The Grand “Closing”

/ boldandbeautifulopticians / Leave a comment

“Hey Ma, I will give you all the ins and outs later. I just called to let you know not to come tomorrow. Everything has been put on hold for now.”

“You mean….the Optical Shoppe is not going to open? Your store…”

“I can’t talk about it right now. I will call you later.”

Before Olga could tap “end” the tears gushed down her pale face. She was driving. She had to pull over because of the uncontrollable trembling. Her mind, her brain, her heart just couldn’t understand. Months….no, almost a year of planning, and money, so much money all down the drain in an instant. Now here she was on the side of the road, broke, devastated, and desperate.

Olga was a licensed optician who dreamed of opening her own optical boutique one day. As a matter of fact, tomorrow would have been THE day.  Tuesday, March  28, 2017 was supposed to be the first official day of business for Eyes on Maumee. She had deliberated months over the name. She went from A-Z literally. There were hundreds of options from All About Eyes to Eyes A-Z. There were Facebook posts and votes, sleepless nights, endless conversations until she finally heard the name that made her smile…Eyes on Maumee. Maumee was the name of the quaint little street in her hometown. She had so many fond childhood memories on Maumee, the street that was really the heart of her community. And Eyes just said it all. The name was perfect. But nothing else in her plans came close.

Olga stayed parked on the side of the road for a while crying sometimes, but sobbing mostly. She punished herself with questions,”How did I get here?” “What am I going to do?”  “Why didn’t I see this coming?” “Why did I trust Jake?” She knew that hundreds of other phone calls had to be made. The Grand Opening for Eyes on Maumee was canceled.

Olga stopped crying. There were no more tears. She stopped the chiding. Her mind was exhausted. She took a deep breath. She felt faint. She rolled down the window to get more air. She took another deep breath. She was slightly revived as the fresh air filled her lungs. As new life was breathed into her weak soul she had a new thought, an idea, an epiphany.

“Maybe we don’t have to cancel the Grand Opening after all.” She uttered.

With a renewed confidence and vigor she grabbed her cell phone. “I need to call Jake!”