She watched him for a moment. “Don’t you want to know what those dreams are?”
“Sure.” He cleared his throat and nodded.
“Well, ever since I was a teenager, I wanted to own my own flower shop in town.” She smiled thinking about it. “I didn’t tell you that when we were first married. I sort of kept it to myself.”
“I remember you mentioned that before.”
“It feels good to not only say it out loud, but to begin planning it. That’s why it was so interesting how my first day in Venice, I ended up working for a flower shop, you know?”
He grinned. “A flower shop. I still think that sounds like a great idea.”
“When I get back, after Jaime and Michael are off on their honeymoon, I’m going to look into buying a shop and see where it takes me.” Joy scooted her salad plate out of the way and ran her hands along the table, smoothing out the linen tablecloth and feeling satisfied with herself. “And so, Tony, I need you to know what I want. I need you to know what my hopes and dreams are. I have goals of my own that I gave up long ago for you and Jaime. I can’t give them up anymore. It’s important to me to be interesting and not boring.”
The waitress approached again. “Hello. Are you enjoying the first course?” she asked Tony.
“Yes, we are,” Joy replied. “In fact, I think we’re ready to order some soup.”
But the young woman ignored her and picked up the salad plates. “I will be right back to take your order,” she said to Tony.
Joy watched her walk off. “It’s like I don’t exist at this table.” She chortled. “Anyway, what do you think of my plans?”
“It’s definitely doable.” He raised an eyebrow. “How much money have you saved? Or will you take out a loan? Government regulations are rather tight right now for small businesses. Taxes are high, too, especially in New York. It may not be the best time to start a business. If I were you, and take my advice or leave it, I’d make sure the existing shop’s customers will remain when you take over the shop. Which place in New Rochelle are you looking at? We could go talk to the owners together, if you’d like.” Tony poured himself more wine. “I could loan you the money or invest in the shop with you.”
Joy listened to him talk about the practicalities as he ate his appetizers, wondering if anything she said about her hopes and dreams had entered his brain. On and on he talked about government regulations, qualifying for a loan, a business plan, and more. He talked for so long, her head throbbed.
He’s so pragmatic. Everything he said made sense from a business point of view, but it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She smirked, because she wanted him to talk from his heart and not his head.
“I believe in you and your dreams, Joy.” Why couldn’t he just say that? Or, “I’ll support you in anything you do.”
She rubbed her temple.
“And another thing—”
“Yes, we could talk to the owner at the shop where I worked before,” she interrupted him. “The last time I went there, I learned that they do want to sell.” She leaned back in her chair and vented air between her lips, glancing around the room at all the couples eating and laughing together. They looked so happy and into each other.
“The first year will be tough, Joy. In fact, you won’t make a profit probably for the first four years. That’s something to consider, you know? But I’d be willing to invest and help you get started.”
“Thanks, Tony. I’d appreciate that.” Joy sank lower into her chair as Tony kept droning on about the woes of running a business and rising interest rates, pouring ice cold water on her hot idea. Yet he said nothing about her hopes and dreams for her life.
He didn’t hear a word I said. She sighed again. Then she realized she hadn’t asked him about his hopes and dreams.
“What about you, Tony?” she asked. “What are your hopes and dreams for the future?” She sipped her wine.
“Me?” He chuckled. “Retirement.” He shook his head. “I’m hoping to retire before age seventy, but I might be able to at age sixty-five. Here’s hoping. Then we can travel, huh? I think we should sell the place in North Carolina and seriously consider moving to Florida full time. It’s cheaper to live there. No income tax. Beautiful weather all year round.”
“Hurricanes . . .” Joy tapped the wine glass with her finger.
“And deep sea fishing. I always wanted to get into that. Not to mention beautiful golf courses. We could play golf together again.” He raised his glass to toast his dreams.
“Florida.” Joy set down her glass. “But what about Jaime and Michael? She said they’re going to try for children right away.”
“We will come visit them as often as we like. That’s the beauty of retirement.”
“But the flower shop, who would run—”
He leaned in and jabbed his finger onto the table. “That’s where a good manager comes into play, Joy. Make sure you hire a person you can trust to run the shop.”
“A manager.” Her eyes narrowed. “To run the shop while we travel. I guess you’re right. I hadn’t thought about that.”
Leaving New Rochelle? Moving to Florida? Joy leaned back and sipped more wine. I can’t do that. But Jaime needs a family supporting her . . .
“The winters in upstate New York are hard to handle the older we get,” Tony said. “I have Jaime and Michael considering a move to Florida too.”
“But I love it in New Rochelle, and so does Jaime.” Joy poured herself more wine.
“We’ll see.” He put his pointer finger and thumb close together. “She’s about this close to agreeing with me.”
“What?” Joy sat straight. “She never mentioned moving to Florida to me.”
“I asked her not to mention it until I had a chance to tell you.” He grinned that crooked grin again. “That’s still eight or nine years away.”
True, but Joy hadn’t considered moving away. She adored the house in New Rochelle and the summer place in North Carolina. They had made so many happy memories there. Winters were tough in New Rochelle, but the other seasons more than made up for the harshness of snow and sleet. But perhaps Tony was right. Maybe it was time for a change.
“You could buy a flower shop in Florida, you know.” He winked.
“Yes. You’re right. I guess I could. There are so many possibilities.” Joy forced a smile. Her head throbbed, making it hard to think. She pushed her chair away from the table. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” Tony waived the waitress over for more wine.
