Zoe were her purpose, her reason. Without them, she felt lost.
“Let me see what I can work out,” Bianca said.
Remi managed a smile. It was the first time in three weeks that her heart felt happy.
Chapter Three
Bianca
Bianca tapped on the dressing room door, handed the woman a larger size of her outrageously popular blue jeans with the pearls down the sides and fringe at the bottom.
“Ooh girl, these are perfect, Bianca!” the woman yelled over the dressing room door.
“The fourteen works, then?” Bianca asked.
“Yes. So cute. I want both styles.”
Chic Threads was Bianca’s baby, a place where she proudly sold a blend of her own designs as well as her unique finds and vintage treasures—clothing, jewelry, and shoes. She’d built a very loyal clientele. Situated right in the French Quarter, Chic Threads had started as a small consignment shop and quickly grown into an insanely popular boutique in just a few years.
A vase filled with fresh, white southern magnolias rested on the countertop. The gentle smoky, spicy fragrance from candles burned in each corner of the room, and the romantic sounds from Phillip Lester’s Spanish guitar oozed from the speakers, serenading customers in a spalike vibe. Spanish colonial furniture and vintage hand-painted cabinets gave the placeits rustic charm. The sun shone brightly through the front picture window.
Bianca’s phone rang and she pulled it out of the back pocket of her jeans. She glanced at her daughter’s face on the screen. It was almost as if she was staring at her own reflection in the mirror, except Mila’s hair was a much lighter brown, with a purple streak in the front—the part she could see anyway; the top of her head was covered in a tan knit winter toboggan, as if it weren’t summertime already. Her lashes were much longer than Bianca would ever dare, though her own style had always been bold and unique. Bianca was still young at heart. She still tiptoed on the edge.
“Can you wrap those up for her when she’s ready?” Bianca asked, lightly touching Amelia’s arm. “I need to take this call.”
“Of course.” Amelia gave Bianca a smile.
Bianca made her way to her back office and shut the door. Her office was beautifully decorated in orange and yellow hues. The desk she used was situated in a feng shui position at the center of the room, diagonally opposite the door. She was just as concerned about how energy moved through her space as about what she put into her body. Eating and living clean had become a way of life for her.
She slid her finger across her phone’s screen. “Hi sweetheart.”
“Mom, what’s this about Napa? And a winery?”
“You finally got around to reading my text.” Bianca chuckled. “I’m going to Napa Valley with Remi to help get her winery up and running. Zoe’s going, too, and I thought you might want to come along with us. I know you’d love to catch up with Zoe. You two haven’t spent much time together since Thanksgiving, and with Gerard gone, I’m sure she could use a friend.”
“I feel terrible about Uncle Gerard. That whole thing is so messed up. But Napa …”
“Maybe you could delay your summer at the cabin with your dad by a couple of weeks.”
“Mom, that’s not really fair to him. And besides, we’re not going to the cabin this year; we’re going to Maine for a few days right after my finals.”
“What’s in Maine?” Bianca asked.
“Mom.” Mila said her name as if warning her not to ask too much.