Miss Prum's six year old grandson Arien had been quite pleased the past few days. Even if not for lunch Lydia would sneak on next door in her spare moments and breaks to talk business with Miss Prum, which meant Arien got to see more of her. And it meant gifts. Miss Prum had been teaching her grandson some of the basics of the trade, so today he put his knowledge forth to create a ribbon bracelet with lots of small pink silk flowers attached. It left something to be desired in an aesthetic and perhaps technical sense considering a six year old crafted it, but the green haired elf loved it just the same and wore it proudly. Little Arien had also talked of the ads around town of her and Erin, telling Lydia he thought hers was prettier. Then again, he would probably tell Erin he thought her ads were prettier when he snuck off to The Stitch later to give her and Ivy some flowers. And then tell Ivy she was the prettiest and that she should have had an ad. Nothing malicious intended of course, he was probably just oh so indecisive when it came to such things. He'll surely be a charmer as he grows older.

When he left to head next door, Miss Prum explained a few things about her store to Lydia, and offered some suggestions - such as turning the restrooms upstairs into dressing rooms and uninstalling the toiletries there. The plumbing in the building had apparently been a bit fritzy for a while, and Miss Prum never had the time to get it fixed, and it would have cost quite a pretty penny to do so. And it was a good idea, considering the upstairs of the flower shop would one day be connected with the upstairs of The Stitch when it was all one and the same.

After the talks and idle chit chat, that's when the vanilla folder came out and was set upon the counter in front of Lydia.

"I already had the paperwork drawn up. Mr. Miller was kind enough to do so." Miss Prum smiled as she opened the folder, gesturing to the paperwork inside. There wasn't much though, just a couple pages. "You don't have to sign it now, but everything should be in order in there. It'll give you ownership of the shop come the first of next month, should you meet the payment requirements."

The elder woman fell silent as Lydia took up the paper, reading. She usually never felt comfortable with paperwork because most times things in it were worded in ways she didn't understand, so if it had to do with The Stitch it went to Erin. Luckily, Miss Prum and Mr. Miller were friends, weren't trying to pull anything, so everything had been laid out in layman's terms so to speak, quick and to the point. The payment plan was more than fair, in fact, Lydia had almost felt guilty for the amount she'd be paying for the place but Miss Prum kept insisting she wouldn't have much use of a lot of money, since she already had a pretty penny saved up over the years to retire on.

"I'm thinking... there's not really any reason to not sign it already." Eagerness was getting the best of Lydia in this situation. Really, sometimes you just had to throw caution to the wind. Such risks turned The Stitch from a dilapidated building to what it was today. That and help from friends, like Storm. It had been such a fun time painting and prettying the place up. It would have been wonderful to enlist the elemental's help again, because she never got to see Storm as much as she wanted nowadays, but? She was married now. Newly married, so the green haired elf figured she was pretty busy as of late with her new life. Still... it wouldn't hurt to ask, or at least tell Storm about the new acquisition. Good news was always.. well.. good!

A pen that had been set aside on the counter was taken up as Lydia glanced over the paperwork one more time, briefly, then pressed said pen to the paper, scrawling her name over the appropriate dotted line. In cursive as well! She didn't know how to write in cursive still, but had been practicing with her name and signature at least with some help. It was more professional after all... at least, that's what she was told. So with her crudely scrawled name on the paper, it was done. With a bright smile she closed the envelope and pushed it closer towards Miss Prum, before setting the pen aside.

Now how and when was she going to tell Erin what she had done?

"Just sign here, initial here and then sign there and it's all yours..."

Erin leaned forward to take up the pen and began working on the papers. She didn't need to read them. The past weeks had been spent with lawyers and a magnifying glass making sure everything was in order.

"You can move in on the ninth of November. You're allowed to change the structure of the building anyway you want, but make sure that you get permission from Mister Miller before knocking down any walls between the two. Also, it woudl be wise to look into cleaning out the chimney. The fireplace is working, but the flue has seen better days." The agent was cheery and helpful. Erin nodded at her, as she flipped another page.

"Thank you. I will be sure to do that..." She finished with the last signature and pushed the papers back over the desk.

"Well then, Ms. deVernon. You're all set. Feel free to go over there and look around anytime you want, and be sure that you keep to health code with any kitchen renovations."

