19

The bid on the hotel was successful. The real estate was waiting for Harmony's approval and check. Karen left three messages to remind her that it wasn't normal for her to not check in. James finally left a message as well to say he was worried and wondered if he had done something to upset her. She barely had enough battery to reply to just one of the three. She chose James number and hit send.

"Harm, is everything alright?" he asked when he picked up on the first ring.

"Yes, everything is fine. I just lost my phone and had to get a new one." She lied.

"Oh, good, I was worried. I tried the house too but there was no answer." He said.

"I was at the other house cleaning. I'm sorry I worried you. This new battery needs charged can I call you back in a little bit?" she asked as the cab pulled up.

"Sure, as long as everything is alright I can quit worrying for now." He replied.

"You're sweet. I'll talk to you soon." She smiled.

"Bye Harm." He said as she hung up the phone.

Harmony directed the cab driver to the pharmacy and had him wait as she dropped off her scripts. From there she was taken back to her house where she picked up her bag from the trunk and headed straight for the shower. She threw her bag on the floor, plugged in her cell phone and cranked the hot water on full blast.

Harmony didn't stay in the water as long as she wanted to. It was already late afternoon and tomorrow everything would be closed. She needed to get dressed and get the check to the real estate office before it closed for the night. She dressed quickly grabbed her half charged phone and headed for the garage.

As the garage door opened Harmony called the real estate and informed them to be expecting her. She pulled out of the driveway, put the convertible top down and joyfully headed for town. She felt immensely better having control back over her day. When she pulled in the parking lot Mrs. Blanchard was waiting for her by the door. She didn't even have to go inside.

"It's been a real pleasure doing business with you." Mrs. Blanchard said as Harmony handed her the check.

"Thank you for getting it done so fast." Harmony replied with a smile.

"It was no trouble at all. You call me again if you ever need anything." Mrs. Blanchard replied.

"Well, now that you mention it. I've been meaning to sell my townhome." She wrote the address on a piece of paper and handed it over.

"Someone needs to clean it out. But why don't you have a look at it and tell me what you think." Harmony asked.

"Oh, fantastic!" she exclaimed. "It's a great part of town and we can get someone to clean it up nicely."

"Sounds great to me. Give me a call and tell me how it goes." She replied.

"Will do, you take care Miss Pond." She replied as she skipped away.

Harmony dialed Karen's number as she headed toward the pharmacy.

"There you are!" Karen exclaimed as she answered the phone.

"Drop everything. I'll be there in twenty minutes. We're going out to dinner." Harmony chuckled.

"Sounds good to me. Will give you plenty of time to explain where the hell you were while we eat." Karen scolded.

"You are so not going to believe me when I tell you." She sighed.

"Yes I will." Karen laughed. "Ok let me get off the phone. I need to get changed out of my work clothes."

"Alright, I'll see you in twenty." Harmony replied and hung up.

The prescription was ready and waiting. Harmony was out of the store within a few minutes. She stuffed her meds in the glove box and continued up the road to her friend Karen's apartment. She pulled up in front of the building and waited for Karen to come out.

"Holy crap." Karen said as she marveled at the car before climbing in.

"It came with the new house." Harmony giggled.

"I like it." Karen admitted.

"So what are you in the mood for? Sea food, Chinese," she asked.

"Chinese sounds good, how about the buffet?" Karen replied.

"Alright." She responded as she turned onto Main Street.

"So what happened?" Karen asked not wanting to wait any longer.

"I passed out yesterday morning. Consuela called an ambulance and I ended up spending the night in the hospital." Harmony replied as she pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

"Damn, are you alright?" Karen asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. They called it a stress related anxiety condition from all the crap I'm going through." Harmony replied.

"Still having issues coping with it all?" Karen asked as they were led to a booth.

"I know it sounds stupid but everything's been so chaotic that I haven't even had time to think about it." Harmony admitted.

"I completely understand. I'm just glad you didn't forget about little old me in the process." Karen smiled.

"On that note," Harmony smiled. "We got the hotel. I paid for it today."

"Oh yay!" Karen squealed in excitement.

"I had a few ideas about remodeling." Harmony said as she turned over her place mat and pulled a pen out of her purse.

Harmony made a few quick sketches of the hotel before she began to explain.

"The main yard needs to be fenced in so the dogs have a place to run. I'd like to keep the pool for them as well." Harmony said.

"That sounds good." Karen replied. "I wanted to keep the main level intact. The kitchen, bar and front desk for customers, and food staging areas for the workers. There are also the office rooms on that floor we can use."

"Sounds awesome." Harmony said. "The second floor I'd like to completely gut out and turn into exam rooms."

"The last three floors we can use for animal housing. We can use them as they are for house training the animals to certain types of living conditions." Karen beamed.

"Exactly." Harmony replied. "The problem is we're going to need a bigger staff. I'm thinking three or four vets on shifts, five nurses, eight house keepers, and that's not including the contractors we need for remodeling."

"So, once the paperwork is signed we can get the contractors in and start advertising for the new staff this week." Karen said confidently.

"I knew you could handle it." Harmony smiled.

"This is a pretty big step for me." Karen laughed.

"Me too," Harmony sighed.

They finished up their meal without much more conversation. As they were leaving the restaurant Harmony's phone started to ring. She pulled it out of her pocked and cursed as she remembered that she didn't call James back.

"Hey James." She said as Karen pushed herself up next to her to hear the other half of the conversation.

"Hi Harm. Is everything ok?" he asked.

"Yep, just went out to dinner with Karen. We're talking business relocation." Harmony replied as she nudged Karen with her elbow in attempt to get some space.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." He replied.

"It's alright." Harmony said. "How long before you have to go on stage?"

"A few hours. I have makeup scheduled in an hour.�� He said.

"Can I call you back when I get home?" she asked.

"Always," he replied. "I miss you."

"Ok, I miss you too. Talk to you soon." She said.

"Bye Harm." He said as he hung up.

"What's going on with you two?" Karen winked.

"It's not what you're thinking." She replied. "He's just been a really good friend."

"He does have that whole nightmarish prince charming thing going for him." Karen giggled.

"God, you're awful." Harmony exclaimed. "Get in the car. I'm taking you home before you corrupt me."

"A bit late for that." Karen replied.

"Probably," Harmony admitted.

"Definitely," Karen added.

Harmony dropped Karen off at her apartment and headed for home. It was late and she was getting tired. She put her pills in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and took her nightly dose. Then she flopped on the bed, plugged in her phone and returned James call.

"Hey you," she could almost hear him smile as he answered.

"Hi, all ready for the show?" she asked as she settled back on the bed.

"Yep, they'll be coming for me in an hour or so." He chuckled.

"We got the building we wanted for the relocation of the shelter today." She said.

"That's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "No wonder you were out celebrating."

"Yeah, celebrating turned into more work though." She sighed.

"You'll get used to it." He laughed.

"I don't know. I got this thing for the museum Friday. That's going to be weird. Then all this business relocation and remodeling. It's overwhelming still." She said with a yawn.

"You're exhausted Harmony." He scolded.

"Yes I am." She admitted.

"Get some rest. I'll call you tomorrow." He ordered.

"Fair enough, good night James. Knock them dead tonight." She replied.

"I'll do one better. I'll breathe the life back into them. Just like what you did for me." He said.

"You're doing it again." She laughed.

"I can't help it." He replied. "Good night Harm." He said and then he was gone.