Read Online Spiral of Bliss 03 Awaken by Nina Lane - Free Book Online

was thinking of a café, but something unique and focused on children and families.”
    Allie leans her elbows on the counter. “Mirror Lake does have a ton of families, and there’s a whole new bunch of them every summer during tourist season. A family café wouldn’t lack for patrons. But there are also a million other restaurants and cafés in town.”
    “That’s why we’d have to do something different. Something that would appeal to both locals and tourists.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like a party place,” I say. “Your children’s book parties were always so creative and fun… what if we opened a place where kids could have themed birthday parties?”
    “There are lots of kids’ party places in town, not to mention in Rainwood and Forest Grove.”
    “Not like this… I don’t think.” Of course, I haven’t done any research, so I go to the computer and do a quick Internet search. “Bouncy houses, sports parties, pizza places, karate parties. They don’t offer the kind of parties that you could. Like that
Alice in Wonderland
birthday you had when you turned ten, with the Red Queen cake and Mad Hatter tea party.”
    “I couldn’t even get kids to come to those at the bookstore when I offered them free cake and cookies.”
    “What if we combined it with another business, like a café?” I ask. “We both researched opening a café when we were looking into putting one in the bookstore, and I’m sure Marianne would give us advice or even help out. Maybe we could have a café that also offers birthday party packages.”
    Allie straightens, a gleam of interest finally appearing in her eyes. “That’s not a bad idea.”
    “We could uphold the tradition of Matilda’s Teapot by offering tea, but we could tailor the experience toward children and families,” I say. “Like have whimsical plates and teapots, maybe Red Queen cupcakes and those rainbow cake-pops you had for the
Wizard of Oz
party…”
    Allie and I look at each other for a minute. It’s a good idea. We both know it.
    “I have the money to invest now, Allie.”
    “
You
do,” she says. “I don’t. I’m maxed out on credit, and another loan isn’t an option. I can’t contribute to start-up costs.”
    “But you have a lot more experience than I do,” I point out. “You know about expenses, taxes, insurance, hiring employees, payroll. I don’t know any of that, but I’m a fast learner. If I contribute the money, you’d contribute the know-how.”
    “Brent could help us out with the logistics,” Allie muses. “He was assistant manager at the Sugarloaf Hotel for three years, and now he’s a manager at the Wildwood Inn. Plus he has two degrees in hotel and restaurant management.”
    The whole venture sounds both daunting and exciting. As Allie and I work for the rest of the afternoon, we exchange ideas about the café.
    “I think we should do something like your
Alice in Wonderland
party,” I say. “Put greenery around the front entrance so it’s like a rabbit hole. Then we could have Queen of Hearts tarts and Cheshire Cat porridge… or if we combined it with the
Wizard of Oz,
we could have those sugar cookies you made with
Heart
and
Courage
iced onto them, and the lime-green punch…”
    “That building does have two stories,” Allie says. “We could have one theme upstairs and another downstairs. Then have one menu, but with different dishes from each theme.”
    “And we could offer birthday parties in one of the upstairs rooms so that they’re separate from the everyday running of the place.”
    A palpable excitement flows between us.
    “What’ll we call it?” Allie asks.
    A name pops into my head without effort, as if it has been there all along.
    “The Wonderland Café,” I say.
    “I love it!” Allie claps her hands. “We’ll have murals on the walls with scenes from the books, and we can paint the staircase to look like yellow bricks leading up to the
Wizard of Oz
section.”
    I can’t help smiling at the