The fact that the deal was done just started to register with her. Now all she had to do was tell Lydia. Part of Erin wished she could keep it a secret until it was completely done. But, sadly, her friend would probably notice the wall coming down. It'd be loud. So she would have to settle for going through the stacks of stacks of catalogues for tea and yarn and furniture that she thought she was hiding from her friend. But, really, it just made her look a little insane.

Heeled feet took her back towards the inn. She would at least make some drawings... blueprints, if you will, to show Lydia exactly what she was thinking. Pulling her bag tight, she picked up the pace. The faster she worked, the faster it would all be done! A stupid smile plastered on her face, she moved on.

After heading out of the inn and pointing out the graffiti about Piper 'hearting' Stitch, Lydia continued onwards to the market, not saying much. Since it was a little chilly out, she had a jacket over her tunic dress, hands buried in the pockets, but no leggings like she had been wearing, since it wasn't *that* chilly. Still quiet, she turned to head down the eastern street that led into the heart of the market - the street that The Stitch just so happened to be on.

"Something bad happen?" Erin was still worried. Such was the life inside her head. She spoke quietly, mostly, pursing her lips a little as she did. A hand ran through her hair and she looked around the dark market.

Lydia shook her head in response, smiling faintly even though she kept her eyes ahead, rather than turn to look back at Erin. "Not at all." Not too far ahead she spotted a vendor that dealt in hot drinks - cocoa, mochas, hot chocolate, things like that. As it turned out, she and Erin weren't the only ones nutty enough to gallivant about the market at this hour. "You want something to drink?" Gesturing up ahead towards said vendor.

"Oh, please. I haven't' drank anything all night. Working leaves little time for sipping." With a sagely nod. It's getting nippy, too. I feel like we skipped spring..." With a shrug, her demeanor lightened up at the reassurance this wasn't bad news. "We've been too busy lately." Remarked flippantly.

"So I'm not the only one who feels like the cold season is much longer than the warm? That's good to know." A few coins had been tucked into jacket pockets, so she fished them out from there for payment for the vendor, a middle aged man who looked dressed more for winter than fall. "Too busy with what exactly?" As Lydia awaited response she exchanged
coinage with the vendor, pointing out what she wanted before the man turned to Erin curiously, waiting to hear what she wanted.

"Work, of course." She pointed as well, cocoa so in her future. Then a smirk as she turned back to Lydia. "We're in the same building all day, but you're all locked up in the work room and me in the office."

Cocoa was in both their futures then! The man got to work on preparing both immediately, after pocketing the coins he received from the green haired one. "Oh, right." Smiling almost sheepishly, Lydia shook her head. "Yeah, I guess we have been. I fell behind in all my commissions.. which is why I usually stay up there." She stopped talking momentarily when two hefty cups of cocoa were set out, topped with a pretty dollop of whipped cream. Picking both up, one was offered over to Erin as she spoke again. "It makes me feel kinda bad for Ivy, having to deal with the customers all day. ...and Carley."

"She loves the customers. It's Carley she needs a vacation from," With a sagely nod. "But, she'll take one soon enough, I'm sure, and we'll all be lost." She took her cocoa and sipped.

Lydia's brows lifted faintly at that. "Ivy's going to take a vacation soon?" A nod was given to the vendor as she stepped back on the path to resume her walk; The Stitch sign not too far off in the distance.

"Well, I may make her around Christmas. She cooks like a million cookies for her family, and we need to make sure she sleeps." Biting her bottom lip. "Or she'll snap and beat Carley with the feather duster."

That was a rather interesting visualization. Pausing in her steps momentarily, Lydia tilted her head faintly as she imagined it in her mind. "I'm not entirely sure I'd stop her from doing that either..." Musing, even smiling a touch before continuing on, sipping at her cocoa. "Carley's actually a really good cook. Maybe we should get her to help Ivy bake cookies." She grinned mischievously to Erin, unaware of the touch of cream on the end of her nose. So classy.

"Oh... that's one way to ensure a cookie fight." With a roll of her eyes. "Or a crippled Carley. I'm not sure who would win in a fight. Unless you think they don't' spend enough time together." Erin laughed a little at the thought. Looking over at Lydia, she snorted.

