Pages of the Past (Bellingwood Book 9) by Diane Greenwood Muir Read Free Book Online

to ceiling."
    "Can you wrap those with wood?"
    "We can do anything."
    Polly spun around. "What kind of style are you thinking about, Sal?"
    "Hell, I don't know. I just want coffee. You tell me what I want."
    "I think it should be comfortable and cozy. Use reclaimed wood and stain it really dark. Hang lamps from the ceiling and sconces from the walls. None of that fluorescent stuff." She pushed some fabric out of the way with her feet and bent over to look at the floor. "What kind of shape is this in, Henry?"
    "I haven't had a chance to really look at it yet, but most of the floors in town were laid by the same people and they're generally in really good shape."
    "So we clean the floors. Those could be beautiful." Polly paced off a section. "Here would be a dark wood bar - like a dark walnut. Henry's dad could so make this. It would be gorgeous. Put comfortable wooden chairs in front of it. Then, the tables and chairs on the main floor would all be different. We could hit thrift stores and find tons of those things. Different shapes and textures. But I'm sitting in every single chair. I hate uncomfortable chairs at a coffee shop. And bookshelves. Lots of bookshelves. Because books warm the room."
    Sal and Sylvie stood back and watched her dream out loud.
    "And you need to talk to Jerry about re-wiring this place," Polly said, gesturing at the walls.
    "We'd have to do that anyway. Nothing in here is up to code," Henry said.
    "Smart wiring. And there should be outlets all along the wall and maybe bring some into the middle of the room somehow. Can you put them in the floor?" she asked Henry.
    "Running lines under an existing floor won't be easy."
    "If people needed to plug in, they could take a table along the wall. But there need to be tons of outlets. No one should have to worry about whether they have access."
    "And you could have coffee pots on a big round table here in the middle of the room. Customers could buy their cup at the counter and for just plain coffee, they can get free refills. Any of the special stuff, that's done by the barista. And tea out here, too. This could really work. You could have specialty coffees and teas every day along with familiar brews."
    She looked at the three of them. "Whatever! I'm just saying things out loud. Step in if you want something else."
    "It sounds great to me," Sal said. "Do you want to see where the bakery will be?"
    "Yes. Have you seen it yet, Sylvie?"
    "Not yet."
    Polly walked past the area where she'd paced out the bar. "There would be racks of bread right here. Rolls and baguettes. It will smell so awesome. And a glass counter here for pastries and cakes. And we should construct a booth here for you, Sylvie, so you can talk to people who want to place big orders. Tall backs so your conversations don't bother anyone else. We'll install a tablet in the table and network it with your computer. You can be completely high-tech about it all. This would make a really fun office for you."
    Sylvie nodded at her, obviously having no clue what Polly was babbling about. She whispered loudly to Sal, "All I'm hearing is bake, bake, high techy-techy." The two laughed while Polly walked through an opening into a large space.
    "We need bathrooms," Polly said. "Don't forget the bathrooms."
    "Do you want an open window to the bakery?" she asked Sylvie. "Because how cool would that be? Customers could watch bread come out of the ovens and see you decorating cakes."
    "You're kidding, right?"
    "No. I'm not kidding. It would be awesome."
    "I don't want them watching me. That would be really intimidating."
    Polly was confused. "But people can stand at the counter at Sycamore House and watch you cook."
    "We'll talk about this later. If you can give me a good reason why I should show all of Bellingwood how much flour and sugar I pour down my front, maybe I'll let you talk me into that."
    "Have you looked online at ovens and mixers and refrigerators and coolers?" Polly asked.
    "Not yet," Sylvie gave a