That Really Hit The Spot

Vera brought all of her cookies to work with her and used them to help keep her awake as she spent several very late nights working feverishly on the bookcase. When she finished it, she realized she wasn't going to be able to move it into the main area of the store by herself. That was a problem.

She ended up getting one of the guys who worked in the restaurant next door to help on his break in exchange for some of the cookies. This wasn't the first time this sort of exchange had happened since Tilly couldn't work anymore.

She really should hire someone solely for the heavy lifting part of the job but it wasn't worth it considering things like this didn't happen every day. Yet another thing a boyfriend would be useful for.

With a sigh, Vera pushed that thought out of her head. She shouldn't date someone just because having them around would be helpful.

She shouldn't date for anything less than enjoying being with the person. She had learned her lesson after her last boyfriend. Dating someone solely to have someone to do things with on weekends wasn't worth it.

He had been a real jerk, which was why she dumped him in the end. It took way too long for her to come to that conclusion though. When she did date again it would have to be with someone nice or she wouldn't bother. She was done with bad boys.

Vera wasn't too much of a romantic despite her love of period dramas. She liked those because she knew they weren't realistic. Those sorts of doomed trysts shouldn't be idealized or used as a model for real romance.

She didn't need too much from a romantic partner. Just someone she liked talking to who didn't mind her obsession with antiques and enhanced her life rather than detracted from it.

That didn't seem like too much to ask for but here she was, very single at age twenty-four. She hadn't so much as been on a date in over a year.

Her depressing train of thought was derailed when the phone rang. She immediately switched into customer service mode. "You've reached Old and Bold: Antique Repair and Sales! This is Vera, how may I help you?"

There was total silence on the other end.

"…hello? Is anyone there?"

Still nothing. Vera asked a few more times before the person on the other end hung up. That was weird. Maybe their phone was glitching and they would try calling again later.

She put that out of mind quickly enough because another call came in. It was the person she had a consultation with the other day about reupholstering that Victorian settee. They wanted to come by and drop it off later.

Excellent! She needed a new project now that the bookcase was done. Reupholstering a chair wouldn't take more than a few days though. She needed to go out looking for new items this Sunday when she had the time. There were usually estate sales going on somewhere within a few hours of here but, if necessary, she could always try Craigslist. People got rid of their old junk on there all the time without realizing how valuable it was.

Vera ended up having another several late nights once the settee was delivered and was surprised and confused when a pizza showed up at her store one night. No one should have known she was there since the workshop wasn't visible from the front door and all of the lights were off out there.

"I didn't order this," she told the deliveryman. "You must have the wrong door."

"You aren't Vera then?"

Her brow furrowed. "I am Vera but—"

"Well, someone ordered this for Vera and it's already paid for. Just take it, alright? I have other deliveries to make."

Vera was completely baffled. Especially when she opened the box and discovered it was her favorite. A stuffed crust everything pizza minus the mushrooms. The only person who knew her regular pizza order was Tilly but it was a bit random for her to call it in.

Maybe she thought her niece wasn't eating properly because she was wrapped up in her project. She had been lucid during their visit earlier for the first time in nearly a week.

She shrugged and took the pizza inside before washing her hands and pulling out a slice. She would have to thank her aunt later…provided Tilly even remembered what she had done. It was hit and miss with her.

Vera ate four slices and sighed contentedly when she was done. That really hit the spot.

She stuck the rest in the small fridge she kept in the office to save for later. Reheating it tomorrow for lunch sounded good.

She managed to finish the settee early enough that she could actually go home. She had slept here the night before because she didn't want to drive home at one in the morning.

A long, hot shower helped her relax and she decided to do a facial mask and paint her nails. She didn't do it too often because of how quickly the polish chipped with how much she used her hands but she was in the mood for it right now.

Jewel tone nail polish looked best on her. Today's choice was one of her favorites; a nice ruby red.

It would probably chip in less than a day but she could deal with that later. Right now she wanted to enjoy feeling pretty and pampered for a minute even if she did look somewhat like a monster with her mask on.