She gave a curious look to the snort, but didn't think too much of it. "I'm not sure... Carley's tough, but it's really the quiet ones you have to watch out for, yeah? There's no telling what Ivy would do if she snapped." Her steps became a touch slower as they were almost to her destination.

Erin laughed and then tapped her nose. Taptaptap. Taptaptap. She was being subtle. "That's what my mother always said." Sagely nod. Then she looked about the market again, catching the Stitch up ahead. "Ah, home." Snicker.

She gave Erin a peculiar look, brows furrowed in confusion. "Why do you keep tapping your nose like that...?" No matter. She rolled her eyes faintly then grinned. "I'm not quite sure it's exactly like home..." She stopped then. Not in front of The Stitch though, no. She stopped in front of The Primrose Floral Shoppe, letting pale blues drift to and linger on the going out of business sale sign hanging in the window.

Erin frowned a bit at the sign. "Sad thing, this place leaving." Said idly. "It was a great shoppe. Great woman." Then she paused and turned at Lydia, laughing again. "You got whipped cream on your nose." With a smirk.

"Yeah, I'll definitely miss Miss Prum." She sighed faintly. "She was always really good to me, and her grandson is the sweetest isn't he?" She smiled a bit wistfully at the thought, before snorting at Erin, wiping away the cream on her nose.

"I think so, yes." A smile and a blink at people on the sidewalk. She moved closer to the building to allow for room to pass. "So. You brought me here." Said with a light smile as Lydia wiped it off her nose.

Lydia nodded a bit to Erin, sipping at her cocoa. More carefully this time. "I did..." She trailed off, pondering just how to tell Erin the news. She was a bit excited at the thought, even rolling on the balls of her feet, much like Carley was prone to do at times.

Erin raised her brows, a little smirk forming on her face. She watched her friend carefully, sipping at her drink happily. It was warming her inside, and she was a little chilly, wishing she had packed a jacket.

Shoot, why not just go ahead and say it? Kind of like ripping off a band-aid. Except not, since this was good news. At least she hoped so... then again, chances were Erin might not like it. What if she didn't? What if she hated the idea? That hadn't occurred to her before... movements stilled, she started chewing on her bottom lip.

"...Lyds?" With a bit of a frown as she looked at her. "What is it, eh? It's cold and we're outside." A gentle reminder as she shifted her own weight, lifting the drink for a sip.

Lydia nodded a bit to herself before taking a deep breath, then offered a smile to Erin. "I bought it."

"You...?" And what did Erin do? She laughed. A lot. Giggling madly. She couldn't help it, it was really funny!

Lydia's shoulders sagged somewhat at that, mostly out of confusion. "..wh.. why are you laughing?" Truthfully, it was kind of annoying. She had thought it was a good thing! "It's not that funny..." Frowning, she chugged back some cocoa, turning back to the shop, lips pressed firmly together.

"I bought the coffee shop on the other side." Turning her now red face to Lydia to see if she found it as funny as Erin did, now.

And that? Nearly caused her to snorkle up some cocoa, but she swallowed it back before pale blues widened at Erin. "You.. bought..?" She pointed to the other side of The Stitch. "And I bought.." And she was pointing back at Primrose. Then it happened. Rare laughter from the green haired elf. Public at that. "You're kidding!"

"No!" And she snorted herself, giggling still. "I'm not!" And she looked at the street, and the three shops now. "Oh man, our electric bill is going to be huge." And she was laughing even more, doubling over, even. "Great minds think alike?" Squeaked out between giggles.

"You think *we* have great minds?" Almost incredulously to Erin, grinning nonetheless. Cocoa was set on the sidewalk before she ran out into the street, to see all three shops together. "Gods, the place is gonna be huge!" Shaking her head, she ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe you bought the coffee shop!"

"Remember I said I wanted a tea shoppe. And they were selling!" She giggled some more. "We're monumental. A virtual department store." She laughed again. Really, it was hard to keep it all under control. "Geez, Lyds. We're gunna need help. And carpenters." A shake of her head as she looked.

