揥hat do you think Uncle Elijah would say??Jessica asked.
揌e抎 think it was a royal hoot,?the lawyer chuckled. 揌e was a salty old dog. He and I played golf together, and we both enjoyed a double shot of Jameson too often to talk about.?
揟hen I抦 ready to get on with it.?Jessica figured that she hadn抰 had the church or the inheritance before her uncle died, so if her bar didn抰 work out, she really wasn抰 losing anything. And all her friends would have jobs, which was a big selling point to her.
揂ll right then.?Mr. Yandell looked up at Wade. 揝ince you抮e going to be a partner, you抣l need to bring everything that I抳e already mentioned, plus you抣l both need bank statements showing that you are each putting up half the money to start up the business.?
揑抣l get it all together for you, sir,?Wade said with a nod.
揙kay then,?Mr. Yandell said. 揑抣l get the paperwork started. Make an appointment with my office manager on your way out to come in on Wednesday and sign everything. Go ahead and bring all the folks you told me about at that time, too, so we can get their signatures on the permits to sell liquor.?
揇o you know offhand if there will be a conflict about my friends living in the back of the place??she asked as she got to her feet.
揑 don抰 think there would be, but I抣l check into it. Just to be on the safe side, when you remodel, you might want to consider closing any doors leading from the sanctuary into the hallway where the Sunday school rooms are. That would be for privacy抯 sake. You wouldn抰 want folks who had too much to drink wandering into your living quarters looking for a bathroom. But I will see what the law says about that,?he answered.
She stuck out her hand to shake with him. 揟hank you, Mr. Yandell.?
揑saac,?he said as he shook her hand. 揑f we抮e going to be working together, just call me Isaac.?
Wade took a couple of steps forward and shook his hand also. 揑抦 just Wade, then.?
揟hank you, and I抦 Jessica.?She smiled.
揟hen Jessica and Wade it is,?he said. 揑抣l see you on Wednesday.?
揥e抣l be here.?Jessica slung her purse over her shoulder, and she and Wade stopped by the desk out in the lobby to make an appointment for three o抍lock on Wednesday.
A blast of hot wind hit her in the face when she stepped out of the air-conditioned office. She figured the heat was what made her a little dizzy, but then it could have been the fact that she抎 made such a huge life-changing decision after such a short time. She certainly had not considered living in Riverbend permanently before the idea of a bar came about.
揂re you okay??Wade asked. 揧ou look like you just saw a ghost. You aren抰 already regretting this, I hope.?
揕ittle shocked at how hot it is,?Jessica answered, but she held on to the porch post a few more seconds. 揟he deal is all in motion now, so I guess we抮e going to brave the elements梞eaning Stella and the people in Riverbend梩o put a bar in what used to be a church.?
He tucked his arm into hers. 揕et抯 get you out to the truck where it抯 cool. And, Jessica, I抳e never been surer of anything,?Wade said. 揌ow about you??
揑t抯 all been pretty fast, and when Isaac reminded me that the folks in Riverbend are not going to be happy about this, I thought of Risa and what she抣l have to endure.?She let him guide her out to his vehicle. 揟hank you so much for driving me up here today. It would have been tough to find a parking spot in that RV.?
揘o problem,?he said as he opened the passenger door for her.
This is the kind of guy you want for a partner and a friend, the voice in her head whispered.
Wade slid in behind the wheel. 揥e should go by the Dairy Queen and get an ice cream to celebrate. Maybe a little something cold will bring some color back in your face. I thought you were going to faint when you came out of the building.?
揟hat sounds great,?she said, 揵ut, Wade, what if we spend all this money, and then the bar doesn抰 do well? We抣l have payroll to meet and overhead to pay, and if it all bombs, my best friends will have lost their reputation in town, plus their jobs. What if棓
He butted in before she could say another word. 揇on抰 think like that. Just remember that it could take a year before we start making a profit, but that抯 all right. As long as we pay Haley, Risa, and Mary Nell, you and I can live on our retirement from the military. At least I can. How are you set??
揑抳e got a pretty good savings on top of my pension and inheritance,?she answered. 揌ow do we even go about figuring out how much it will take for our renovations? You抳e done odd carpentry jobs, so maybe you can figure a rough estimate??
He nodded the whole time she talked. 揥ith all the wood in the pews, there will be very little money involved with that. The main outlay will be to buy the liquor license and do all the legal stuff for inspections to run a kitchen.?He started the engine and backed out of the parking lot.