"Yeah..." Smile dimmed a touch as the reality of it all set in. This? Was going to be so. much. work. "Glenn's going to make us some shelves to put in the part of The Stitch... I figured we could use the people you hired before for the walls? Since we'll have to knock out some to join the stores together.. and the floors need to all match probably, yeah?" Her mind was racing, a hundred miles an hour as she thought. "Rena offered to help too, and she has friends who can, with the painting, because we want the walls to match? Or maybe we should do something different... especially since .. that'll be a tea shoppe, yeah?" Point. "There could be some decorations on the wall.. maybe... and I figured I could put up a sign tomorrow, to hire someone new. A seamstress, because I barely keep up as is. And if it's going to be that big.. we
just can't handle it all. I even told Carley she was allowed to talk to customers again."

Erin was nodding and nodding and nodding as she went on. A blink and her head was moving back and forth. "Okay, so.. calm down." Did she laugh? Just a little. Just to let some stress out. "Yeah, the tea side will be a shop with a room to teach knitting lessons and knit in and stuff.. I thought that'd be nice? And I'd make more room for your stuff. But now..." A shake of her head in disbelief. "Okay, yeah. The walls should match and a seamstress is good, cause you'll need the help and... we need to just have meetings, huh? Like, the four of us in a room with a notebook and a pen?" Brows raised. "Cause we'll never think of it all ourselves."

"Yeah, I think we will.. because there's probably a lot to be done and.." Lydia trailed off, sighing faintly, but the smile remained. "Gods... at least it doesn't have to be done now. I mean.. the shop isn't going to be ours until the first of November. So we have time for planning there at least." Slow steps took her back towards the sidewalk in front of the stores, where she scooped her cocoa back up.

"December on the other side." With a nod. "So we have plenty of time, really. And it's goign to be fun. And we'll be the talk of the town." With a firm and happy nod. "Right?"

"Yeah.. you think?" She chuckled faintly at the thought. "December.. yeah. We can concentrate on one at a time then. We could probably get this side of it done by then, then work on that side." Gesturing where appropriate, before cocoa was tipped back for a considerable pull.

Erin finished her cocoa as she looked at it again. Perfect. And then we can have a grand reopening." She laughed a little at the idea. "Or at least a big big Christmas sale. That's really big where I'm from, sales at Christmas." With a nod. "And the one now is doing well, too..."

"Hm.. makes sense to me. Since people will need to buy a lot of stuff then.." Pale blues wandered aside to look over the three stores. "I still can't believe you bought the coffee shop..." Lydia shook her head a bit. "Talk about coincidence. Here I was worried you'd think my buying Miss Prum's shop was a bad idea." Her own cocoa was finished then, the empty cup launched into a nearby waste bin.

Erin's cup followed into the bin. "I was worried you would think we were taking on more than we could chew..." She laughed some more, sticking her hands in her pockets. It was chilly. "But, man..." A bit of a shake of her head. "Have you told the girls yet? I didn't..."

"I.. kinda told Carley, yeah." A sheepish smile was sent towards Erin as she shrugged. "I had to make sure I could trust her to take on more customers with the expansion. It wouldn't have been fair to Ivy to expect her to carry all the work there." Pausing, she lifted a hand to her mouth, stifling back a yawn. "...how late is it anyways? I should probably be getting back to the apartment now."

"Pretty late." Erin nodded. "And freezing, to boot." She sighed a bit rolling her neck. "Time to break the jacket out." A cigarette pack was dug out and one was lit as she took a drag. A way to keep her hands busy. "Which isn't that bad, I guess." A shrug. "You headed west?"

Lydia was about to offer her own jacket over to Erin but was distracted by the cigarette action, her eyes narrowing a touch on said cigarette. She'd rather her clothing not smell like smoke, so.. hey, if they were leaving anyways. "If by west you mean WestEnd, yeah." She grinned towards Erin before dunking her hands in her pockets, then started walking in that direction. "Guess we can keep each other company along the way."

"Yeah. I go as far as Seaside, but it's a nice walk." With a shrug as she started beside her on the sidewalk. "And I do really like staying at Charlie's. Even if it is a madhouse. Zach's a cute kid, you'd like him." Flicked some ash as she walked.

"Hm... yeah. I bet Charlie's real fun to live with." It was nearly muttered. "I don't think I've been out towards Seaside though." With a turn it put them on the main path leading into WestEnd where the two girls soon disappeared into.